05/08/2026
Church's that fail to plan for evangelistic impact are, inexplicably, baffled, when they don't see conversions. But that's exactly what a reasonable person would expect to happen. After all, we reap what we sow. If we don't plan for evangelism, it won't happen
--Organic Outreach For Churches, pg. 62, Kevin G. Harney.
This quote is tough. on me, on the church, honestly, on all believers.
If someone wants to get good at a particular skill, they need to practice. If I want to learn to sew, I have to take up the needle and thread, not just watch videos about it on YouTube. If I want to learn how to whittle well, I have to practice carving and make mistakes, and eventually I will get good enough to shape something.
Here is the rub. When we take up hobbies such as sewing, carving, or even gardening, we plan to do them. We may even daydream about or practice while we are still learning.
A lot of the time, when we learn about evangelism, witnessing, or giving a testimony, we say to ourselves, "I'll do this when I get an opportunity. " We don't seek opportunities, we don't pray for avenues to share the gospel, we solely watch and 'learn."
In Matthew 28: 19-20, we are commanded to go forth and make disciples. Unfortunately, instead of going, we tend to be in a waiting mindset, when we get a signal from God to go, or when we think we are sufficiently ready.
We will never be ready. Not unless we choose to go.
Too much time is spent waiting, and not enough is spent going.
We absolutely need to plan, we need to strategize, and we need to know our community. But all of that leads to evangelism. This is the very heart of the Church, not maintaining a building, not making sure everyone is happy, but speaking the gospel to a dying world.
Here is another tidbit from Matthew 16, we see that the gates of hell will not stand against the church. Some people have said that means the church is on the defensive against Hell. But I don't think that. In their very nature, gates are to prevent people from easily going inside. So I would say that we are on the offensive against Hell to keep them from and redeem the people who are going there. And Jesus Himself says that they will not be able to stand against us.
So Church, plan to storm those gates.
