INTRODUCTION
What is your mission statement? Is it to be a successful business person and make a lot of money? Or is it to be President of the United States one day? What do you want to accomplish while living here on earth? As a Christian, our mission should not be on earth, fleshly, or carnal things. In my life, I want to be just as much like Jesus as I possibly can be. I want to talk, walk, and act like Him. This means that my mission statement should be what His mission statement is. His mission statement was to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). This is the greatest mission here on earth. We need to be actively looking for and teaching them the saving message of Jesus.
WHO SHOULD GO?
The question of who should go really is a very easy one, YOU! If you are a member of the Lord’s church, then you are commanded to GO! Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). This same command is repeated in Matthew 28:18-20 and Luke 24:46-49. The old saying is still true today, “GO YE MEANS GO ME!” This is not just the command of your preacher, youth minister, or elders. This is the individual responsibility of every Christian.
WHAT TO TEACH?
Looking at Mark 16:15, Jesus commanded them to preach the Gospel. The Gospel is “Good News.” In scripture, it is defined as the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). We do not need to teach a partial gospel (Acts 20:27) or a different gospel (Galatians 1:6-9). We need to teach the lost and dying world the whole, pure, and saving Gospel of Jesus.
A lot of the time people make excuses that they do not know enough to teach someone the gospel. This is no excuse. It reminds me of Moses in the presence of God making excuses (Exodus 3-4). Excuses don’t work with God. We need to continue to grow in our knowledge (2 Peter 3:18). But if a person is a New Testament Christian, they can teach them what they did to become a Christian. There are many tools that will help a person lead and teach someone the Gospel. I am going to recommend Bobby Bates’s “Back to the Bible” series. This is a three-part lesson that will guide you through teaching someone. You will cover the Authority of Scripture, the New Testament Church, and Salvation.
I believe that Luke’s account of the great commission gives us more detail of what we should be preaching. “and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). This is what Peter preached on the day of Pentecost. “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
WHEN WE SHOULD GO?
What are you waiting on? We need to be actively pursuing the mission now. Do not wait any longer! There are souls that are at stake of spending eternity in Hell! If we truly understand that not another second on earth is promised to us here on earth, how would that change our perspective of evangelism? 2 Corinthians 6:2 says, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Don’t wait another day because today is the day!
WHERE WE SHOULD GO?
I have been blessed to go all throughout Central and South America on mission trips with Latin American Missions. This has been a life-changing experience, but I need to take this mission to my hometown as well. We are commanded to “go to ALL the world.” This means those in Latin American, Africa, China, but it also means my next-door neighbors, co-workers, and family members.
WHY WE GO?
We should go because we are commanded to go as we have stated earlier. We should go because we love people and understand that they have a soul that is going to spend eternity in either Heaven or Hell. The sad reality is that most people are going to be lost (Matthew 7:13-14). This is not an excuse to not teach them, but it should be more motivation to teach them. We go because of your love for people and where they are going to spend eternity.
TOOLS TO HELP
If you want to be a Soul Winner, you need to be equipped and have the proper tools to teach the lost. I am going to suggest some tools that will help you. The best soul winner I know is Rob Whitacre. He has a passion for souls like no other. Brother Whitacre does Evangelism Seminars all over the country helping congregations. I would encourage you to go on YouTube to find this seminar. He will help you be a better soul winner. If you go to this website (School of Evangelism), you can find all of his materials. You can purchase a DVD of Rob in action! Rob will show you all the tools or as he says lures you need for your tackle box.
CONCLUSION
Peter is one of the most well known Bible characters in the New Testament. But how did Peter get to know Jesus? It was because of his brother Andrew (John 1:40-42). We do not read much about Andrew in the scriptures but think about the impact of him bringing one soul to Jesus. The one soul preached the first gospel sermon and taught many people the gospel. You might not be a Peter, but you can be an Andrew! Can you save one soul in 2021?
What is better than Heaven? I mean for real, what is better than Heaven? You might be thinking that there is absolutely nothing better than Heaven. You would be incorrect. The only thing better than Heaven is taking someone with you to Heaven. The only way that this can be done is by teaching them the gospel and them being receptive to it. Just think about it on the day of judgment, someone you taught the gospel hears the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” I want to challenge you to make a list of five people you want to teach the gospel to in the year 2021. Pray for those names every day and pray that the Lord will give you a door of opportunity!
May God bless you and your mission of soul-saving!