Pentecost and Evangelism—A Natural Link

Pentecost is a pivotal Sunday for evangelism. This is especially true for churches that order their worship and ministry according to the Christian Year. Pentecost is a celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Because Pentecost is the day on which 3,000 new converts were added to the church, Pentecost Sunday affords a wonderful opportunity to publicly acknowledge those who feel called to evangelism. If people have completed a faith-sharing training, such as Witness or Faith-Sharing, invite them to come forward during the worship service for prayer to encourage them and to encourage the congregation to be more active in evangelism.

Invite people to make a special effort to share their faith during the summer and fall seasons through intentional acts of evangelism.

Evangelistic Preaching Tips

Prepare your sermon with three audiences in mind.

1. The Churched; that is, professing Christians
2. The Unchurched; that is, pre-Christians
3. The Inactive; that is, people with previous church or Christian experience who feel estranged from the church

Begin with the end in mind. What's your aim for each audience?

1. Renew — the believing community. Compel them to act on their faith and actively witness in the world.
2. Reclaim — the discouraged, disgruntled, or disgraced community. Invite them back into loving relationship with Jesus Christ and restored fellowship with the church community.
3. Evangelize — the pre-Christian audience. Invite them into personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Evangelistic preaching compels people to focused action. Note the following:

1. For a churched audience, use a "renewal approach." Demonstrate your faith in Jesus Christ! Put your faith into action!
2. For an unchurched audience, use an "evangelistic approach." Come! Follow Jesus Christ!
3. For an inactive audience, use a "reclamation approach." Reclaim your faith in Jesus Christ and rejoin the fellowship of believers today!