JACKSON, Tenn. — March 7, 2017 — Steve Gaines, pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis and president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said evangelism should be the priority of every Christian.
鈥淗eaven and hell are looming in the balance, and that鈥檚 a lot more important than anything else,鈥� Gaines said March 5 at the West Tennessee Evangelism Rally at 51社区.
Gaines was the featured preacher at the rally, sponsored by Union and the Tennessee Baptist Convention. He spoke to pastors and church members from churches across the West Tennessee area.
Gaines鈥� sermon came from Acts 1, where Jesus gave his final command to his disciples to be his witnesses. He said Jesus shifted everything and charged his followers with the priority of evangelism.
鈥淕od鈥檚 kingdom became spiritual, not physical,鈥� Gaines said. 鈥淚t was no longer focusing on the nation of Israel. It was international, not national. It was for all people.鈥�
He said every Christian鈥檚 first thought when entering a room should be, 鈥淚 wonder if these people know Jesus.鈥� He said Christians should be ready and willing to talk about Jesus at all times because they love him. If Jesus is in the hearts of believers, he will come out of their mouths.
鈥淚f you love somebody, you talk to them and you talk about them,鈥� Gaines said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just the way it is. If you don鈥檛 talk to them and you don鈥檛 talk about them, you don鈥檛 love them.鈥�
Gaines said Acts 1 teaches that followers of Jesus have power through the Holy Spirit. Christians should not be afraid to share the gospel and be witnesses because the Holy Spirit gives power to do just that.
鈥淭he Holy Spirit of God is in you,鈥� Gaines said. 鈥淎nd he didn鈥檛 come there just to give you a little feeling, just to give you a little high. He came for you to be a powerful witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.鈥�
Gaines said believers should have a plan for witnessing. He said some decide to do evangelism, and others decide to love people, but one cannot be done without the other.
鈥淲hen you love on people, they鈥檒l listen to you talk to them about Jesus Christ,鈥� Gaines said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not either-or. It鈥檚 both.鈥�
He said every evangelistic believer should know the names of lost people and pray specifically about them for three things: conviction, conversion and a contact. He said each Christian should be willing to be that contact.
Gaines said winning people for Jesus should take priority over everything, even good things like racial reconciliation, social justice and defending the unborn. He said Christians are alive on the earth to be witnesses for Jesus, and this should be evident in everything that the church and church members do.
鈥淕od didn鈥檛 give you breath to go around and complain,鈥� Gaines said. 鈥淗e gave you breath to praise the Lord and to tell people about Jesus Christ.鈥�
The West Tennessee Evangelism Rally also included several breakout sessions on various aspects of evangelism. The topics included evangelism in the workplace, leading children to Christ, getting the gospel to Muslims and building evangelistic church ministries.
David Evans, evangelism specialist at the Tennessee Baptist Convention, led a session entitled 鈥淐reating a Culture of Missions and Evangelism in Your Church.鈥� He said culture has changed drastically in the last 30 to 40 years, and evangelism has changed as well. He said the largest gap in churches is between ages 18 and 25, and people that age want to be part of a passion and a vision that鈥檚 helping somebody else.
鈥淧eople no longer say, 鈥楬ey, I want to go to church because it鈥檚 going to help me,鈥欌�� Evans said. 鈥淣o. I want to go to church because it鈥檚 going to help somebody else.鈥�
Evans encouraged church members to be evangelists where they are and use their gifts and passions to share the gospel, rather than scheduling time for evangelism. He said evangelism in the New Testament is organic and irregular.
鈥淓vangelism is irregular because it happens 24/7,鈥� Evans said. 鈥淎ll the time we鈥檝e got to be evangelistic. We鈥檝e always got to be gospel-sharing.鈥