Liberty University Rawlings School of Divinity
Evangelism Vision Paper
Submitted to Dr. Jonathan Bishop
In Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
EVAN 525 – B04 – LUO
Contemporary Evangelism
by
Derrick Carroll (L28257121)
March 11, 2017
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Evangelism Vision Paper
What I’ve Learned
I have been in the ministry for thirty years and I have never really focused on evangelism
until now. I have always known that it was important. But, I have never placed it on my list of
priorities. This course has truly changed that perspective. It has opened my eyes and has helped
me to see and understand better the importance and absolute necessity of evangelism. This
course has reminded me that as a Christian, evangelism should always be at the helm of the
agenda of every person who calls himself/herself a believer in Jesus Christ or a child of God.
That is why Jesus gave the Great Commission which says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you
alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:19-20). As children of the Most High
God, reaching others and leading them to Christ should always be the goal for every believer.
This course has truly enlightened me concerning this matter. I have learned that God wants to be
involved in the lives of humankind and He wants to develop friendships and relationships with as
many people as possible. As a matter of fact, McRaney mentions that “the Bible refers to the
people of God as family, friends, and a community of faith.” 1 God truly wants us to inform all
who we can of this fact. This course has really changed my outlook on evangelism and my heart
towards the lost. I seem to have more of a burden for those who are lost in their lives.
1Mc Raney, Jr., Will. The Art of Personal Evangelism. (Nashville, TN: B & H Academic, 2003), 16.
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Personal Vision
Since I have developed such a burden for the lost and want to see them saved and brought to
Christ, I plan to integrate evangelism into every aspect of my life and into every aspect of my
ministry in the days to come. The reason this is my plan is because “God views lost people as
being of such great value that they deserve an all-out effort.”2 And if God places great value upon
lost people, I should do the same. That includes taking time out of my busy schedule to
attentively listen to those whose souls are crying out to the Lord to be saved form their sins, both
inside and outside of the church.
Currently, I am the assistant pastor of the church I attend and I have a many responsibilities at
church. However, my current role will be changing in the near future. I will be assuming the role
of senior pastor once my current senior pastor resigns in a few months. Both, now and when I
assume the role of senior pastor, I will write down every vision of evangelism opportunities God
directs me to implement, present and future, according to the words of God through Habakkuk.
Habakkuk said, “…the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon
tables, that he may run that readeth it” (Habakkuk 2:2). In other words, whatever God gives me
to put into action, I will write it so I will not lose it as I have done in years past. I want all who
see it to catch the vision of evangelism and reach as many lost as they can possibly reach.
In addition, to writing the vision, I plan to do all I can to get out and act on the vision.
Implementation will be a part of my future plans. As a matter of fact, James said, “But be ye
doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). I have
deceived myself
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2Early, Dave and David Wheeler. Everyday Evangelism: Sharing the Christian Faith. (Nashville, TN: B & H
Academic, 2010), 39.
long enough. It’s time for me to start being real and authentic for Christ. It is time for me to
apply the powerful words of James to my life. I truly need to be a doer and not just a hearer. It is
time for me to truly model my ministry after Jesus. Christ said, “For the Son of man is come to
seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Again, the unsaved will definitely be my
priority.
In addition, I plan to do all I can to make sure non-believers truly understand who Christ is
and what he should be to them. McRaney said, “…we should assume 100 percent responsibility
for effective communication.”3 While spreading the word of God, I will attempt to make sure that
those who hear me will walk away with the best and clearest understanding possible. I will study
to show myself approved unto God so that I will not be ashamed as I rightly divide the word of
truth (2 Timothy 2:15). In other words, I will do all I can to be hermeneutically correct and
apologetically sound as I present and defend the word of God to all who desire a better
understanding of Him in their quest for salvation and truth.
As I make this forward step to try to manifest my personal vision, I am sure my family will be
impacted. So, my goal is to include them in the vision in all aspects as best as I can. In the words
of Joshua, “….as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). I truly want to
be sure that my family is well equipped for this journey. I want to make sure they are taught the
word of God and the ways of our Lord Jesus Christ. I also want to make sure they absolutely
understand the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus and their significance in the
journey towards salvation and the journey away from the bondage of sin.
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In addition, as I include my family, I plan to increase my prayer time with my wife and
children
3McRaney, 43.
so that we will become closer to the Lord and to one another as we stay boldly before the throne
of God. I truly believe the old saying, “a family that prays together stays together.”
Also, I want to demonstrate Christ to others in the presence of my family, especially my
children, so they can know how to model Christ in their lives to others. Pipe and Lee mentioned
that, “Healthy families spend quantity and quality time around God’s purposes. If we truly want
our children to accept the gospel, then our commitment to Christ must spill over to those around
us who do not know Christ.”4 In other words, I plan to demonstrate to my family, with a focus on
my children, how a sincere believer lives a Christian life in the presence of others. By doing this,
I pray that my children truly embrace the love of Christ towards them and others.
