November 5, 2026
Before we can build a culture of evangelism in our lives and ministries, we must begin with an honest look inward. The first phase of this process is to examine: to ask ourselves, “How am I doing spiritually?”
We cannot give what we do not have. If we are not spiritually healthy and encountering Jesus personally, we will not intentionally focus on sharing Him publicly with others.
From one sister to another: How is your relationship with Jesus? Are you close to Him or distant? Are you being filled by Him, or do you feel spiritually spent?
There are seasons in my own life when I have felt spiritually dry, and perhaps you can relate. In those moments, I pray what David prays in Psalm 51:12–13, “Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit. Then I will teach the rebellious your ways, and sinners will return to you” (CSB).
Notice the order. The joy is restored first, and the sharing follows.
Pause right now to thank Jesus for saving you and ask Him to restore the joy of your salvation today.
The Foundation: What God Has Already Done
Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, yet his words speak to what God calls followers to do, which includes you and me. He says in 2 Corinthians 5:17-20:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God” (CSB).
This calling to be His ambassador has nothing to do with what we can do for God and everything to do with what God has already done for us.
Verse 17 above says it plainly: “The old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” (CSB). Consider Paul, who wrote those words. He was formerly Saul, a man known for persecuting the church, who had followers of Jesus put to death. Jesus did not merely give him a new name; He made him a new creation.
You and I have a past as well. We were once dead in our sins, but Jesus intervened. Colossians 1:22 says He has reconciled us “to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him” (CSB). What a gift! Once alienated from God, we have been brought into relationship with Him through faith in Jesus. We are not the people we were before.
Do you remember when He changed your life? It matters, because if we ever get over what Jesus has done in our lives, we will not tell others what He can do in theirs.
Jesus Gives You a Ministry
Throughout Scripture, Jesus changes lives and then sends those people out to take part in changing the lives of others. Jesus saves, and then He sends. As He sent the followers we read about in the Bible, He is sending us.
Second Corinthians 5:18 says God “has given us the ministry of reconciliation” (CSB). Simply put, this is the task of pointing people to Jesus and helping them be restored to the relationship with God He intended from the very beginning.
Two misconceptions often stand in our way.
The first is the false belief that “evangelism’s not for me.” Many Christians believe the Great Commission isn’t for them. They assume ministry belongs to pastors and church staff.
The truth is that God has chosen to use ordinary people like you and me to do extraordinary things. He has placed each of us in specific places, among specific people, to be part of a work greater than ourselves.
Feeling inadequate is understandable, and Scripture shows that others felt the same. Moses protested that he had never been eloquent, and God helped him speak and taught him what to say. The first disciples were uneducated fishermen, yet Jesus simply said, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people” (Matthew 4:19, CSB).
Jesus will do the work. The ministry we have been given depends not on our abilities but on our availability.
The second misconception is that our ministry is simply the place we serve in our local church. If you serve in children’s ministry, your ministry is not merely supervising children for an hour; it is telling children about Jesus while you provide supervision. If you serve on the welcome team, your ministry is not simply a greeting at the door but the conversations about Jesus you begin as people pass by.
Nor does the ministry stop at the church doors. Businesswomen, lawyers, doctors, teachers, nurses, and stay-at-home moms: if you know Jesus, you have a ministry to help others know Him. We speak about Jesus as we go.
Jesus Equips You with a Message
Second Corinthians 5:19 says, “In Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us” (CSB).
Have you ever felt unequipped for something? God gives us a ministry, but He also equips us with the message. Luke 12:12 promises that the Holy Spirit will teach us what to say at that time. It can be as simple as John 3:16. God loves you. Jesus died for you. Salvation is available to you. That is the message every person needs to hear.
I have found that as you begin sharing, more people are willing to hear about Jesus than we are willing to tell. Many are desperate to hear it.
Jesus Sends You Out on Mission
Second Corinthians 5:20 says, “We are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, ‘Be reconciled to God’” (CSB).
An ambassador is a representative. We are Christ’s representatives to a lost and dying world, entrusted with the mission we know as the Great Commission. The question is whether we are representing Him well. When people see us, do they see Jesus?
Notice also how Paul describes the work: we plead. Ambassadors for Christ should plead with people to know Jesus. When was the last time you were so burdened for someone to know Jesus that you pleaded with them?
Five Steps to Create a Culture of Evangelism
So, how do we begin building this in our lives and ministries? I offer five steps.
Where will you start?
Jesus changed us. He uses us. He gives us a ministry, equips us with a message, and sends us out on mission.
Examine your own heart. Ask Him to restore the joy of your salvation, then choose one step to take this week. Pray for someone by name. Ask one simple question. Enter your next room expecting God to work.
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