THE EFFICACY OF ONE ON ONE WITNESSING

THE EFFICACY OF ONE ON ONE WITNESSING

           Jesus christ left us with a command to go and make disciples of all nations. There are various ways to reach out to souls especially those that are not in the fold, from preaching in the church, outreaches to villages , campus, schools, morning cries, bus evangelism, preaching on radios, television , social media, tracts evangelism and many more . All these methods are effective and no doubts many souls have been won through it. Of all these methods, one on one witnessing is the most effective, though it may be slow but it generates satisfactory results. The Scripture affirms to it. Jesus christ engaged in all forms of evangelism as he preached from one village to another, he preached to crowd in thousands, he preached to one hundred and two, he preached to 12, he preached to three and he preached to individuals too. The documented one on one of Jesus’s witnessing were very effective and yield instant results. Jesus witnessed to Nicodemus who visited him at night, Jesus witnessed to the Samaritan woman beside the well. The disciples of Jesus also maximised one on one witnessing. Philip witness to Ethiopian Eunuch.

          One on one witnessing is efficient because you have direct contact with the person, there is eye contact, you can read the person’s interest and it becomes easier when the Holy Spirit takes over the process, you touch the person soul , you have the person’s attention and have opportunities to take feedback from the person, ask questions , interact and ultimately leading the person to make a decision to accept Jesus christ. The meeting of Jesus with the Samaritan woman encapsulated all these. Jesus initiated the conversation by asking for water from the woman, he was aware of the cultural boundaries between them, the woman refused by reminding him that Jews don’t have anything to do with Samaritans who are considered as mixed breeds as a result of intermarriage between non Jews. Jesus used that opportunity to present himself to her and preached the sound gospel to her, Jesus told her all she knew to know and the result was she believed Jesus as Messiah and went round the town to share the gospel of Christ to them. Jesus witnessed to one person, she was saved and witnessed to more people on that day and the Scripture recorded that many Samaritans came to know Jesus Christ as a result of her testimonies about Jesus christ.

         My experience

          I have engaged in tracts evangelism, bus evangelism, village outreach, witnessing in a lecture hall of 1500 capacity and 3000 capacity. Morning cries, market evangelism . In all these I have discovered that the most effective of all is one on one witnessing because you have the person’s undivided attention and you are getting feedbacks right there. Some years back in Ogbomosho, I was on street for one on one witnessing , I met a young lady with her fellow neighbours or friends. Immediately I got there and told them my mission to witness, she drew closer, others were watching afar and I preached. I discovered that she was so touched by the message that the atmosphere changed. After I ended the message, she told her friends that” this message entered me, as if I have never heard such in my life” . That is a feedback, you can measure the results unlike morning cries that you can’t even know whether they are listening or not. Or in a crowd except you give altar call you may not get response. One on one evangelism gives room to address their soul in a unique way. Have engaged ten people in one on one witnessing in a day and I preached different message according to their spiritual needs . Each soul have a unique spiritual need which the Holy Spirit knows about. One on one witnessing is very effective if you allow the Holy Spirit to take full control and charge. He will lead you to where your souls are. Miracles abound while ministering one on one, the Holy Spirit will give you unction and rhema to minister directly to their spiritual needs. At times you sense the power like a surge flowing through you. There was a time I was evangelizing one on one and the word became bitter in my mouth as I preached. By the time I finished, the person am ministering too could not even look at my eyes again.

     Steps in engaging in an effective one on one evangelism.

1 pray well before going out for one on one evangelism. It is in prayer you will have the boldness to witness and direction on where to go. There was a day I prepared to go for one on one witnessing. I have prayed. On reaching the field, I walk miles, seeing people but just could not preach to them. After a while, I decided to go back home, I was almost reaching home when I heard the Holy Spirit saying you did not pray enough, the reason you are unable to witness. I intensified my prayers in coming days, went back to the same place and I was able to preach to as many souls as possible. Zeal is not enough, you need power in the place of prayer.

