So why share the Gospel with those around us on our university campus?
Or rather, why share the Gospel at all?
I asked these questions to myself at the start of this year, my first term on campus in Waterloo, and I’m sure that some of you reading this may have been asking these as well. Even though I’ve been exposed to Christianity all my life and I’ve called myself a Christian for many years now, the concept of campus evangelism was almost revolutionary to me. Sure, I’ve recited and shared the Gospel in Christian settings where that was basically expected of me, but this was something much different. Over the latter half of the term, I’ve come to know how important campus evangelism can be and I wanted to write and share this, to encourage those reading who are hesitant about sharing the Gospel.
“Why share the Gospel?”
Well, what does the Gospel tell us? Many Christians, and even some non-Christians, will tell you that the story of the Gospel goes something like this: God created humans to live in the wonderful world He created in harmony with God before they sinned and rebelled against Him by choosing to disobey God, and received death and eternal separation from God as the penalty for this rebellion. However, God sent His Son, Jesus, down to Earth to die as an atoning sacrifice for us in our place and rise again from the dead to redeem us from our sin.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with any of this on its own; no self-respecting Christian would tell you otherwise. But is that the whole story? Unfortunately, it’s evident that more than just a few of us forget the last few bits of what Jesus said in the Gospel:
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20, NASB1995)
It’s likely that if you have had some sort of exposure to Christianity, you recognize this passage as the Great Commission and have heard this passage many times, and for good reason: Jesus didn’t say this as a suggestion for those wanting to do something extra with their Christian lives; it’s a universal commandment central to the Christian faith. It doesn’t make sense for us as Christians to keep a message as amazing as the Gospel to ourselves.
Imagine this: if you come across someone who is handing out a million dollars to everyone who talks to them with absolutely no strings attached, you wouldn’t keep this to yourself, would you? It goes without saying that one million dollars is a lot of money, and potentially life-changing for some. If someone close to you really needed this money, it would be quite selfish not to tell them, no? Then how much more should we want to share the Gospel with others if we truly understand the weight of the Gospel! In the first example, the promise might sound too good to be true, but you know that it is in fact true and that shouldn’t affect your willingness to share it with others.
It goes without saying that the eternal life promised to those who accept the message of the Gospel is so much greater than a million dollars. To be given the promise of living forever in the presence of our Creator in heaven without sin, pain, and suffering, even after sinning against God to deserve the opposite (Romans 6:23), with absolute assurance that God’s love will never be taken from us (Romans 8:38–39) — I can only try to imagine how wonderful that would be, and I sincerely hope you also understand, either now or someday, how amazing this promise of the Gospel truly is. That being said, not only should we share the Gospel with others as Jesus has commanded us, we should want to if we understand how amazing and true the gift of eternal life given to us by the grace of God is. This isn’t just a nice-to-have one million dollars, but it’s about a necessary salvation.
“So why share the Gospel on campus?”
Given that we now understand the importance of evangelism and the gospel, where do we start? The Great Commission says to share the Gospel to all nations, and although overseas missions are very important in that it allows many people to hear about Jesus for the first time, nations overseas are not the only place to share the Gospel with others; it’s just as important to share the Gospel with those around us.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14–16, NASB1995)
Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world and that we, as the light, are to shine before others. What does this mean? Well, put simply, as Christians who know the truth about the Gospel, we are to live in a way where it is clear that our lives have been changed by the Gospel. As said above, true transformation by the message of the Gospel brings us to share it with others, and who better to start with than the people we already see all the time on campus?
So why do some of us hesitate to do this? Personally, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t (not that it makes it okay, of course). Even though many of us can claim that we believe in the Gospel, lots of questions and doubts can hold us back from sharing this Jesus that we say we love, especially those close to us. Ironically, some might find it harder to share the Gospel with their friends for fear of losing them as your friends, even though it would probably make you overjoyed to see someone you care about come to Christ.
But do we really need to worry about the questions and doubts that occasionally plague our minds?
It already took me a lot of pushing to overcome my anxiety and go to share the Gospel in Christian settings such as church and youth fellowship. Now imagine the dread of sharing this same message to random people around campus where you don’t know their attitude toward or knowledge about Christianity or religion in general. Believe me, as someone who struggles with anxiety disorder, this can create a lot of uncertainty and nervousness surrounding evangelism regardless of how well versed you are in Christianity. Unlike in church where what is said about the Gospel is likely to be accepted, the sad reality is that it’s more than likely that many people on campus to whom you share the Gospel will not accept it or even want to listen to you.
“So why even try?”
I remember going out to evangelize on campus with CCF one day only to be turned away by everyone I talked to, some due to bad experiences with the church, apathy toward religion, or simply not having the time to talk about the Gospel. Over the course of the hour, I remember becoming progressively more and more discouraged and feeling like I wasn’t doing anything right and that it was inevitable that what I tried was bound to fail. Was there a point in trying again and again? Was God setting me up for failure?