I further plan to do all I can to be a servant evangelist. My goal is to make sure those around
me and my family know that Christians are giving, caring people. I want my community to see
Christ dwelling in me and my family. I want to demonstrate love to people despite their current
spiritual state and even despite the attitudes, good or bad, towards me. I hope to win people to
Christ by demonstrating the words of Paul, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that
while we were sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). In other words, I want individuals to
see the sincerity of my heart towards them no matter where they are in their spiritual walk. My
desire is that non-believers understand that if Jesus saved me, he can also save them. “For there
is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11). He gives every person a fair chance at
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salvation. There is no favoritism in God. I absolutely want to share that good news with the
world.
4Pipes, Jerry and Victor Lee. Family to Family: Leaving a Lasting Legacy. (Lawrenceville, GA: Jerry Pipes
Productions, 1999), 70.
Future Ministry
As I look further into the future, I envision my ministry centering around evangelism. There is
no longer time for coming to church only and entertaining one another while there are souls
being lost and headed to eternal damnation. Jesus said, “The harvest is truly plenteous, but the
labourers are few” (Matthew 9:37). I feel in my heart that the church has sat around long enough
and watched so many people die without knowing Christ. It is time to become proactive for the
Lord. It is time to start training people who will not be ashamed to lift Jesus and be lights in a
dark world.
In addition, as senior pastor, I plan to implement evangelism classes that will provide proper
training to those who will participate. I want this class to produce ministers who will not mind
boldly going out lifting Christ. To accomplish this, one of the text books I plan to use in this
training class is a text we used in this course, Share Jesus Without Fear by William Fay and
Linda Evans. This book brought great information and insight into witnessing Jesus without
being afraid. From my own personal experience, there are many who do not witness or
participate in evangelism because of fear. As a result, they commit what Fay and Evans describes
as “the sin of silence.”5 Due to fear of what people will say about us or about our past, we sit in
silence hoping someone else will come by and witness all while watching people die in their
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sins. God holds us accountable for our silence and refusal to share Jesus. From this book, I was
reminded that instead of being afraid, “we should be excited about sharing our Faith.”6 We
should be excited to glorify God no matter where we are. The psalmist said,
“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
5Fay, William. Share Jesus Without Fear. (Nashville, TN: B& H Publishing Group, 1999), Chapter 2).
6Ibid., Chapter 2.
Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his
presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord
he is God: it is he that hath made us, and
not we ourselves; we are his people, and the
sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates
with thanksgiving, and into his courts with
praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his
name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is
everlasting; and his truth endureth to all
generations” (Psalm 100:1-5).
I want those who participate in this class to understand the aforementioned concept with clarity.
I desire that they understand and realize that fear is not of God and it is one of Satan’s vices to
try to prevent the progression of the word of God and to try to prevent salvation of non-believers.
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I want this evangelism class to really stress Paul’s words to Timothy in the second epistle to
Timothy where Paul said, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love,
and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). In other words, I want to teach the participants of the
evangelism class that fear is absolutely not an option for a child of the Most High God and that
we should witness Jesus in boldness knowing that God is with us.
Furthermore, my future plans as senior pastor and for my ministry in the area of evangelism is
to make sure that the light of Christ is visible in the lives of the members of my church. I want
the world to see Jesus in the body of Christ and not focus on us as people because we are fallible.
In the words of John, the Baptist, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). My goal
is to make Jesus the center and focus of my ministry, my church and in the lives of all of those
who God places in the flock He wants me to oversee. I want him to shine through us and be
glorified. I want this ministry to be one hundred percent obedient to the command that Jesus
gave in the Gospel of Matthew where he said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may
see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Our job is to
make sure Christ shines through us while we simultaneously glorify the Father. That is the future
goal of my ministry as I reach out all who do not know Christ.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this has been an awesome course. It has certainly opened my heart and mind to
the importance of evangelism. I have learned through the material presented in this course that
God expects for believers to “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature”
(Mark 16:15). He wants people to be saved and he wants a relationship with them. McRaney
said, “The Bible refers to the people of God as family, friends, and a community of faith.” 7 God
truly desires this intimacy with His people. Because of this desire that God has for his people and
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out of obedience to the Lord, I also desire and plan to demonstrate to my family, my friends, my
church, and to my community through my service, my words, and through my every day walk
with Christ the loving relationship and fellowship God longs to have with humankind.
7McRaney, 16.
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Bibliography
Early, Dave and David Wheeler. Everyday Evangelism: Sharing the Christian Faith. Nashville,
TN: B & H Academic, 2010.
Fay, William. Share Jesus Without Fear. Nashville, TN: B& H Publishing Group, 1999.
Mc Raney, Jr., Will. The Art of Personal Evangelism. Nashville, TN: B & H Academic, 2003.
Pipes, Jerry and Victor Lee. Family to Family: Leaving a Lasting Legacy. Lawrenceville, GA:
Jerry Pipes Productions, 1999.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures are taken form the King James Version of the Bible.
