Evangelizing by Theo Kim
If the purpose of the church was divided,
they would involve worship, fellowship,
discipleship, ministry, and evangelism.
One of my lingering problems was that was
already involved in the High School Youth
Ministry as a teacher. Thus, I can say
with assurance that I have been and still
am involved in these purposes except for
evangelism. And this was also one of my
weaknesses in faithful walk with Christ.
Yet I also knew in my heart that church
growth is God’s command.
There needed to be an understanding that
the church growth movement was a command
whether in the past or present. Yet I
find myself reluctant to step forward to
enroll and be indoctrinated in the
evangelizing class.
With urge of my wife, I found myself
sitting in the class conducted by the
elder Young Cho. I came in with low
expectation and full of pride that I was
already serving God in some capacity, but
the zeal and compassion of elder Cho for
unbelievers and their souls simply opened
up and renewed my view toward evangelism.
Then I remembered Jesus speaking, “what
good is a man if he gains the whole
world, and yet loses a soul?” Here was
a man after Jesus’ heart and actually
doing something about the poor
unbelievers and their eternal
consequence. It was one thing to know and
acknowledge evangelism, it was quite
another to actually practice what was
being taught.
After few classes, I found myself
evangelizing to my co-workers. Then on
our final class, the whole class went out
to evangelize on Sunday afternoon.
Prayerfully and with trepidation, I went
with my son, Joseph to supermarket, drug
store, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s. Some
were receptive, while others were cold.
Some were even rude.
One of the things that I detest and fear
the most was the personal rejection and I
was experiencing this voluntarily. My
worst encounter that day was when I
approached a Jewish man with a son. He
simply said, “I am Jewish and I don’t
need Jesus.” It wasn’t the reply that
got to me but the portrayal of arrogance
and the attitude that us Christians are
nobody and that they were the chosen
people. I still moved on since I still
had about 20 pamphlets to give out.
After countless rejection from people, my
son Joseph who by now became thoroughly
embarrassed and said, “Let’s just go,
they keep rejecting you anyways.” In my
heart, I also felt that way and my back
was all sweaty from encounters with
people, but hearing my son say this, I
regained my composure and told him this.
“Did you watch the movie, ‘Passion of
Christ’? Do you remember how much
suffering He went through for us? This is
nothing compared to His suffering.”
Then I moved on while thinking that their
rejections were not I, but Christ
Himself. I was exhausted by the time I
met up with my wife and my youngest son,
Stanford who were also evangelizing that
day. Stanford was crying and said that
someone yelled at my wife, “You are
crazy.”
I hugged my son to comfort him and my
wife said that she gave one man the
booklet and later actually saw the man
reading it intensively while eating. Then
I realized that even if we were called
crazy and be humiliated being the
followers of Christ, and out of about
hundred people we met, if there was even
one that came to Christ, how happy God
would be for that person. At the same
time, how pleased God would be for us who
obeyed God’s command.
Indeed, it is by eternal God’s command
that ALL(Nations and tribes) people of
the land to be led to Christ, be
disciple, and be obedient. We have to
start somewhere and start with men who
are filled with Holy Spirit. I truly
thank God and elder Cho for letting me
conquer my own inner fear and be obedient
to God.
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