Welcome back to my mini-series called "Launchpads." In this mini-series, I am sharing things that God used to "launch" me to the mission field. In the first post I talked about missiology, which is the study of Christian missions.
I studied missiology to learn more about the past movements of God and how He is moving today. During my senior year of college, I slowly shifted from studying missiology to studying apologetics and evangelism. I wanted to learn how to explain the Gospel to people of other worldviews and religious backgrounds. My studies led me to participate in an evangelism outreach tour the summer after I graduated college. It was during this outreach tour that I learned how to communicate the Gospel in a quick and simple way while applying all that I had studied about apologetics and evangelism.
Apologetics is "the rational response against the objections people bring up about Christianity" (Grace Theological Seminary). The book of Jude talks about apologetics as "contending for the faith" (Jude 3). For me, studying apologetics has looked like studying world religions (like Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism) and cults of Christianity (Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witness) to understand what they believe and how it differs from Christianity. Every man-made religion has holes that only Jesus can fill.
Evangelism is sharing the Gospel with others. Our main purpose as Christians is to love God and point others to Him by sharing the full Gospel: how Jesus lived and died for your sins to give you the opportunity to live in relationship with God. The BEST news ever!!
Studying apologetics has led me to more fruitful evangelism conversations because I am able to contextualize the Gospel to fit the other person’s worldview. I like to think of contextualizing the Gospel like a picture in a frame: the picture (the Gospel) doesn’t change, but the frame (how I present it) changes based on who I am talking to. I emphasize different things based on what each religion lacks or what contradicts the Bible. For example, when I talk with LDS members (Mormons), I emphasize the Holy Spirit as God, how Jesus was the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, and the grace found in the Gospel. With Muslims, I talk about how we can’t earn our way to Heaven, God is our Father, and that He has given us stories (the Bible) so we can learn about Him.
Whenever I suggest that we as Christians should study other religions, sometimes people say that studying other religions will pull people away from Jesus, lead to deconstruction, and ultimately leave the faith. While this can happen, I find that people’s faith is strengthened when they study other religions. God allows false religions to exist in the world to show contrast between our works and the purity of the Gospel. Our works don’t save us. Other gods won't save us. Only faith in Jesus leads to salvation!
Studying apologetics and applying what I have learned through evangelism has given me a deeper love for God and His people. As I am preparing to move to the Middle East, I have been learning about my country's culture and how to share the Gospel while being culturally sensitive. This is one way I can love my new neighbors and point them to Jesus!
Resources:
Gospel Fluency by Jeff Van Der Stelt (book): Important to learn what the Gospel is and how to articulate it. Jeff does a great job of peeling back the layers of the Gospel and showing how it applies to all areas of life.
World Religions in 7 Sentences by Douglas Groothuis (book): Basics of other religions and how to respond from a Christian perspective.
How to Tell the Truth by Preston Perry (book): This book shares the heart behind evangelism and what it means to love our neighbors through sharing truth. I love the subtitle of this book: “The Story of How God Saved Me to Win Hearts - Not Just Arguments.” Too often I am focused on winning arguments instead of pointing others to Jesus!
“How to Preach the Gospel” by EveryHeart Movement (video): This video is a great introduction in Gospel preaching. EveryHeart Movement is a phenomenal up and coming YWAM missions movement based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. If you’re in the States, be sure to check out their summer tours!