Follow Jesus, and evangelism happens

Posted: 3/17/06

Follow Jesus, and evangelism happens

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

ARLINGTON—God calls Christians to take their faith with them wherever they go, said Victor Rodriguez, pastor of South San Filadelfia Baptist Church in San Antonio.

Christ does not ask people to develop strategies that rely on their knowledge but wants their actions to reflect their beliefs, Rodriguez told the Baptist General Convention of Texas Hispanic Evangelism Conference. If people do as Christ desires, non-Christians will come to faith.

“Christ had a plan for his church,” Rodriguez said. “It was not man’s plan. It was God’s plan.”

In Christ’s plan, his followers share the gospel with people who have not accepted it as true, the pastor said. Christians seek nonbelievers so they may know Christ as well.

For this to happen, church leaders must train laypeople in three stages of spiritual development—conversion, maturation and reproduction, Rodriguez said. Individuals first come to faith, grow in it and share the gospel with other people who become Christians.

This method is how Christ instructed his disciples, Rodriguez noted. He showed them how to live faithful lives. “Christ taught by example with his life.” Then the disciples tried to follow his model.

A passion for living this way will infect other people, he said. When people are invigorated by an idea or belief system, people around them become excited. The excitement of one person can change an entire congregation, he stressed.

This technique of evangelism may seem simple, but it is from God, Rodriguez said. God’s desire for our lives remains the same.

“The plan of Christ never changes,” he said.