I was born again on November 3rd, 2013. I remember the date, the time, the place, the song my youth pastor played to me… I even remember kneeling to pray as I asked Jesus to come into my heart. It’s easy for me to remember all those details because I was radically changed on that day. It was as if God lit a flame in my heart, and the flame has only grown brighter and stronger since Christ invaded my heart. This flame burns constantly for two things: to know God and to make Him known to everyone I encounter. Since November 3rd, 2013, I can see how God has used me to build His church through evangelism.
 
My Beginning Days of Evangelism

The very lady who led me to the Lord that Sunday night is the same lady God used to inspire me to pursue evangelism. The lady, Jean, is so passionate and bold for Jesus that she has spent most of her Christian life on the streets of major cities around the world asking men and woman this very question: “if you were to die tonight, where would you go?” A few months after I got saved, Jean took me street witnessing. I do not remember the exact conversations I had that night, but I do remember how excited I was to tell others about the risen Christ and how expensive salvation costed Jesus, yet so free for us! I give a lot of credit to Jean and Paul Steifvater for exposing me to urban evangelism. They planted a seed, but God watered it and continues to do so.

Needless to say, when I arrived at BJU in the fall of 2018 and discovered that the school has an outreach dedicated to urban evangelism, I immediately signed up. I actually thought of starting my own group if BJU did not already have one. I credit Luke Davis, who was a junior leading the outreach at the time, for formally introducing me to the outreach. I remember the night he came into my room to discuss my interests in the outreach after he heard through one of my friends I was interested in evangelism. I was so excited and amazed at how God orchestrated everything. The existence of the urban evangelism outreach was a confirmation from God that BJU is where God wants me.
 
My Three Desires: Salvation, Sanctification, and Exhortation

From the first Friday night I went out until today, I can honestly say I have gone out every chance I’ve had. There is an eternal reason for why I spend my Friday nights telling others about Jesus: we are not promised a tomorrow. It breaks my heart to know that people are dying and going to hell every day! The imminent fact of death is what makes urban evangelism necessary and all evangelism for that matter. When I am out on the street, there is a double-edged sword within me. On one side I am excited to see everyone having a good time; on the other side, I am extremely worried they do not understand the weight of their sin and the amount of love God has for them. These are the thoughts I think should accompany every person when they evangelize—whether on the street, at a coffee shop, at home, school, or even church.

I not only go out for the sake of other souls, but also for the sake of my own soul. Steve Pettit once said in chapel, “evangelism is a vital part of personal sanctification.” Too often I have been stumped with genuine questions that people have on the street regarding the gospel, and instead of getting discouraged, I return home and search for an answer to their question. My pursuit of truth has cemented my understanding of what I believe about God and why. My reasoning is this: if you can’t share your faith, how can you grow in your faith?

Beside my burden for lost souls and personal sanctification, I also have a burden for the spiritual growth of my brothers and sisters in Christ. As I tell others about Jesus, I also have the chance to exhort my fellow believers who are on the street that night (Hebrews 10:24). Although my time is brief when I do encounter a brother or sister in Christ, my time with them is always profitable because I have a chance to encourage them. Often I am the one who ends up being encouraged! It is not ideal to have evangelism separate from discipleship. It is a great blessing to know that after evangelizing I was able to both share Christ with a lost person and encourage someone in the household of faith all in one night.
 
My Burden for BJU Students

In addition to my desire for evangelism and discipleship, I also have a burden for those who want to share Christ with others but do not know how to or where to start. A part of me wishes there existed a three-step process for how to better evangelize. There are many good books and articles on the topic of improving your evangelism; however, in my personal experience of evangelism, I have found how we view people affects our evangelism. If we don’t see people the way God sees them, then we won’t love them the way we ought to. The greatest way we can love others is to tell them about Jesus Christ. So, what stops us from spreading the Good News? Unfortunately, Satan knows and exploits our weaknesses of fear and ignorance. For those who struggle with fearing what man will do or say to you, the first and main step is to grasp the weight of the gospel. The gospel concerns life and death; therefore, we are to take the good news of Christ and tell others out of love. Letting the fear of a few awkward moments stop us from sharing Christ is at its core unloving. It is selfish to allow the thought that sharing Christ with someone will result in an awkward conversation, make you feel weird, or even make you feel like a stereotypical Christian. When we neglect to tell someone about the risen Christ out of a fear of man, we are essentially “protecting our pride at the cost of their souls” (Mark Dever, The Gospel and Personal Evangelism). When you realize that the message of the gospel is more important than man’s reaction to you, nothing or no one will stop you. For those who want to share the gospel but feel inadequate, please understand that God qualifies you for the ministry just the way you are. By focusing on your inadequacies, you’re limiting God. God’s primary concern is not how much or how little you know the scriptures, although that is important; He is concerned with your willingness to trust Him as you evangelize. Take courage in knowing that Christ will not only minister to you but through you. He will never leave you nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5).    
 