2 live a fasted live. The price of their soul was expensive and Jesus paid it all. Fasting will make you sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and subdue the flesh. Witnessing is a work in the spirit. You have to labour in the place of prayer and Fasting, it is in that process that the spirit of this world controlling those souls are subdued.

3 live a consecrated life. Live what you preach. Let others see Jesus in you.

4 Give yourself to reading and meditation of the Scripture. Study the Scripture, let it be part of your

5 Be precise, don’t bore them with stories, preach only Jesus and be as brief as possible . Maintain eye contact and take feedback

6 Dress smart, neat and smell nice.

7 Be kind. You are representing Jesus. Whatever insult you receive, take it with gratitude without responding back

8 be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. There are people you will want to talk to but the Holy Spirit will restrain you and there are people you will want to avoid them but Holy Spirit will tell you to talk to them.

9 Allow the Holy Spirit to take charge of the discuss. Do not allow the flesh to “hi jack” the discussion and do not allow the witnessee to divert the discussion to politics, religion debate and argument.

10 Avoid dabbling into issues that will cause arguments. Preach only Scripture

11 Speak the language the person understand. If the person don’t understand you, the whole exercise will be futile

12 respect cultural boundaries. Do not speak against the culture of the person you are preaching to. Identify with their culture

13 Do not publicise your church or mandate them to come to your church

Generally, one on one witnessing is the work of the Holy Spirit, open your mouth and he will fill it. No one is an expert in it. At every moment you still need to depend and partner with the owner of the business for it to be effective and efficient. In the last days we need to depend more on Holy Spirit so that he can lead us to witness to people on individual basis. Every believer should engage in one on one witnessing as it is the most effective tool of evangelism to harvest souls for Christ in the last days. The effectiveness does not lie on the number of people you are able to reach but the number of people that give their lives to christ completely and served him for the rest of their lives.

©️ Abolanle Oladipupo

30/12/ 2024

Redefining the Cross over service

            RE-DEFINING THE CROSS OVER SERVICE

   The cross over service is predominant in churches in Nigeria and a tradition on every new year eve . Cross over service was dated back to 18th century, John wesley started crossover service as an alternative to secular new year eve where they partied, dined and wined into the new year. The cross over service was majorly to reflect, pray and re-dedicate ones life to Christ. Christianity officially came into Nigeria in 1842, no record of cross over services in Nigerian churches until in the 70s and 80s which was marked with the surge of pentecostal and charismatic churches. The cross over services are usually a time for breakthrough prayers , prophetic prayers, spiritual renewal and fortification for the incoming year combine with prophecies for the year. Gradually, mainline churches also adapted the cross over services in the late 80s and 90s in order to keep some of their members who flock into these churches on 31st of December.

         Today, crossover service has become a church tradition in Nigeria. Many people who do not believe in going to Churches usually attend the cross over service just to pray for breakthrough into the year. There is so much ado about 31st December that you think it must be a special day that heavens are open and whatever prayer you pray on that day shall be answered. There is no day that is special, it is humans that make a day special, no day is special or unique to God. 31st December is Just like any other day in the calendar. Do not religiously believe that the day is special to heavens. Whatever God have put in your mind to do for him, start doing it now. Do not wait till you enter another year, all days are important, if we take all days serious the way we take 31st December, many lives would have changed for the best. People that have vision , goals and destiny to fulfill do not joke with their days. Twenty four hours is long enough to succeed in life. In a day so many things can happen that will turn life around for good. Take every day serious and see it as just the last day you have on earth. Have you ever wondered that we all have twenty four hours, some make judicious use of it and is not enough while to some it is too much for them that they have to waste some away in watching others that are actively using their time. The difference between the two is planning. If you do not plan your day well, it will not be productive, time is the currency on earth, if you do not plan how to use it, you will waste it. So many lies have been told under the guise of religion and one of it is if you pray well on December 31st, your year is settled and it will be different. You are crossing over from failure to success and many more. Prayers are not enough if it is not back up with planning, determination and diligence. The cross over is usually mark with theme of the year like “ 2025 my year of glory” 2025 my year of breakthrough “ 2025 my year of abundant blessings “ . Hardly will you find 2025 my year of walking closer with God” The theme are usually tied to prosperity and breakthrough. The cross over service should primarily focus on the spiritual well being of the people with focus to ascertain if they are still in faith It should be a time for them to sit down, reflect on previous years and come up with plans, goals and decisions geared towards making them a better disciple of Christ. Meditation is a spiritual discipline and should be a spiritual exercise Christians should do daily and more of it in on 31st December. Thinking and reflecting on what you have achieved for God and humanity.

