Presented by Lauren Stibgen
The Oxford language dictionary defines evangelism as the spreading of the Christian gospel by public preaching or personal witness.[1] It is also defined as zealous advocacy of a cause. Merriam-webster.com defines evangelism as a winning or revival of personal commitments to Christ, and it’s also defined as militant or crusading zeal.[2]
An evangelist is, therefore, someone who spreads the gospel by preaching or personal witness, winning personal commitments to Christ—and, I would add, with zeal!
There are three ways to consider evangelism: proclamation, incarnational/relational, and apologetic/intellectual.
Proclamation evangelism is the preaching mentioned above. It is a direct telling of the gospel to others. You probably will not be deploying this tactic at work, unless you are a preacher!
Incarnational/relational evangelism is the living it out—building relationships and sharing your faith at work, with a bit of apologetic/intellectual evangelism as well. Meaning, you will need to be able to explain why you are living it out.
One of the most relevant definitions of evangelism I have read is this working definition presented by the Theology of Work project that says, “Evangelism is the organic process of intentionally engaging individuals in their spiritual journey, joining the Holy Spirit, watching for where he is already at work to help these individuals take one step closer to God and a new life in Christ, becoming the unique reflection of the image of Christ as the resurrected, glorified persons God intended.”[3]
This punctuates that evangelism is focused on the individual, and not some large group of people. We certainly come across many individuals during our workday!
But why evangelize? Isn’t this for the well-trained and professionals? And, surely, we shouldn’t do this at work—or should we? Studies show 90% of church going people who come to Christ as adults do so because of a relationship with one or more Christians outside of the four walls of the church. With many of these adults going to work, this makes our workplace evangelism key to God’s plan for salvation!
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19-20).
Earlier in Matthew 9:37-38 Jesus tells his disciples, the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
I want to remind you the disciples were not some well-studied priests of the time. And remember, Jesus was a humble carpenter before he began his ministry. God did not call the qualified, he qualified the called! Thinking about the disciples as fishermen and a tax collector and Jesus as a carpenter, helps me to feel more qualified in my calling to be an evangelist at work!
Our purpose here at The Christian Working Woman is to encourage, equip, and empower Christians in the workplace to love Christ more, to live their daily lives by biblical principles, and to go to their jobs as ambassadors for Jesus Christ.
Rooted in the verse from 2 Corinthians 5:20, which tells us we are Christ’s ambassadors, we are here in ministry to help you grow as workplace evangelists.
Clearly the word evangelism is rooted in our faith as followers of Jesus Christ. Are you zealous about it yet?
Many women I encounter don’t feel like they can share their faith at work. Whether it is feeling unqualified to share the gospel or simply fearing it will not be welcomed, there are more perceived obstacles than there are perceived open doors for Jesus at work.
This is one of the reasons I like the wor
