Proclaim the Gospel

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend a missions conference at a church in the North East. I was invited to come as a representative of the organization that I work for and to meet with people who were interested in serving cross-culturally. I was excited to attend the event as I find great joy in seeing God raise up his people to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth. As I arrived at the church on the first evening of the event I was handed a schedule that highlighted the weekend’s events.  On the docket for the weekend were times of prayer and fellowship, a short film, and guest speakers who would address the topic of sharing your faith in a Middle Eastern context. There was one item in particular that stood out as I combed through the schedule, a time in which the men would visit with a prominent religious leader of from another religious background. I was excited for this opportunity and had no idea what to expect. The following day, when it came time for the visit with the religious leader in his house of worship, the men were gathered for a short briefing on behaviors that would be seen as culturally appropriate and behaviors that would be offensive.  Upon arriving at the house of worship we were warmly welcomed by the local religious leader. The religious leader gave us a brief tour of the house of worship and then had us sit for a time of teaching on the beliefs of his faith tradition. After about an hour and half of teaching the religious leader asked if we had any questions. There was a part of me that wanted to ask some pointed questions addressing inconsistencies in what I had just heard. Yet I found myself extremely timid and almost fearful. I sat quietly while some of men in the group who have decades of experience working with people from this particular religious background began to ask probing questions. What I witnessed from some of the men in our group will always stay with me. In an incredibly loving, firm and culturally appropriate way these men through a series of questions presented the Gospel to this prominent religious leader. Here we were, sitting in a house of worship of a non-Christian faith tradition, with the truths of the Gospel ringing off the walls. The way in which the gospel was communicated was beautiful, it was firm, and it was loving. After about 30 minutes of questions our time came to an end and the religious leader treated us to some snacks and drinks before our departure. As we walked out of the house of worship I came alongside one of the men from our group who has decades of experience working with this particular religious tradition and had been the primary one asking questions. I told him how neat it was for me to witness his questioning process as well as the way in which he used the religious leaders own culture and terminology to present the Gospel of Christ. As I continued to walk with this man through the parking lot, toward our vehicles, he said something that I will never forget, “I don’t know how many times someone will need to hear the Gospel before they come to know Christ, but I am going to make sure it is one less after meeting me”. What a statement!  What a Challenge! I don’t know about you but I am not sure I view daily life with that mindset. Imagine what it would look like if we would all walk with the mentality of proclaiming the gospel at every turn and to all we encounter.  You never know you might be the person who shares the gospel with a person and get to witness the transformation of a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. Who will hear the Gospel from you today?

-Steve
(P.S. Check out this profile page as we journey to Poland)