I then told this brother that we loved him and were available to him and that if he ever needed someone to talk to, he could call us any time day or night. I also made a commitment to myself to call him at least once a week and get together with him as often as I could.

When we gave him what he really needed, which was expressed love and concern at that point, not condemnation, he decided to repent of his homosexual sin. We prayed together with him and left.

That was several years ago. For the two years I was living in that town until I moved I kept that commitment, and so had the other brother in calling him and seeing him whenever he could. The end result was this brother did not go back to his old life-style of homosexual sin.

Had we come over and simply condemned him for his homosexual sin alone, this would not have brought him to repentance, but only driven him more deeply into it since it would have only more greatly confirmed the root sin: The Church’s unjustified rejection of him while in a repented state.

All this man needed was for someone to show him that they cared about him as a human being and that he had value as a brother in the body of Christ. Had the Church he attended had a Layman’s Evangelism Program and had at least reached out to him personally in his home, he would have had the restraint against his weaknesses in the flesh despite the immature dealings of his person by other members of that Church. Laymen taking the initiative to reach out Evangelistically, even to their own fellow church members, is not an option; it is an absolute necessity for any Church if it is to remain healthy spiritually. God only knows how many Christians have fallen back into the world and died spiritually over this same kind of false rejection. "For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep," are dead.

Paul writes in Romans 10:13-15,

"For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. How then shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!’"

Many people have gone to Church all their lives but have never made a decision for Jesus Christ because on a mass appeal it is sometimes too easy to reason one’s way out of it. But in a face to face one on one encounter it is harder to say no. You know it is the right thing to do and in the face of another human being you do not want the other person to think or Jesus to think you are ashamed of making that decision. Therefore, through the encouragement of another human being you finally find the courage to make that most important life decision you need to make. You as a Layman Evangelist provide this kind of encouragement that mass appeal cannot. Charles Goodell, an early twentieth century preacher, was a revival preacher to the masses, but he was discerning enough also to realize that not all will respond in a mass appeal situation. He writes about his own practice as a Revival Preacher and Evangelist,

"Throughout his [my] ministry the writer’s practice has been to follow-up the revival sermon by Pastoral visitation, devoting to that purpose the afternoon of each day. He has gone to those families where there were unconverted and urged their presence at the services. Where the unconverted have been present at the meetings but have made no movement towards Christ a few words spoken under the guidance of the Spirit in a heart-to-heart talk in the privacy of the home have led to quick and complete surrender."^73/23

I find that one of the reasons people don’t turn to the church to get answers to their sin and guilt is just for that reason: they are bound up with guilt and are convinced they are so bad they cannot be saved or accepted by God. One time while doing door to door Evangelism, my partner and I came to the door of a man who said he was visiting his sister. After sharing the Gospel with him, He also told us that he was a mercenary by trade and that he knew he was going to hell. We did not know why the man believed this and we did not pry into the reasons why, but we did share with him that no matter his sin, that if he would turn to Jesus, Jesus would forgive him.

Often times people are so bound by their guilt, that even if they want to turn to God they are not able to because they feel so unworthy. It is only as we, a born again Christian, who knows the Savior, encourages that person to turn to Jesus that they find the courage to turn to Jesus. This person’s guilt will keep him or her from turning to the church for answers because they are convinced there are no answers. John the Apostle wrote in 1 John 4:17, "As he is, so also are we in this world." How do people know what Jesus will do if they turn to Him? They do not know. The only way they come to know is when His representatives, you and I, go to them and share Jesus’ love and forgiveness with them. This is because we represent Jesus to them. Through our encouraging them to turn to Christ, they find the courage to turn to Jesus.

Due to the size of our population today one preacher cannot possibly do all the one on one follow-up of every person that attends a revival or crusade; but this work can be accomplished if the members of a church, the Christian Laymen, work with their Pastor’s to reach out to the lost and hurting in their communities by giving a minimum of two hours of their time a week for this purpose. With today’s inner-city populations, it is impossible for a Pastor alone to be able to give every person in his Church and surrounding community the necessary one-on-one contact needed to minister to each individual’s needs and share with them how to have eternal life through Jesus. It is impossible without all the members of the church getting involved in this work also. When you finish this Training Program in Evangelism, take the initiative and go to your Pastor and volunteer to help him in doing the necessary door to door Evangelism in your community and the necessary one-on-one visitation of people who have attended your church services.