Unfortunately, it’s our sinful nature as humans to do what we want to do, say what we want to say, and believe what we want to believe, and thus it’s expected that most people, when presented with the Gospel, will not want to accept the Gospel or live their lives the way God wants them to. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try; remember that changing their hearts is not in our hands — the Bible says that only God can do that (John 6:44)!
We might not know how favourably people will respond to our Gospel sharing, but we can have full assurance in knowing that regardless of the outcome, God is in control and He has ordained the result for a reason. When we share the Gospel, we may never know how God will work in ways we expect. The same person who rejected you when sharing the Gospel may, in the future, remember your love for them through sharing the Gospel despite them not accepting it at the time. The same person who stood there confused while you explained the Gospel may remember your mention of the Gospel and eventually come to seek Him on their own time. The same person who was known for their faith in a different religion may see the error in their ways and purpose when skeptically listening to your account of the Gospel. The “bad” experiences you cringe at may not have been remotely bad at all. You never know the impact the small things you do for God’s kingdom will have!
I know I’ve wanted to have good conversations with all the people I approached during campus evangelism like the stories I’ve heard from other people’s experiences, but sometimes that doesn’t happen, and it took me a while to understand that that’s ok. God is in control and never makes things happen for naught. Even though most of my attempts to share the Gospel with others ended before I was able to start explaining the Gospel, the number of conversations I was able to have that were fruitful in ways I never could have expected put me in awe of God’s power and love and made the experience so rewarding. Don’t be afraid to do what you can for the advancement of the Gospel. God will not forget that! Even though we may be despised by men, we know that God is well pleased with us when we wholeheartedly obey what He has commanded us to do.
“But what if I don’t know what to say?”
As much as we may want an evangelism experience to go the way we want in our heads, more often than not, something’s going to go off-script, whether it’s what we say or what the person we’re sharing the Gospel with will say. I’m sometimes still scared of not knowing how to respond in the “right” way to “convince” someone to believe in Jesus. There are countless reasons why people may find it hard to believe in God or believe that the Gospel is necessary. Many people I’ve attempted to share the Gospel have asked me questions that I’ve had plenty of experience answering, but many other people have also asked me difficult questions that I had no clue how to answer myself. This may be something that holds you back despite how much you may want to share the Gospel.
Again, remember that God is fully in control and that you don’t have to have all the answers in mind for God to work in people’s hearts, so don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t know the answer someone wants. After all, God is the one who even gives us the words to speak. Even Moses, one of Israel’s most well-respected leaders (Exodus 4:10–12) and Jeremiah, one of the great prophets (Jeremiah 1:6–10), were scared of not being able to speak well, but God was with them to give them all the words to speak so that they would be able to carry out God’s plan.
“Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.” (Exodus 4:12, NASB1995)
But the Lord said to me, “do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak. “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 1:7–8, NASB1995)
Likewise, we have the assurance that God will guide our mouths in the evangelism that we are called to do as Christians. God is so far above what any human mind can understand, and it’s only through God’s grace and the guidance of the Holy Spirit that we can even understand the basics of the Gospel and who God is. However, this isn’t an excuse to put no effort of your own into preparing to share the Gospel! Even though we won’t know absolutely everything about God, God has given us everything we need to know about Him in the Bible, and it holds the wisdom we can and need to use to preach the Gospel and faith (2 Timothy 3:16–17), as well as defend it when faced with questions, as God has commanded us to do (1 Peter 3:15). Rest assured that God will teach you everything He needs you to know in good time.
“So how do I start?”
First of all, pray, pray, pray! Remember that there’s nothing that we can do by relying on ourselves, but also that we can do everything God needs and wants us to do and say through the power of the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (John 14:26, Acts 1:8) Remember to rely on the Lord for your strength! As to what to say and do beyond that — apologies for the cliché answer, but there’s no formula for how to evangelize to others “consistently.” Remember that our purpose is to be messengers of the Gospel, and the outcome is in God’s hands: He will guide our conversations and hearts in the direction He wants, so don’t be afraid to lay down your expectations and submit to God. Something I’ve found that works to inspire deep and fruitful conversations is to treat the conversation less as a lecture and to let the people you’re sharing the Gospel with share what they have to say, too! This helps make it more casual and more at ease, opening the conversation to the other person’s perspective and worldviews, and also invites the possibility of them having their questions answered. Even though you might not be able to answer every question thrown at you, this can be a big opportunity for you to learn more about God too! Also, remember to focus on God’s love instead of trying to just scare someone into accepting the Gospel. God can make something amazing and unexpected happen every time you share the Gospel, so keep going at it, trusting God to pull through.
Final Words
All this being said, let us not forget that sharing the Gospel is not just something we do because of CCF; we should do this while spending time with others on campus regardless of the situation, and we should also share the Gospel wherever we go, regardless of being at UW or not. Remember that God will be with you wherever you go, and you have no need to fear what’s ahead of you (Joshua 1:9). Sharing this Gospel is worth everything, and I hope you learn to realize the same.
In Christ’s everlasting love,
Ben Huang
