Book Brief: The Gospel and Personal Evangelism

If you were to grade yourself on personal evangelism, how would you fare? If I’m honest, I don’t think I would score very high marks. Even though I have been a Christian since I was a young child, I struggle to share the gospel with nonbelievers. It’s easy to talk with my Christian friends and my children about my love for Jesus, but when it comes to boldly sharing that same truth with the lost people in my life, I am full of fear and a litany of excuses. The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever challenged me to confront my fears and excuses while laying a clear path forward for how I can be obedient in sharing the gospel.

In this slim book, just slightly over 100 pages, Dever tackles the: who, what, why and how questions of evangelism.

Can you summarize the gospel in one minute?
Find out how.

What if I don’t have the gift of evangelism?See why you’re still an evangelist.

What if I share and no one says “yes” to the gospel?
Uncover the freedom in being a proclaimer instead of a persuader.

I was also encouraged by the reminder that evangelism is not a sales pitch for Jesus and success isn’t measured in how many “deals we close.” Evangelism is “telling the good news about Jesus…living a life that backs it up….and doing it all for the glory of God.” I can only fail if I decide to not faithfully share the gospel at all.

Not sure where to begin in your life? I commend The Gospel and Personal Evangelism to you. Read it. Learn. Be challenged. Then, go out and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.