Invitation to Evangelism

I sat in my first doctoral seminar, and I already felt imposter syndrome. Dr. Timothy Beougher was the professor of the History of Christian Missions. He opened the class with stories of J.I. Packer, Robert Coleman, and Elisabeth Elliott. I continued to feel like an imposter! The warmth, tenor, and principles of this master storyteller still stick with me today. But then I had to present my paper. The professor gets the final say after students are allowed to critique the student papers. I thought I made it through without deep cuts until Dr. Beougher said, “Ben, you believe the Word of God is true and without error, right?”

“Yes, I do . . . Why?” I replied, not yet scared enough of the coming tidal wave.

“Well, that means you accept Proverbs, right?” he replied.

Now, I knew he was going somewhere.

He finished: “Good, then you’ll agree that Faithful are the wounds of a friend. Now, let’s start on the errors of your paper.”

Ouch! Here’s the point, though. Dr. Beougher has a way of saying things that stick in your head. Invitation to Evangelism is no exception, and I am excited to utilize this book on evangelism in ministry. It’s a volume packed with the warmth and endearing storytellers of one of the best teachers I know.

When talking about Evangelism, what do you include? Many books will take an either/or approach. Either they will focus on local church evangelism, or they will gravitate to personal evangelism. Either they will explain the theological doctrine of evangelism, or they will propose a methodology of evangelism. You get the picture. The best feature of this introduction is the comprehensive nature that Beougher treats the topics. Everyone will find a home and learn from multi-faceted perspectives on a broad topic like evangelism.

For example, Beougher lists ten biblical motivations for sharing the gospel in evangelism. Some of them include: glorifying God, compassion for the lost, love of Christ, eternal perspective, and knowledge of judgment. It takes a deep level of experience in personal evangelism to encourage the reader in these nuanced, biblical ways. This one example is showcased in his other topics such as local church evangelism, testimony, servant evangelism, etc.

I look forward to using this book to encourage others in evangelism as I also personally benefitted from the reading. I hope you pick up a copy and are challenged to more conversations sharing Jesus with those around you.