What is Evangelism…
Evangelism is the announcement, proclamation, and/or preaching of the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), the good news of and about Jesus Christ. Therefore, the gospel is a communicated message—communicated in verbal (Luke 7:22; Romans 10:14-17) and/or written (Luke 1:1-4) form.
The English word “evangelism” comes from the Greek word “euaggelion.” Most literally translated in the noun form, euaggelion means: “gospel” or “good news.” In the verb form (euaggelizesthai), the meaning of the word changes slightly to “announce” or “bring good news.” The Greek word in its various forms appears fifty-five times in the New Testament. In addition to the before-mentioned translations, the Greek word is also translated as “preach.”
Evangelism, the communication of the gospel message, includes a warning, an explanation, and a call. Evangelism includes warning people about sin and the consequences of sin (John 16:8; Acts 24:25; Revelation 20:11-15). It includes an explanation of God’s remedy for sin—the gospel (Acts 8:29-35; Romans 3:21-26; 2 Corinthians 5:21). And it includes the clear call to repent (to turn from sin and to turn toward God) and believe the gospel, by faith (Mark 1:15; Luke 13:1-5; Acts 17:29-31; Romans 1:17; Romans 10:9-13).
What is Evangelism Explosion…
Evangelism Explosion is a ministry that trains people how to share their faith in Christ and how to bring people from unbelief to belief. It utilizes a variety of components including prayer, actual on-the-job training where the experienced lead the inexperienced, and the principle of spiritual multiplication.
“Multiplication” is the key component—not just winning people to the Lord one-by-one (addition). But training those won to the Lord to win, and then train, others. In the Book of Acts we read that the disciples “multiplied” and “multiplied exceedingly.” This shift from addition to spiritual multiplication offers the one real hope of sharing the Gospel with a world population that is, itself, continually multiplying.
On-the-job training is another vital ingredient. By actually going out with experienced trainers in real life witnessing situations, people learn how to share their faith. Much like learning to fly an airplane would be impossible without actually getting in the cockpit, evangelism is difficult without leaving the confines of a classroom.
By learning small parts of the Gospel each week, including Bible verses and illustrations, people incrementally grasp a Gospel tool that becomes a lifelong mission.