               It is high time we had mind shift regards watch night service. We have had enough of watch night services, we have had enough of new year prophecies, we have had enough of breakthrough prayers, it is time we look inward and meditate on the state of our spirituality and that of the nation. There is need to intentionally teach and disciple church members who are willing to be ambassadors of Christ wherever they find themselves. If there must be a watch night service, it should be redefined by going to the foundation as practiced by John Wesley It should be a service that people will be led to praise God, release them to be alone with God, reflect on the past year and guide them to rededicate their lives to christ . Many crossover services in today’s churches are full of jamboree and fun without a call to live a consecrated life that is pleasing to God. If watch night services are done in the right way it will yield fruit of righteousness.

©️ Abolanle Oladipupo

29/12/2024

Theological review of seven doors by Femi Adebayo

         THEOLOGICAL REVIEW OF SEVEN DOORS BY FEMI ADEBAYO.

         The film script is spiritually rich and theologically deep revealing that truly there are ancestral curses, covenants and consequences for every actions. Curses are real and they do not just happen without reasons. There are school of thoughts that draw their beliefs from the Scripture . The first school of thoughts believe that curses do not have a hold on Christians. Why? Jesus have been made a curse for them. As it is written in Galatians 3:13. Cursed is anyone that dies on tree, by dying on the cross, Jesus put an end to all ancestral curses or inherited curses. Just believe, curse have no way. They also base their belief on what Ezekiel said in ( Ezekiel 18:2) that every one shall bear the consequences of their sins and never shall the proverb be said again in Israel that the fathers have eaten sour grapes and teeth of the children have been set on edge. second school of thought believe curses can affect a Christian and all he needs to do is to pray his way out by standing on the works of Christ on the cross and God in his mercies will take it away.

            Both school of thoughts are theologically correct but to discard that curses or negative covenants do not affect a Christian may be wrong because there are several testimonies from Christians who are living witnesses of how curses and negative covenants limit them till God in his mercies give them victories over them. Knowledge is very important, many people have perished because of knowledge. Seven doors shows that being good is not enough, the king have a good heart with wealth of exposure to change the lot of the town but the evils of his father’s house spoke against him. His real enemies were not the beaded chiefs who were corrupt but the evil of his household. Household demons are always waiting at the peak of a man’s achievement to challenge a man and if the man is not strong enough he may loose his life. There are sacrifices strong man will not ask from you until you reach certain heights. The reason why you have to intensify your spirituality as you climb the ladder of success in life. King Adedunjoye was prepared for the battles that lied ahead of him, he was fortified and initiated . Trouble began when he was asked to knock seven doors but he refused. The king didn’t know that thrones are preserved by mysteries . His ignorance cost him a son before he was told the reason behind the seven doors. He didn’t ask why he need to knock seven doors . He simply felt it was wrong and discarded it. This is similar to a Christian who didn’t believe there are curses or evil covenant. So many young lives have been wasted and cut short at prime because they do not know that they needed to fight over the curse of untimely death. Nothing just happened. A story was told of a warlord in Ibadan that do ripped babies in foetus of pregnant wives with sword as sacrifices to the gods for victory in battles. Do you think those innocent blood will not cry for vengeance over the children that come from the loins of that man. There was a man in city of Lagos in 70s that raped five daughters of his neighbours and the father of the children laid a curse on him that all his daughters shall experience all he did for his daughter. The man got married , he had five female daughters and they were all raped and impregnated by men that did not marry them.