My Advice for Taking The First Step Toward Evangelism
​
The key ingredient that I have found for effective evangelism is prayer. If you’re wondering where to start, pray for an opportunity to share Christ. Trust me, that is one prayer request that God rarely denies. Since evangelism is a lifestyle, it is imperative to always have an attitude of prayer. Let me be the first to say it is never easy the first time you share Christ with someone. Take heart and remember: “You are from God and have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

This year, I met some of my family whom I’d never known before.

I met my brothers and sisters in Christ who have been persecuted out of their own country in the Southeast Asia and have settled in Bangkok, Thailand. I think we all know that persecution exists. We’ve all heard of Christians whose homes have been burned to the ground or whose family members have been killed because of what they believe and told others about Jesus who saves.

But this summer I got to know them personally. Their stories changed me. I met a family of five who live in a one-room apartment that’s smaller than my own bedroom. They fled their own country in fear for their lives and arrived in Bangkok trying to get refugee status, but never actually attained it. Their visas and passports have now expired, and they earn next to nothing. Getting out of Thailand and into a country that will accept them as refugees has become extremely difficult.

These brothers and sisters asked my hosts and I to visit one of their friends who did the same thing as them. Robert (name changed) and his family went to Thailand trying to get help and ended up overstaying their visas, too. Robert got caught for being in Bangkok illegally, and now he lives in an immigrant detention center (read, prison). He’s separated from his family, doesn’t get enough food in the detention center, and lives in a cell so crowded that the detainees must take turns sleeping. I went to visit him there, and I think it will be a long time before I forget what he told me.

"Thank you for coming. You’re obeying Jesus’ command to visit those who are sick and in prison…Your assignment from God is to be in Thailand, mine is to be in prison here…  God has big plans for you, so keep serving him and doing what He wants… Give him your life."

When I asked Robert how I could pray for him, I expected him to request prayer that the UN would resettle him soon, or that he would be reunited with his family, or that God would provide for his family’s material needs. Instead, he said something that shook me.

"Pray for me to be able to share the Gospel. Pray for my people to understand the Gospel and turn to Christ."

God has allowed people to take away nearly everything Robert has ever owned because of his commitment to the Gospel, but he is one of the most joyful people I’ve ever met (Actually he and another man who’d been imprisoned as a Christian in the Middle East are the two at the top of my list). His commitment to Christ and his passion for telling people about Jesus regardless of his circumstances is overwhelming.

This summer, I came away from my time with my newfound family members with a renewed sense of the urgency of the Gospel. The Gospel is so important to these refugees I met that they are willing to give up everything to be able to share it. The Gospel is worth it.

1 Peter 1:14-18 says, “Do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct … Conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers.”

Christians live in exile. None of us get to live in our home country of heaven yet, but some Christians are reminded of their exile in a much more tangible way than others. Robert is one of them. But God has called all of us to renounce “passions of our former ignorance” and the “futile ways inherited from our forefathers” while we live in exile. We’re supposed to renounce sin. This summer I learned from my brothers and sisters in exile that the Gospel is worth renouncing sin for. The Gospel is worth giving everything for.

As I write this blog, I understand that nothing I write could ever do this summer justice. So much has happened, and I couldn’t possibly write everything that I’ve done and learned. My internship was on the small Island of Palau, located a couple hundred miles off the Philippines. During my internship, I learned that missionary work is living out the Gospel on a day-to-day basis and staying faithful in your personal walk with God. I realized problems are going to keep coming your way as a missionary, but you just have to trust God and rely on His steadfast love.

Included in my summer was the awesome opportunity to love and disciple five high school guys through the program called Project 17:17. Within this program, I had the joy of spending time discipling these guys through the Scripture. It also included spending daily life with the guys. Honestly, a huge part of my summer was just ministering daily. My typical week was full of ministries such as Band of Brothers (College breakfast), One Life (College Bible study), YOB (Youth of Belau), and Thursday night Bible study. Many of the people that we daily ministered to needed to know and see a consistent relationship with God and what that looks like. In a world of unknowns and inconsistencies, people need to know that the God you serve is always the same. He is steadfast along with His promises.

Many of the Palauans struggle with faithfulness in their walk with God. I remember while I was over there, I wouldn’t see some people for weeks at a time because they had done something they weren’t supposed to and felt very ashamed, or would see their wrongdoing as an outlet to continue on to a deeper sin. Keeping Palauans faithful is a real battle. You have to consistently love them by faithfully pursuing them when they are struggling. I had to understand that the cultural and historical background will shape the communication and struggles of the people. Along those lines, one must take time to accommodate in love to their struggles. For example, one thing that you must be cautious of in Palau is rejecting anything that someone offers to you. In Palau, they will take that as your thinking you are better than them and have no need of their hospitality. This in turn could very well hinder the Gospel. That is something we as Americans simply wouldn’t understand.
​
The Gospel was proclaimed this summer, and 16 souls placed their trust in Jesus Christ! Just before I left, I was able to see a new believer’s class start up for all the converts. God is working all across the globe, and I was blessed with such a great opportunity to be a part of His ministry over in Palau.