The writer of Hebrews states in Hebrews 12:11-13,

"All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed."

The word strengthen in the Greek is anorqow (AnorthaÇ). It means "to set straight, set up; to set upright, set straight again; made erect again, restore, strengthen."⁷⁷

As was stated in an earlier portion of this chapter, many times members of the body are hurting or are under attack and find themselves not strong enough to overcome the battles that they face alone. Many times instead of stronger believers reaching out and encouraging the weaker brethren, they sit at home and rationalize in their hearts why this brother or sister is a sinner and a hopeless case, and thus talk themselves out of going and visiting them to find out why they are wavering and not continuing steadfastly in the faith and with the body. The Bible gives no provision for this kind of self-righteous attitude, but instead tells us that we are responsible to uphold and strengthen those who are weak so that they do not fall away. We are our brother’s and each other’s, keeper.

Many times brothers or sisters are wavering and we are not aware of it because we are not being exposed to it. Through your weekly involvement in Layman’s Evangelism you will come in contact with people in this weakened condition and be able to correct and encourage them in their faith. You will also be able to pray for the person’s needs which in itself is an encouragement. Finally through further contact you will be able to continue to encourage the person in their faith until they are stable in their relationship with Jesus.

The Apostle John writes in 1 John 3:17-18,

"But whoever has the biological means of life, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth."

There are people who are old and sickly, in rest homes, or bed ridden who because of circumstances beyond their control cannot come to Church and get the fellowship they need. You as a Christian Layman can go and visit these people, pray with them, administer communion and in many cases lead them to Jesus.

Some Churches that I have approached about the value and necessity of Laymen’s Evangelism outreach, after careful thought about the issue, decided to start home fellowships as the answer to this need. Though the intent is well meaning it is not the answer to the need. Why? Home fellowships are an important part of a Church ministry. The problem is they only attract those who are already faithful Church goers. If a Christian has been hurt by Christians, until that hurt is healed he is not going to chance getting involved in a more intimate setting of Christians only to get hurt again; and the only way that hurt is going to get healed is when properly trained laymen take the initiative to go to that person’s home and show unconditional Christian love and whatever else is necessary to convince that Christian that he is important and needed in the body of Christ.

What about the unsaved who won’t step into a Church? If they won’t step into a Church they are not going to step into a home fellowship either. Home fellowships are important and necessary, but they do not replace nor meet the needs which can only be satisfied through an Evangelism Outreach Program. It is not an either or proposition either. Both have their place in Church ministry and compliment each other when viewed and exercised in their right context.

Jesus said in Luke 6:38,

"Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."

I’ve been doing Evangelism work for thirty-four years. Every time I go out and give of myself and time, I receive assurance of salvation as I share the Gospel with others; assurance of forgiveness of my sins as I share God’s forgiveness with others; and answers to my own questions as I seek God’s wisdom to answer the questions people have that are hanging them up in their relationship with God. Every time I give of myself to others I grow in my relationship with Jesus and in a deeper understanding of His love and who He is. This entire Textbook is a demonstration of God’s goodness and truth that if we give what He has given to us, He will give us more.

In another passage the Apostle Paul wrote concerning womanhood, "But women shall be saved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint." (1 Tim 2:15). When people have children, if they have any conscience at all, they will alter their life-style to make sure that the child grows up in a proper moral environment. Bearing spiritual children has the same effect on Christians. One of my former students, Rebecca Matteson, who went through my Basic and Advanced School of Evangelism wrote the following in her evaluation of what the Basic Program of Evangelism and Discipleship did for her,

"Learning how to explain my faith has given me greater confidence, and the experience of going witnessing to practice sharing Jesus has challenged me in my walk with Jesus, since it’s hard to share something that isn’t real in your own life."⁷⁴

As Rebecca would go out and share her faith with others, wanting to have a good witness in life-style as well as word before men, she would become convicted of those things in her life she felt were not only a stumbling block in her relationship with God but also to the Gospel she was sharing. The end result was her drawing closer to God and getting those things right. It caused her to grow in her relationship with God. Staying involved in Evangelism will keep your faith alive, keep you close to Jesus and cause your faith in Him to continually grow stronger and stronger every day.