Evangelism and Discipleship

Evangelism and Discipleship

Evangelism is a terminology that means the act of spreading the message of Jesus Christ to the non-believers so that they can accept him as their lord and saviour. Discipleship, on the other hand, refers to the quality of being a follower of Christ. It entails obeying the teaching and commands of Jesus and emulating him. Evangelism and discipleship are two intertwined terms, they are inseparable terms as used in the Christianity faith. Both discipleship and evangelism are equally important to believers and none can be said to surpass the other (Wommack, 2015). Many denominations have argued concerning what comes first, whether it is discipleship or evangelism, however, any of them can come before the other since both serve the serving purpose of bringing people to Christ. The followers who were called by Jesus had no background of discipleship yet they accepted him and spread his message to other people who were also converted. The Samaritan woman after meeting with the savior abandoned her jar of water and set her journey to the town to inform the people to come and see the man who had informed her about everything she had done. Due to believing of the Samaritan woman she was transformed into a new creature thus become a disciple of Christ.

Evangelist and pastors who propagate the word of God encounter a tremendous amount of opposition thus they live in fear of being rejected. When the evangelist are spreading the message of Christ to strangers they are anxious about the outcomes they might encounter. Jesus was rejected numerous times when he was preaching the true gospel. The pastors and the evangelist may experience fear while evangelism in areas where people don’t believe in Jesus Christ. Individuals with different faith may challenge pastors and evangelists in their mission.  Some Christians are unable to withstand the oppression they encounter while preaching God’s word thus develop fear and anxiety (Aleinik, 2014). The fear by Christians may also arise from the martyrdom of followers of Christ by the non-believers. However, Christians should be prepared to be persecuted for the sake of Christ who died for our sins. Christians should give their life for Christ’s sake.

Discipleship is a very important factor in developing and strengthening the faith of believers in Christ. The followers of Christ build their faith through mentorship by the pastor of their churches. The pastors feed them with the word of God and encourage them when they are facing hard times in following Christ. The mentorship is also conducted by church group mentors who focus on retaining the new converts to the church. The pastors strengthens the beliefs of the new convert by encouraging them while partaking a new journey of Christ. The prayers and the songs that are conducted in churches help the believers in being connected to Jesus Christ. The pastors should dedicate their time to the new converts and preach to them about the benefits of being followers of Christ. New believers require constant nourishment with Christ’s teaching so that they can experience his love and compassion that he possess for those who thirst for his word (Dugan, 2017). Discipleship is rooted in love and compassion for one another since as Christians we share a common destiny. Christians should love each other and help them to pursue the kingdom of God. Jesus intentionally selected his disciples despite their flaws and they did not choose him. Christians should love each other unconditionally and call them to Jesus Christ. The pastors should preach the significance and worthiness that God created them to utilize. Christians are vessels of Christ thus they should dedicate their lives to serving Christ.’’ I appointed you to go and bear fruits.’’  True discipleship entails humbleness. Jesus reveals that he has loved us since his father has loved him. The best way of spreading the word of God is by showing love to the sinners and non-believers and never to condemn them for their sinful ways.

There is a significant difference between the evangelism carried out by Jesus and today’s evangelism. Jesus was a humble teacher who called all the people to his kingdom. He did not discriminate against the sinners and the less fortunate in society. He weighed the heart of an individual, not his post and position. When Jesus encountered the poor Samaritan woman he is elated by her since she is thirsty for Jesus love and word. She is very honest and genuine for seeking the face of the Lord. On the other hand, the wealthy, famous, and educated Jewish ruler, Nicodemus he is not commended by Jesus due to his pride and lack of humbleness. In today’s evangelism, most of the church leaders seem to praise money and fame more than righteousness.  The rich individuals in the society are highly respected and they are praised because of their fame and affluence. The poor on the other hand and not given a lot of attention in the evangelism. The leaders have a self-righteous attitude and condemn the sinners instead of bringing them back to church to share the love of Christ.

In conclusion, evangelism and discipleship are an essential element in creating a strong relationship with Jesus. Both evangelism and discipleship cannot be separated since they are factors that define true Christianity. Jesus called his disciples and they propagated his message to those who had no encounter with him. According to evangelism carried out by Jesus, it is clear that one can evangelize without being mentored into discipleship. Jesus encountered with the Samaritan woman and he spread his message to others who become believers of Christ. Discipleship is also important since Christians require mentorship for them to keep the right track. The modern-day evangelism can be differentiated from the evangelism conducted by Jesus Christ. The gospel of Christ focused on giving unconditional love to those wishing to be believers of Christ. The present-day evangelism is wicked since most leaders don’t preach the true gospel of Christ, they are guided by worldly pleasures.