Should every Christian be a soul-winner? This question has presented itself to most, if not all, believers, and frequently with some measure of guilt and even torment. Perhaps we should begin by rephrasing the question. Since, in the final analysis, only the Spirit of God can win souls, maybe we need to ask: Should every Christian be a personal evangelist? Most of us want to be, or at least we wanted to be when we were new in Christ. Rebuff by family, friends, acquaintances, or even strangers may have taken its toll on our desire. Discouragement over lack of results may have dampened our ardor. Just lack of knowledge on how to proceed, or perhaps fear of failure may have caused some to give up the dream of evangelizing, or even have turned the dream into a nightmare.

When I was associate pastor of a little church in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, I had charge of the visitation program. The idea was to have as large a group of people as possible show up on Thursday night, split them into pairs, and go out doorbell ringing, hoping to find people at home that we could lead to Christ. The program wasn’t all that popular. Although nearly everyone in the congregation wanted to win others to Christ, few ever showed up. There were times, in fact, when I was the only doorbell ringer. Occasionally I would be full of enthusiasm, especially if I had particularly good results witnessing to someone at work that day. More often than not, however, I had a generous amount of dread mixed in with my enthusiasm. Frequently it was all dread and no enthusiasm...and I was the Visitation Pastor! I remember so many times that I rang someone’s bell hoping they wouldn’t answer. Often, when I rang my eighth bell and wasn’t admitted, I would breathe a deep sigh of relief and head for home. Neither God nor my senior pastor could expect me to do more.

What had happened to the person I used to be when I was first saved...the guy who lived to preach on street corners, in parks, taverns, rescue missions, jails and hospitals? How was it that the greatest privilege possible to a believer had become an unwelcome chore?

I believe that there are two answers. One, my doctrine was all wrong. My legalism had sapped my faith of all vitality, replacing an ongoing adventure with the staleness of a routine. I never knew from day to day whether God was unhappy with me, if He was really "on my side," or when He was out to get me for some miscue. Delighting in the Lord had turned into grinding with Samson in the mill!

This dismal experience only ended when I discovered, through Bible study, that we are now living in the Dispensation of Grace (not Law or Kingdom) (Ephesians 3:1-9), that Paul is our Apostle (not the Twelve) (Romans 11:13), and that God is consistently dealing with me as a new creature in Christ, and not as an old creature in Adam (Colossians 3:3). The spark of joy in Christ returned, and grew into a flame!

Secondly, I realized that evangelism is not a duty that God has imposed on me, withholding blessing when I fail to discharge my obligation to Him. Evangelism is the natural consequence of being constantly and increasingly excited about Christ, His Person and work! (John 1:40-45)

Some years ago I assumed my first senior pastorate in a little country church in a western suburb of Chicago. Initially, the attendance at the mid-week meeting ran about ten individuals. After a month or two, I announced that I would begin to teach a course on Personal Evangelism on Prayer Meeting night. BINGO! Sixty people showed up the first night and the numbers grew as the weeks went on. When the course was completed, the numbers dropped. People wanted information on personal evangelism, of that I’m sure. I’m also reasonably sure that the course did little or no good for those who sat through it. Rejection, discouragement, and fear continued to defeat my "graduates."

Someone has noted that people don’t learn to fly airplanes in classrooms, nor do they learn to lead others to a saving faith in Christ there. The classroom plays its important part both in flying and "witnessing," but real learning comes through trying, succeeding, and sometimes, failing. In His earthly ministry, our Lord said to His Jewish students, "Come after me, and I will make you become fishers of men" (Mark 1:17). They weren’t fishers of men, they were just fishers of fish. There was to be a process involved in their becoming fishers of men; a process in which they would copy His example.

Is sharing the good news about Christ with others really difficult? Most believers seem to think so. The truth is that sharing can be much easier than commonly thought. There is an old saying, "Strike a circle of three feet around the cross, and keep your conversation within it." The newest baby in Christ can begin to share the excitement of salvation with others by doing this.

New believers usually start their spiritual lives with very little doctrine, but, if they realize that their salvation was completely effected by Christ on Calvary (Romans 3:24), they can be used of God to make the way of salvation plain to others. As a new believer, I had the pleasure of seeing others come to Christ when I spoke to them of the Savior, in spite of my limited knowledge of God’s Word. I had the greatest success when I stuck to the little I knew and didn’t try to answer every possible question or objection that the other person raised. We could say, "Everyone makes mistakes; mistakes are bad!" I prefer to say, "Everyone makes mistakes; mistakes are good!" The things we do wrong, especially if we learn valuable lessons from them, can be as much stepping stones to the future as the things we do right. No one can become a major league ball player without making thousands of mistakes along the way.

So! Study daily what God has made Christ to be to you and what He has made you to be in Him...it’s all right there in the Pauline Epistles. The Holy Spirit will then provide you with a genuine and ongoing excitement over Christ and your unchangeable union with Him. Also, begin your "flying lessons"--not in the living room--out at the "airport!" Strike your circle of three feet around the cross and keep the person you are witnessing to within it. Do it all prayerfully and lovingly, and leave the results to God!