Evangelism is not a making of proselytes; it is not persuading people to make a decision; it is not proving that God exists, or making a good case for the truth of Christianity; it is not inviting someone to a meeting; it is not exposing the contemporary dilemma, or arousing interest in Christianity; it is not wearing a badge saying “Jesus Saves”! Some of these things are right and good in their place, but none of them should be confused with evangelism. To evangelize is to declare on the authority of God what he has done to save sinners, to warn men of their lost condition, to direct them to repent, and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

We need to see and end to a wrong, shallow view of evangelism as simply getting people to say yes to a question, or to make a one-time decision. We need to see an end to the bad fruit of false evangelism. We need to see and end to worldly people having assurance that they’re saved just because they once took a stand, shook a hand, or repeated a prayer. We need to see revival not be lost amid our own manufactured and scheduled meetings that we euphemistically call “revivals”, as if we could determine when the wind of God’s Spirit would actually blow. We need to see an end to church memberships markedly larger than the number of those involved with the church, and an end to inaction in our own lives as we ignore the evangelistic mandate – the call to share the Good News. We need to see the end of this debilitating, deadly coldness to the glorious call to tell the Good News.