Daily Devotions
One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. … John 1:40-42a
Over the years I have seen evangelism programs come and go.
Some have been good and effective; others have been less so. All were motivated by a desire to fulfill the Great Commission’s commands to go, teach, preach and baptize.
Of course, there is one evangelism program that has always proven itself to be quite effective: “The Andrew Evangelism Program.” Now the name of the program may be new to you. The program itself is quite old. It is based on the style used by the New Testament’s Andrew to reach out to his brother Simon. The Andrew Evangelism Program asks its adherents to do this:
1. Think of someone who is important to you who doesn’t know or worship Jesus.
2. Moved by an overwhelming desire not to see that person in hell, go to them and say, “I’ve found the Savior. I’d like you to know Him, too. Would you come with me to church?”
That’s it. That’s the whole program.
It doesn’t call for a lot of training; it doesn’t ask you to learn a gazillion Bible passages; it doesn’t ask you to knock on the door of total strangers. It does ask you to reach out to somebody because you are the one who can do the job better than anybody else.
Now there are two reasons I bring this up. The first reason is a gentle reminder that more souls have been won by this simple approach than any other. The second reason is because September 18th is NATIONAL BACK TO CHURCH SUNDAY.
Now we both know that every Sunday ought to be back-to-church Sunday. Why somebody picked this particular date is beyond me. And even though NATIONAL BACK TO CHURCH SUNDAY is hardly an official church holiday, picking a date like this to invite somebody back to worship is a pretty good idea.
If you don’t like the date, pick another. But please, pick one. Pick one because every survey I’ve ever seen has said, “Many people would go back to church, if someone close to them asked them.”
Whether these statistics are true or not, I can’t say. I can tell you the day Andrew talked to his brother, Simon saw Jesus and the Holy Spirit brought him to his Lord. The Andrew Evangelism Program worked that day and it works still.
Please, give it a try.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, because someone, somewhere told me about Jesus, I have been given faith in the Savior. Now may I, as opportunity presents itself, be such a “someone” for others around me. This I ask in the Name of the crucified and risen Savior. In His Name. Amen.