Day 6 of 50

READING GUIDE:

• Read today's devotion below.
• During days 1-7 (at your own pace) read chapters 1 and 2 from Joining Jesus on His Mission.
• After days 1-7, meet with your small group and follow the back-of-the-book discussion guide for SESSION 1.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV)

For many in the church the word “evangelism” is found scary and intimidating. Why is that? When I began reading books on evangelism back in the ‘90s, while inspiring because they were certainly about people coming to know Jesus, they seemed to focus more on what we did for Jesus’ mission. These books alluded that one’s conversion to Christ would happen because of our sole efforts. That is scary...and false. Such writings put more emphasis on the “go therefore…”, making readers feel alone in the act of evangelism, and less emphasis on the “I am with you always.”

Finke takes this further in chapter 2, “Jesus is inviting me to join him on his mission. He does not give me a mission to do for him. Jesus is on a mission and he invites me to come with him...a great relief. If I go for Jesus, I am doing the work and seeing the results of what I can accomplish. When I go with Jesus, he is doing the work and I am seeing the results of what Jesus can accomplish. One is hard, the other is fun. One is exhausting, the other is energizing. One causes me to worry (‘Did I do everything correctly?’), the other causes me to be at peace (‘Let’s see what Jesus does next.’) One tempts me to force things with people, the other invites me to keep loving people.”

How does this give you a new mindset on evangelism and what it means to be a missionary in your neighborhood?