Evangelism and Discipleship

What are Evangelism and Discipleship?

As defined in the book Invitation to Evangelism: Sharing the Gospel with Compassion and Conviction by Timothy K. Beougher, Evangelism is “the compassionate sharing of the [G]ood [N]ews of Jesus Christ with lost people, in the power of the Holy Spirit, for the purpose of bringing them to Christ as Savior and Lord, that they in turn might share [H]im with others.”¹ The spirit of evangelism is compassion, the method is sharing, the content is Good News, the recipients are lost people, the power is the Holy Spirit, the purpose is to bring them to Christ as Savior and Lord, and the perpetuation is that they might win others to Christ.² Spurgeon helps to clarify that this process is one of grace and truth insofar that compassion does not mean that we are to compromise the truth and utter falsehoods. He states that “[God] may bless the truth that is mixed in with error, but much more blessing would have come if the preaching [or evangelizing] had been more in accordance with His own Word.”³ That is to say, truth is necessary, but Spurgeon also commits to compassion:

I hate to hear the terrors of the Lord proclaimed by men whose hard countenances, harsh tones, and unfeeling spirits betray a sort of doctrinal dehydration: all the milk of human kindness is dried out of them… Whatever I believe, or do not believe, the commandment to love my neighbor as myself still retains its claim upon me. God forbid that any views or opinions should so contract my soul and harden my heart as to make me forget this law of love!⁴

This is a clear and concise summary and definition of Evangelism as well as its spirit. It is done in accordance with God’s Word, compromising no amount of truth yet delivered in humility, compassion, grace, and love.

Discipleship is not contrary to evangelism; it is not an entirely different task. Instead, it is the logical conclusion of evangelism and proceeds from it. According to the Great Commission, a proof-text for missional endeavors and evangelism, making disciples is akin to telling others of Jesus. When individuals repent of their sins and confess Christ as their Savior, they are to be baptized in the Trinitarian formula: “of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”⁵ Thus, they become disciples and are “taught to observe all that [Jesus] commanded [them].”⁶ This teacher-student relationship developed after evangelism characterizes discipleship and should be practiced by the church and individual Christians. Paul guided Timothy and Titus in the Faith within the context of specific churches, and he also taught them through personal letters until they could make their own disciples, demonstrating the perpetuation of evangelism.⁷

Evangelism and discipleship are to be practiced by individuals in their imitation of Christ, who is the greatest evangelist of all time, as demonstrated by his life of ministry and events such as his interaction with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well.⁸ Even Jesus’ incarnation is evangelistic as He came to preach His Gospel and accomplish the salvation of His people. Furthermore, Jesus had many disciples whom He taught and spent time with. Therefore, because individual Christians seek to imitate Christ in all things, they must also imitate Him in evangelism and discipleship. The Church is the body of Christ. Thus, it makes sense that the Church would also be evangelistic and discipleship-minded. The Church is the representative and witness of Christ and light of the world, not because of any material worth, but because of who they have been made to be as Christ’s body.⁹ The worth of the church is derived from Christ’s worth, and the message it announces is His Gospel.¹⁰

Just as the spiritual disciplines are personal and interpersonal, so are evangelism and discipleship.¹¹ The spiritual disciplines go hand in hand with these two practices because their goal is to conform Christians to the image of Christ.¹² When the spiritual disciplines are practiced, and Christians become more like Jesus, evangelism and discipleship characterize Christians and the church composed of God’s people. Therefore, Christians, both in their personal endeavors and interpersonal endeavors with the Church as Christ’s body, must practice evangelism and discipleship. The world depends on the Message of Christ they carry.¹³

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Footnotes

1. Timothy K. Beougher, Invitation to Evangelism: Sharing the Gospel with Compassion and Conviction (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2021), 9. ↩

2. Ibid., 9-16. ↩

3. Charles H. Spurgeon, The Soulwinner (New Kensington: Whitaker House, 1995), 17. ↩

4. Ibid., 19-20. ↩

5. Matt. 28:19. Unless otherwise specified, all subsequent Bible references in this paper are to the English Standard Version (ESV) (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016). ↩

6. Matt. 28:20. ↩

7. Beougher, 16. ↩

8. Ibid., 35-37. ↩

9. Beougher, 31-35. ↩

10. Ibid., 31. ↩

11. Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life: Revised and Updated (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2014), 5. ↩

12. Ibid., 6. ↩

13. Beougher, 35. ↩