I recently returned from Southeast Asia, training and equipping native missionaries for personal evangelism. The posts that follow detail some of my thoughts and experiences along the way:

A scene out of the book of Acts…

I feel like I had been transported to Ephesus, one of the major cities Paul visited as described in Acts 19. On the city square, there are several small temples full of man-made idols. People are lying prostrate before them, praying intently for blessings and the forgiveness of their sins. Merchants are all around, selling opportunities for people to have sins forgiven. Several of them had giant cages full of birds. To have your sins forgiven, you needed to buy a bird and then set it free along the river. The birds did not travel very far and gathered to roost on the edge of the temple roof and surrounding buildings. After a while, the merchants would lure the birds back with food and trap them for resale. It appeared to be a very profitable enterprise for the merchants. Many people stood in line waiting to buy their bird.

What a heartbreaking scene - people trusting in birds and man-made statues to relieve them of their guilt and connect them with a higher being and/or purpose. So futile. So hopeless.

(On the main square in a major city)

I am thankful to have the opportunity to partner with native missionaries in this country and around the world, equipping them to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. There is nothing to buy, Jesus paid it all. There is nothing to do but trust in Him and His finished work on the cross. Thank you, Lord, for allowing us to share the light of your grace, even in one of the darkest regions of the world.

One of most efficient ways to communicate the gospel in other countries is to encourage and equip indigenous believers to share the message. EvanTell offers clear and simple tools and training to these indigenous believers throughout the world who already know the language and culture of their regions.

One of the ways we do this is through our You Can Tell It! seminar. Through our network of certified YCTI! instructors, EvanTell equips believers around the world to reach the lost in their own countries and beyond. Because of their clarity and simplicity, our materials for outreach and training have proven effective throughout the world in a variety of languages and settings.

In a recent trip to Cambodia, one of our certified instructors brought back this testimony from a local minister who attended the training:

“After finishing the “You Can Tell It!” seminar on personal evangelism, I shared Christ with three non-believers the very same day. When I asked them if they wanted to trust Christ, all three said yes. With this best result, I became more bold and continued to share Christ with another man and his daughter and two sisters. All of them trusted Christ as their Savior. So with this simple material and the Lord’s power, I will continue sharing Christ to those who are lost in my village after I return. Praise God, Amen.”

Everyone has significant moments in their life; moments that are so impactful they change you forever. My most impactful moment occurred when I first understood what Jesus Christ had done for me. I remember how I felt leading up to that day, isolated and burdened because of my sin, knowing that when I died, I would have to give an account to my Creator.

I knew that no matter how good I tried to be, no matter what I did, the guilt from my sin remained. God was perfect, heaven was perfect, but I wasn’t. How could God love someone as sinful as me? How could a perfect God even think about letting me in to heaven? I greatly feared death knowing that I would have to answer for my sin.

This was my mindset seconds before I heard a message that changed my life forever. Through a very simple gospel presentation, I came to understand the good news of Jesus Christ. As I listened, I saw myself before a holy God, ready to receive the guilty verdict and punishment for my sin.

I then saw in my mind Jesus on the cross, realizing for the first time that HE had taken that punishment for me. Wow! There was nothing left to be done. Jesus had paid it all and His resurrection proved it was true. My response was to trust in Him and what He had done for me.

My eyes were opened and my burden was lifted. I experienced the joy of knowing that I had a relationship with my Creator that would last forever, not because of what I had done, but because of what Christ had done for me.

My heart’s desire is to be used by God to share the good news I heard that day with the world and equip and encourage other believers to do the same. That is also the passion and calling of EvanTell, the ministry where I serve as Director of International Ministries. We believe that when the gospel is communicated clearly, it has the power to change the life of anyone, anywhere, at any time.

My prayer is that this blog would be an encouragement to you as I share my heart about evangelism and how God is working around the world to give people hope through the good news of Jesus Christ.

Coming soon to the blogosphere, a site by EvanTell, Inc. called Worldwide Hope. EvanTell’s mission is to declare the gospel, clearly and simply; activate believers around the world; and prepare the next generation to reach the lost. We pray this site will be a blessing and an encouragement to you as you prepare to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Please check back shortly as the launch of this site is coming soon. God bless!