            The king asked the ifa priest a question. “ why did the gods choose to take vengeance during his own time? The king has forgotten that whatever his great grandfather did, he also did it in his loins. His great grandfather had a great share of the evil seed he sowed, to be bed ridden for over fifty years in pain was a great price for the evil he committed. He could not complete the payment of his satanic debt till death eventually came. The repayment was transferred to his unborn children. If you enjoy the good deeds of your fathers, it is not out of place if you have a share of their evil deeds too.Abraham paid a tithe to Mechizedech and the Scripture recorded that while he was paying the tithe, Levi a grand son was in his loin while he was paying the tithe. Abraham paid tithe, by virtue of that all his seed also paid tithe. Abraham made a mistake , he forgot to cut bird for sacrifice into halves and slept off in the process . On waking up, God told him that his generations will spend 400 years as slaves in a foreign land. Before you do evil remember your children will eat out of it and if you do good likewise, every seed that comes out of you will eat out of it. For every action there are consequences. Just like Sunny Ade sang in one of his songs, before you do evil think twice.

             Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, the crown that the king was tired of is what another Prince wanted. A replica of what happened in the era of his great grandfather, where one engaged the other in a duel and killed the other. That is evil pattern , had the staff carrier successful in his quest the king would have died just like that. The good the king did years back saved his life. It takes death of another man to save a man’s life when his death has been perfected by evil people.Spiritual battles are multi facet just like onion layers. After knocking of seven doors , there was another hurdle to cross, that was Esusu, the man standing on the negative covenants his great father had with him to afflict his family and his kingdom. God is a respecter of covenants. Covenant is blood binding, in as much you carries the blood of the person that makes the Covenant, it is also binding on you. It takes the blood of Jesus and his mercies to take away evil covenants . During the duel between the king and Esusu spirit, he could not prevail until he called his ancestor, it is only a spirit that can defeat a spirit. You cannot defeat a spirit with flesh and blood. When the ancestral spirit of his father appeared, he didn’t engage Esusu in a fight, he only gave him what he needed to kill him and he utilised it well. Victory does not come without a fight. No peace without war. The path to peace in ilara was rough but the end was great.

       A Christian had to wage spiritual warfare to overcome satanic curses and evil covenants. They are real, you cannot do the fighting of alone, invite Jesus to do the fighting for you by standing on what he completed on the cross to possess your freedom from the oppression of the devil. Knowledge is powerful, pray to know the mysteries surrounding your birth, lineage and town . Do a comprehensive spiritual mapping of your lineage and it will give you background information that will help you to wage spiritual warfare effectively. The film is secular but full of lessons for believers and unbelievers. The producer of the film has done greatly and have conveyed deep spiritual truths that are able to transform lives.

©️ Abolanle Oladipupo

17/12/2024

The anointed lout

 The anointed “Agbero”

                 There are power in words. The words of some are powerful probably their tongues are anointed or they are beloved. Anointed are often believe to be people that are religious and morally inclined. My experience sometimes in April this year was an exception. I took a motorcycle to a destination and the rider alighted to buy four sachets of dry gins. (Pelebe ) He opened one to drink. I asked him why going on dry gin while driving. He told me that I would understand later. Few minutes , he alighted at a junction, hailing the union man who controlled the axis. He handed the three sachet gins to him and the man began to pray for him immediately he sipped the gin. I was watching the drama, at a point he stopped and told me that I should not look down on him but rather say amen to his prayers though I may be a pastor but God answer his prayers. He further told me that there is power in gin and the reason why our ancestors used it to pray. I just folded my arms watching him as he continued praying. After his prayers, the motorcycle rider zoomed off, he told me that chairman has been a very nice man and all he needs to do is to buy sachet gins for him and he will blessed him. I eventually got to where I will drop , To my amazement , he told me to give him extra cash. I said for what, he replied, owo adura ti Chairman gba( money for Chairman prayers) I smiled, and replied him that ; “ Chairman prayed for you and not me”.

