Evangelism: The Question

WOW!  I have so much to tell you ... I apologize up front for the multitude of posts you are about to be bombarded with, ... but hopefully you will not be annoyed, but blessed.

Well, yesterday we had our last official meeting for our mission trip to Honduras. WOW! That really puts it into perspective how close it really is! There are exactly 40 days now before we leave for Honduras.

At the meeting, we role played a bit to give us a chance to get an idea of what it might be like for those of us “working” in Evangelism during our time in Honduras. If you remember, there will be multiple opportunities to serve in Honduras:

Medical

Dental
Vision
Pharmaceutical
Evangelism
Children’s Ministry/Hair Washing
Concrete

For those of us who are in Evangelism, we will likely be in groups of three.  The groups will consist of one Honduran, one translator and one team member.  When one of the Honduran people is brought to us, we will greet him/her and introduce ourselves and maybe ask a few questions to give us some background on the individual.  But ultimately, there's a question that needs to be asked (may be asked in a variety of ways, but same basic point): 

     When you die, do you know where you are going? 
     If you were to die tonight, would you go to heaven?
     Do you know whether or not you are saved?

 Seem harsh, ... direct ... too personal??  This is why we are going to Honduras.  As I said in THIS POST, "the primary goal of our Mission to Honduras is to share the powerful message of salvation in Jesus with the Honduran people."  We hope and pray that we are lead to ask the question in just the right way. 

Based on the response to the question, the conversation could go one of two ways:

     The Honduran could state that he/she is not a "believer" and we would then share the truth about Jesus and pray with him/her.
      The Honduran might state that he/she IS already a "believer" and we would ask if there is anything we could pray for him/her.

There are a variety of scenarios that could lead us to witnessing to each Honduran we come in contact with, but during our training this particular incident was shared with me.

A Honduran man came through and was "on the side" hearing the message being shared with others.  A female team member witnessed the man's eyes welling up with tears.  She didn't know if perhaps the man's eyes were welling because he had received some dental work and might be experiencing some pain but she went with it and told another team member that the Honduran might be open to talking with them.  He sat with them and the male team member did much of the conversing (via the translator) and the female team member prayed and prayed.  The Honduran listened to the Gospel message and stated that he was a bad man.  The male team member stated that he was a "bad man" too, even providing examples of things that he had done in his past and how accepting Jesus had changed all that for him.  The Honduran man replied that those things were not the same, that he was a VERY bad man.  The female team member was feeling very strongly that the Holy Spirit was prompting her to ask the man if he wanted to confess something and through the translator they told the Honduran man this and asked him if he wanted to confess anything.  The Honduran man was very open to this and proceeded to tell them that just three weeks before the moment he was sitting there he had murdered a Coca-Cola delivery-man so that he could get money to send his daughter to kindergarten. 

I am really glad that this was shared with me because I feel that I need to be prepared for someone to tell me something shocking or hard to listen to.  Regardless of what that man did, he was just as much deserving of God's Grace in that moment as anyone else and they walked him along the path to Salvation and he became a "NEW MAN" that day!! 

That is why Jesus came!  ... to provide the path to Salvation ... That is why we are going to Honduras ... to help them choose that path!


1 Timothy 2:3b-4 (NLT) ...God our Savior, ⁴ who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

2 Peter 3:9 (NIV) The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

John 3:17 (NIV) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.