Soul Winning by Pastor Dolapo Lawal: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Evangelism Is Dying in Our Generation

The people who were doing morning cry — street evangelism — are now old, and those who should take it up are not doing it. Evangelism is the believer's primary work. If you are struggling to find purpose, your purpose is to preach the gospel. Mark 16:15 — go into all the world and preach the gospel.

It is not evangelism for a certain set of people. Regardless of who you are in the body of Christ — pastor, prophet, or otherwise — you have been called to preach the gospel. The generation that can most effectively reach the generation coming after them is their own peers. When older people speak to you, it can feel like they are talking at you. But when it is your mates, it challenges you.

Soul Winning Is Not the Same as Evangelism

Evangelism is an announcement — preaching the gospel to the world. Soul winning is the transformative work that follows. You win souls in the church.

Acts 2:42, 47 — God added to the church daily those who were being saved.

When you evangelize, you are telling people about Jesus and announcing the gospel to them. But it is in the church that they begin to experience salvation. What makes a person saved is the Holy Spirit in them and being part of the body of Christ — and you join that body through the church.

Preaching the gospel is not saying "Jesus loves you" and moving on. You have to tell people about his death, burial, and resurrection. That is the gospel. In Romans 10, Paul says how can they hear if there is no preacher — faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. The preacher and the message together produce the specific faith required for the person to believe.

Preach With Signs and Wonders

Jesus did not preach without signs and wonders. Do not do it without them either.

Do not tell someone that Jesus has power to resurrect the dead and then be unable to fix their body. If it were you listening, would you believe? You are saying: this Jesus will give you life after death — and yet you have a headache he cannot heal.

At one point in John 14, Jesus said: forget what I am saying — believe me for the works that I do.

Our message is a power message. That is why Jesus did not speak of resurrection without raising Lazarus from the dead. He waited four days on purpose. The Jews believed that after three days you could no longer raise someone from the dead. Jesus waited until the body had already begun to decay, then said "Lazarus, come forth" — and a dead man heard his voice, and that voice powered him to rise.

Mark 16 links preaching the gospel directly to signs following. He said in my name — not with my name. In my name means you are acting as though I am the one. When the authority behind the name rejects an action, it is not you who are rejected — it is the one in whose name you came. When Jesus says do signs and wonders in his name, he means: when you are at that point, it will look as though I am the one doing it. They will not be able to stop you because you are coming in my authority.

Evangelism and Spiritual Warfare

Every evangelist — which is every believer — must understand soul winning in the context of spiritual warfare. The devil does not simply let people go. When someone is in darkness, it is not easy to leave like that.

If you are not praying, you do not have the capacity to get that person translated. The gospel is powered by the spirit. There is a way you will preach and they will not listen. You cannot preach the message of Jesus without doing it as Jesus did.

If you are not prayerful, you cannot do effective evangelism. The capacity to reach people who are bound comes from a life of prayer.

After They Are Saved — Follow-Through

Winning someone to Christ does not end with the prayer of salvation. The follow-through is where many gaps are.

Some practical lessons from experience: simply handing someone off to a church is not always enough — if there is no relationship already in place, they can slip away. Following up personally — even through social media — keeps you within reach and within the prompting of the spirit concerning that person. Not everyone is ready to join a church immediately, especially those who have experienced church hurt. Reading their personality early on helps you know whether to walk them by the hand for months or to give them space. Asking: are you ready? Do you want to come to my church, or would you prefer one closer to where you live?

Once God can get you to receive a burden for souls, he can get you to do anything. You will struggle to obey God in other things if you are not obeying this foundational commandment — go into all the world and preach the gospel.