           Just like a dream, I received thousands of naira as gifts on that day. Wherever I went that day, I was gifted money. I reflected and ruminated on the earlier events in the morning. Could it be a coincidence? Could it be Chairman have an anointed tongue? I also remembered a story I was told of a drunkard who was heavily drunk as of his habit, then a terrible windstorm began, the drunk man just shouted stop in Jesus name and the wind stopped. Is alcohol a spirit? 

              My conclusion is God’s gifts and calling are without repentance. There are so many touts, rogues, smokers, drunkards who carried the anointing of God. Though they are not saved but when they speak, God honours them. Another question for reflection is Can God give sinners spiritual gifts? Yes, have met people who God bestowed gifts of Dreams, whatever they see, come to pass but they are not saved. God is mysterious. His ways are different from out ways and we should learn to show love to all. The terrorist today, can become a pastor tomorrow. Paul terrorised the early Christians, God arrested him and made him a great Apostle. There is no one God cannot use to propagate his works. He said if you keep quiet, I will raise up stones. The stones can be nobody with bad records. Jeremiah said he was anointed from the womb to preach the gospel. There are Jeremiahs who are not yet saved but they are anointed. God have a way of preserving them and will redeem them for his glory.

Abolanle oladipupo 

©️ 29/09/2024

Stop Demarketting the Gospel

 STOP DEMARKETING THE GOSPEL!

        The gospel is simply the message about Jesus Christ. An eternal message, a message of hope, a message of salvation, a message of holiness, a message of glory, a message of repentance, a message of death and resurrection of Christ. A message of joy, a message that changes life, a message that gives a new beginning. A message that heals, A message that break yokes. A message entrusted to Kingdom heralds. The gospel is powerful. It is the message that draw people to the kingdom. Darkness dread the message and strives to render the message inefficient. The kingdom is attack day in, day out but the message is unchangeable. It is a dangling and ever sharpening sword. Violent men arises, unleashing violence against the gospel but they could not overtake the kingdom. To their amazement, the kingdom advances. 

    The enemy engages Demarketing tool, and it seems to be working. Kingdom members are becoming worldly, they are accumulating wealth, hoarding wealth and riches while people surrounding them are poor. They dispute about money and leadership positions. Taking themselves to courts and unbelievers presiding over the affairs of believers. Ministers of God engaging in filthy acts such as adultery, fornication, immorality, corruption and the likes. All these acts is making the gospel unpresentable to an unbeliever. The enemy is keen on making the gospel to lose his power. An unbeliever will say if the gospel cannot save Pastor X from stealing Church funds why should I become a believer.  

Demarketing is real, about 15 year ago, a strong Muslim brother approached me on campus and was kind of bringing up an argument why I evangelized and believe so much in Jesus Christ. I didn’t argue with him, but rather used that opportunity to present the gospel to him. The Holy Spirit convicted him and at the point of changing his mind. He said something “ If truly Christ is the way why do top pastors acquire wealth at the expense of the church. The church members are lacking but the pastor is living large “ He further said: “ I find it difficult to believe that they have Christ because the Christ I read about cannot do that”

The enemy has employed the Demarketing tool in drawing many people from Jesus and it is high time, we repented from all those acts that can make the gospel loose its potency to save and deliver people from darkness. Truly the end time is near and the time is short . The enemy is a roaring like a Lion looking for who to devour. We need to pray for the Holy spirit to shake the church one more time. So that everything that is demarketing the gospel can go away and the truth will stay. This is awakening, a revival when people we see themselves as God sees them and repent from every known sin.

