5 Simple Steps for Cultivating a Healthy Culture of Evangelism

Every pastor wants a healthy culture of evangelism in the church they lead. We long for our congregation to be burdened for the lost, eager to share the gospel, and convinced of the power of God to save everyone who believes. We desire worship services filled with baptisms and testimonies of God’s saving grace. But not every one of our churches has a healthy culture. In fact, if we are honest, some of us might even admit that our church has neglected evangelism for so long that we aren’t sure if there is much hope for any revitalization. As much as we want to see evangelism become a main focus, we just don’t know where to begin. The truth is, shepherding a congregation from an unhealthy culture of evangelism to a healthy culture is slow and difficult work, but it’s good work.

Growing up, my family always had a garden. We planted all sorts of vegetables and fruits. I remember waking up every summer morning and heading to the garden with two five-gallon buckets ready to harvest cucumbers, watermelons, cantaloupes, green beans, and tomatoes. But the harvest was only possible because of months of preparation and hard work that went into the field. My brother and I spent day after day removing rocks, tilling the soil, removing more rocks, planting seeds, pulling weeds, and watering plants. Cultivating a field into a healthy garden required sweat, patience, prayer, and planning.

Cultivating healthy cultures of evangelism in our churches requires the same type of hard work, patience, planning, and prayer. If we want evangelism to become a priority, we must do the hard work of making it a priority. And it all begins with thinking biblically about evangelism. Evangelism can’t be just another program we do in our church. As the church, evangelism is part of the mission Christ gave to us. To make disciples of all nations—the mission of the church—requires evangelism (Matt. 28:19–20). To preach the gospel to all creation requires evangelism (Mark 16:15). Proclaiming repentance for the forgiveness of sins requires evangelism (Luke 24:46–47). Living as “sent ones” in the power of the Holy Spirit means practicing evangelism (John 20:21–22). Bearing witness to the transforming power of the cross and resurrection requires evangelism (Acts 1:8). As pastors, before we can begin taking simple steps towards transforming the culture of our congregation, we must be convinced of the importance of the church sharing the gospel with the lost. Moreover, rather than seeing evangelism as merely another activity the church does, we see evangelism as the natural overflow of those who have been rescued out of darkness and into marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9).

If our churches succeed at a hundred tasks but fail to share the gospel with the lost, we have failed. Therefore, as pastors set apart to lead, encourage, and equip God’s people to participate in evangelism, we must do whatever it takes to cultivate healthy cultures of evangelism in our churches. It won’t be easy. And there will always be work to do. But the work is important. The Spirit is active. And our God is worthy.

Here are five simple steps that you and I can take to begin cultivating healthy cultures of evangelism in our churches.

Pray, Pray, Pray

Like all of ministry, working towards a healthy culture of evangelism begins and ends with prayer. The work before us is not something we can do in our own strength or gifting. But, if we want our churches to change, we need more than leaders praying; we need everyone praying. We need pastors in our worship services praying for God to raise up more harvesters (Matt. 9:38) and members who make time every day to plead for the lost. Prayer needs to become the heartbeat of our churches. Prayer for the salvation of our friends, coworkers, family, and strangers must become second nature. We need children, youth, and adults all hitting their knees together because we believe that God hears our prayers. Pastor, our congregation often learns from us what’s important to the church. Let us teach them that prayer is essential by the way we emphasize praying for the lost. If we want to see our churches consumed with a passion for evangelism, we have to begin with prayer.

Preach and Teach the Word

Another effective way to develop a healthy culture of evangelism involves the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. All of Scripture is inspired and “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16–17). Cultivating a healthy culture of evangelism will require times of teaching, reproof, correction, and training. Especially when we consider that for some of our churches, evangelism has been neglected for decades.

Practically, we need to fully believe and trust in the power and efficacy of God’s Word proclaimed to bring transformation. As we rely on God’s Word, we never miss an opportunity to call our people to believe and share the gospel. The most obvious way to lead the way in evangelism through our preaching and teaching is by proclaiming the gospel each week and inviting sinners to trust in Christ for salvation. But the truth is, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. As we clearly present the gospel in our sermons, we are also teaching our congregation how to share the gospel themselves. Furthermore, our teaching and preaching should remind our people of God’s mercy, grace, and faithfulness. We want them to believe with every fiber of their being that God does not wish “any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). We not only want them to evangelize as a matter of obedience, but also as a matter of love for their neighbor and God. All of this can be done weekly through our teaching and preaching.

Celebrate Personal Evangelism

Churches celebrate what they treasure most. Even more, congregations pick up on what their leaders treasure most. As pastors, if we only celebrate buildings, budgets, and programs, our people will learn that those aspects matter most. If on the other hand, we regularly pray for the lost, challenge every member to share the gospel, and celebrate God saving sinners, our people will begin to celebrate it too. Moreover, we should look for opportunities to celebrate when our members are faithful in sharing the gospel. If we are wanting to change the direction of our church, we can’t ignore the power of celebration.

Equip Your Congregation

One of the most common reasons Christians give for not sharing the gospel with non-Christians is, “I don’t feel prepared.” Of course, it’s impossible to be prepared for every circumstance and every possible question, and yet, equipping our congregation for the work of evangelism is not an impossible task. With intentionality, we can help our people understand the gospel, understand the culture, and use different methods to faithfully and effectively evangelize.

There is no single, right way to equip Christians for evangelism. Therefore, pastors should utilize large group, small group, and discipleship settings to prepare their people. For example, think about Sunday morning and your sermons for a second. God’s Word contains endless opportunities for us to help our congregation think biblically about the world. By reinforcing a biblical worldview in our people, we are equipping them to understand and answer the culture around them. Then there are the small group settings which can be the perfect place to practically train Christians how to share the gospel. Rather than just telling our congregation to go out and preach the gospel, what if we gave them numerous tools to use? Aren’t they more likely to boldly evangelize if they feel confident with the tools they have learned? By taking the time to teach our members how to share their testimony, use the 3 Circles, or walk a lost friend through The Story, we are encouraging, empowering, and equipping them for evangelism.

Trying to equip our congregation can be an overwhelming, even intimidating thought. There is so much to learn. Culture is always shifting. Finding time can be tricky. But the more we focus on equipping our people, the more prepared they will be when the time comes for them to share the gospel. And remember, it doesn’t just have to be you that does the equipping.

Lead Your People

As many have said before, great leaders are never too far behind or too far ahead of their people. This principle certainly applies to cultivating a culture of evangelism. If we really want to see evangelism become a priority in our churches, we need to be visible to our people, leading them by example. In both our words and deeds, we need to be a model they can follow. If we want our people to pray for the lost, don’t they need to see it as a priority in our life? If we want our people to overcome their fears to share the good news of Jesus with their family and friends, shouldn’t they see us do the same? Christ invited the disciples to follow His example. Paul invited churches and co-laborers to follow his example. We should strive to be able to say to our congregation, “Follow my example, as I follow Christ’s!” Maybe your faithfulness and passion for evangelism is exactly what your church needs to see in order for transformation to begin.

I call these steps simple, but simple doesn’t mean easy. Cultivating or maintaining a healthy culture of evangelism will never be easy. But it will always be important. As a pastor, God has gifted you and set you apart for this difficult work. Don’t give up. Don’t lose hope. Be patient. Trust God. Take it one step at a time.