Evangelism Is a Team Effort

Certain things can't be done alone.

You can't play football by yourself. It takes a team to block and tackle, pass and catch.

You can't form a choir by yourself. It takes others to fill in the harmony parts.

A child on a playground can't enjoy a teeter-totter without a partner.

And did you ever try to fasten a sheet of drywall on the ceiling without any help? It can be done, but it's far more difficult if you're alone.

We aren't meant to be free-lance Christians. When you become a follower of Christ, the Lord adds you to a growing body of believers. You need them and they need you.

Why, then, do we often talk about evangelism as if it's a one man show? Of course, the Great Commission applies to every individual Christian. We all have a personal responsibility to make disciples. Some in your family, neighborhood, and work-place will hear the gospel best if they hear it from you—and others may not hear it at all if not from you.

Just don't think you have to do it alone.

Back when church-sponsored revivals were in their hay-day, many assumed that the traveling evangelist, an expert soul-winner, would drive into town and use his unique skills to persuade lost people. Successful revivals, however, happened when many members of the congregation worked behind the scenes to plan, pray, reach out, and follow up. Even the most gifted visiting preacher eventually finished his work and drove on to the next town, leaving members of the local congregation to continue teaching and loving the new believers left behind.

Jesus didn't send his disciples out one by one; he sent them two by two. Each had a partner to provide support and accountability. One biblical list of the 12 apostles mentions them in groups of two, perhaps to indicate which ones partnered together: "Simon . . . and his brother Andrew . . . Philip and Bartholomew . . . Thomas and Matthew the tax collector," and others (Matthew 10:2, 3).

The apostle Paul didn't see himself and Apollos as sole proprietors or competitors. They were teammates with a common goal: "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow" (1 Corinthians 3:6). Priscilla and Aquila were his colleagues—"fellow workers in Christ Jesus" (Romans 16:3). "Fellow workers" translates the Greek synerges, from which we derive our word "synergy"—the term for cooperative action. Paul's friends were his "synergizers." They made him more effective than he would have been alone.

It's still that way today. In the body of Christ, not everyone is the mouth. Some are hands, feet, or ears. Someone plants a gospel seed through a kind deed or by building a long-term friendship with a non-Christian. Another believer waters the seed by inviting her friend to church, by recommending a book or a sermon tape that answers a troublesome question, or by sharing her testimony about the difference Christ has made in her life. Someone preaches, and the words hit home. In time, a new believer comes to Christ and emerges from baptism as a member of the team with his own unique gifts to share.

The fields are ripe for harvest, and it takes a team to cover all the fields. Whatever your role, do it well so that when lost people are found, "the sower and the reaper may be glad together" (John 4:36).