©️ Abolanle oladipupo 

5th October,2024.

Absalom: The King Israel never had

 Absalom: The King Israel never had

A good looking man

Described as the most handsome man on earth

He was intelligent, smart and a outstanding leader

He hated injustice

He could not tolerate evil done against his sister

He took law into his hands

He assassinated his brother in a cold blood 

He critically observed his father's government

He addressed the weaknesses of his father's government

He formed a forum to interact with the people 

He coined a leadership style that appealed to the people

He consistently met the needs of the people

He became man of the people

As powerful as Joab was

He brought him to his knees without combat

What could have attracted the Kings Counselor to him

The man with the counsel of God

Was he doing it for a revenge?

Was he attracted to Absalom's leadership style?

Absalom slept with his father's concubines in a broad day light

He heeded to Ahithophel counsel

His camp was gathering momentum and support

David almost gave up

This was beyond ordinary

The hand of God was against him

He knew

Nathan's curse was at work

His kingdom was crumbling

At a point where all hope seems to be lost

Mercy spoke for him

Hushai advice prevailed over that of Ahitopel

Ahitopel knew that was the end of his kingdom

He hanged himself

Absalom displayed great leadership skills

He was not authocratic

He listened

He sought advice

He was closed to the people

He knew the people's plight

He led with mercy and passion

Had he been alive

It would have been difficult for Solomon to be king

He was a strong contender for the throne

He was wisdom combined with beauty

David loved him

David was willing to die for him to be the king

God's agenda is different from human agenda

Absalom had the leadership skills

God was not looking for skills

God was not looking for his beautiful qualifications

Was he character flawed?

Obviously yes

His hands were soaked with blood

He murdered Amon

He orchestrated a coup that lives were lost

He slept with his father's wives

His flaws might not be the reason God rejected him as king

No perfect human

We all have our flaws

It was not on record that Absalom had affinity for God

Probably His heart was not right with God despite his qualifications

Spirit of God subdue character flaws

A gifted and talented leader without divine checks are dangerous

In human perspective, Absalom could have been better as a king than Solomon

Absalom was better prepared

He was a man not afraid to lead a war

He had all the qualities but God said no

Only God knows why he chose Solomon as king

Solomon admitted his weaknesses

God qualified him and bestowed on him all he needed to be a king

Absalom knew he could not be the king

He could not wait till his father's exit

He staged a coup

Had God not intervened

He would enforce himself on the people

He would lead them according to his will

The name of God may not be glorified

The work of God for that generation might be put on hold

Obviously the Temple might not have been built by him

The heart of the people might have been turned away from God

He would have been tagged the people's king

He might have pleased the people

But failed God

Men were pleased with Saul's leadership

He always put Men's agenda above God's agenda

He was a men pleaser

He reigned for Forty years

His people so loved him that they became volunteers to monitor his arch enemy 

God did not want a repeat of Saul's era

He stopped Absalom

God worked against him

Till the power he desired consumed him

Oh Absalom

You desired a throne

You desired power

You were capable

You were prepared

You were desperate for power

You were willing 

But you have forgotten

 that it is only God that delegates power

And set people on thrones

 ©️ Abolanle Oladipupo

26/10/2023

THE TRAVAILS AND TRIUMPHS OF AN EVANGELIST

 

THE TRAVAILS AND TRIUMPHS OF AN EVANGELIST

        An evangelist is a man with a mission. He is a man with passion and hunger for souls. His primary purpose on earth is to win souls. He is given the mandate to depopulate the Kingdom of darkness. He is a hell razer. He is dreaded by the kingdom of darkness because he has been anointed to preach the gospel that will liberate people from the kingdom of darkness. All ministry gifts are in one way or the other dependent on him. The ministry gifts are interconnected with the purpose of edifying the church. A church that has  the five ministry gifts in operation is blessed beyond measure. To an evangelist, he want all souls to be saved. When he preaches, you will be so touched and broken on the spirit. He exhorts. He called the attention of people to the salvation of their souls. His preaching at times can make you ask yourself :  “am I saved”?  Outstanding Evangelists are men of the word, they are deep in the word and give themselves to word and prayer on daily basis. Evangelist can be spotted by

·        They are people of prayer. It is like praying machine is in them. They pray for hours and cannot just stop praying. It is in prayer they are empowered for the assignment

·        They are burdened to witness to people on a regular basis. They see evangelism as a duty and they do it with zeal.

·        They are not happy when they see people in sins. They call sin by its name. They can’t just look away from people living comfortably in sins. Their joy is to see sinners giving their lives to Christ.

·        Evangelists are well known people in the community because they are identified with the gospel of peace which they preach. Evangelist loves the company of people and are always relating with people. They are loving  and compassionate people.

·        Evangelists are always looking for opportunities to witness. They do not wait for invitations to preach in a church or crusade. At any slight opportunity they present the gospel  on the street, in the car, bus and they do it passionately

·        Evangelist are usually attached to a church. They do not move from one church to another. They have a church where they worship every Sunday and are accountable to the church.

·        Evangelist do not entangle himself with the affairs of this world. He has only one mission and that is to win souls and please his God who has enlisted him into his service.

            An Evangelist is a man of many travails. At times people around him do not understand him. They usually see him as someone that is extreme in his faith. The kingdom matters dominate and burn in his heart. He is concentrated on making heaven and taking as many people as possible along. He cannot cover sins, wherever he is, he is a beacon of light that exposes darkness. He is hated for standing on the truth and speaking the truth at all times. The evangelist does not care if the truth will kill you, he will say it right there. This unique attitude of him earned him a lot of enemies at work and environment. His colleagues in the ministry cannot just tolerate him at times because he is not diplomatic with issues. He usually sees what people call diplomacy as a compromise that will land them in hell. As a result of this he may not have friends even among fellow ministers. Some pastors will say force an evangelist to pastor at least three years, probably he may stop saying some of those things he do say. That is not always true. An evangelist will not even want to pastor a church. His nature will not allow it if he pastor a church, the church may scatter because he cannot just do it successfully. Can you make an Engineer to be a Doctor. This is not possible. This can only be possible if such an Engineer went to medical school and was trained. Though an Engineer, he can still do work of an evangelist. Evangelist that can be forced or accept to pastor a church will be the one that is theologically trained. A lot of errors are committed by an Evangelist who is not theologically trained and we often generalized it as “that is how Evangelist do”. Billy Graham was theologically trained, he pastored for a while before venturing into full evangelical ministry. He pastored well , he was outstanding because he was trained and gave himself to word and prayer. Reinhard Bonkee, a German evangelist was theologically trained, he pastored for three years before venturing into full evangelical ministry.

As an untrained evangelist in the University, I made a lot of errors, I said so many things then which are unnecessary. This earned me unnecessary enemies and hated for no reason. Imagine, leading devotion in the hall, and calling them out that there were lesbians in the hall. You better repent. That sounds too harsh. After theological training, there was a great change, a friend at the University saw me, he was so surprised and could not hide it but confessed “ you are reformed “. Theological training will refined an evangelist. An evangelist without Theological training in a Bible School or seminary is crude and may be toxic. Today only a few knows that I am an evangelist because I have been refined.

           An evangelist greatest problem is discouragement and rejection.

   Discouragement easily sets in. He laboured so much on the field and at times only a few chose to follow him to his church. At times he evangelizes and only a few surrender their lives to Christ. Sometimes no soul at all and this kind of situation makes him discouraged. He pray for people, they get breakthrough but only a few come back to say thank you.  A story was told of an Evangelist who was invited for a open day crusade and no one gave his life to Christ except a little boy. The little boy eventually became a world renowned evangelist. Another Evangelist preached, on the last day, no one came out for testimonies except a man who said God healed him from headache. The evangelist got so mad with God. Few days later he had a migraine, he prayed on it, nothing happened, he remembered how he challenged God for a man God healed of headache in his meetings. He asked God for mercies and God healed him. At times he prays and prays but the situation remain unchanged. People will mock him, call him names and this may dampen his spirit. An Evangelist was once challenged by his church pastor, you keep saying you are evangelizing but how many people have you brought to the church? The Evangelist felt bad, went on his knees and the following week God glorified himself. People came to the church and said evangelist preached to us and we decided to worship in his church.

     Discouragement is like an arrow or dagger in the heart of an evangelist. Discouragement have made many evangelists to stop evangelizing. Some have lost something precious to them, some are not motivated, and some are fainting because reward tarries. Some have prayed for people and those people forget them when they got their breakthrough.

Evangelists are not loved by the people of the world. People can just transfer aggression on them unnecessary for preaching the gospel in public places.  At times he feel lonely with no one to share his burden with. An evangelist can be difficult to understand at times. A few minutes ago he was bubbling in faith, sharing the gospel and suddenly he is lonely, meditating and praying. It is hard for you to understand him, even his fellow ministers can pick up offence against him. He wants to relate with other ministers too but they feel his own is too much. 

     Evangelists are the foot soldiers of the kingdom. This position them as targets for the enemies.  God have  ways of building up his evangelists. They are made in wars which are hard circumstances and situations beyond human understanding.

No matter how the enemy tries, God always make an evangelist to triumph. External battles from the enemy hardly kill an evangelist because God usually back him up mysteriously in such a way that it is beyond human understanding.

Rejection and discouragement is majorly a battle that is hard for an evangelist to win except he learns to build up his faith in God, find his identity in God and encourages himself.  Rejection and discouragement  often leads to depression which can make the health of an evangelist to deteriorates.

           God manifest himself in the ministry of an evangelist just like any other ministry. He usually give him harvest of exploits.  Notable revivals, crusades are spear headed by evangelists. Miracles, healings, deliverance flows like rivers of water in the ministry of an evangelist. Above all  God gives him harvest of souls to the extent that he cannot even know the exact number of souls that have been saved through his ministry. Beyond that, crowns will be given to him in heaven and he will be highly decorated and celebrated. The call to the office of an evangelist is a noble calling that gives God joy in heaven and the host of heaven. Obviously there are problems, an Evangelist see the problem as challenges which he must step on for him to triumph in ministry. He have wounds but God is his healer, strength and comfort. The ministry of an evangelist is a ministry of endurance and suffering. Paul had this to say:

 

2Ti 4:6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure.

 

 2Ti 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

2Ti 4:8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

 

      An Evangelist endured all, he have seen several revelations about heaven. He knows where he is going and he is determined in his mind to take as many people as possible there. He is sure of his crown of righteousness waiting for him, he is sure of mansion waiting for him, he knows that life is not a funfair but battlefield.  He is confident of his faith. He delights in his weaknesses, insults, hardships and persecutions. Why? God’ grace is sufficient for him and he knows that he will keep him strong till the last day. Not all people we call evangelists are evangelists in the real sense of it.  Evangelists have first hand spiritual experience and revelations that you may not believe if they share it with you. They are humble and their watch word is that Christ should be known and make great through them while they are  unknown.  There are very few evangelist in a generation. Evangelists are world shakers. Till today America has not recovered from the evangelistic ministry of Billy Graham. In the scripture only Philip was referred to as an Evangelist. Others do the work of an evangelist but are not evangelist in the real meaning of the actual word. You cannot desire the triumphs, victories, greatness of an evangelist without the travails.  His triumphs are enclosed with pains, suffering and endurance.

©️ Abolanle Oladipupo

24^th September 2022