THE FOUR CALLINGS: OUR CALL TO EVANGELISM

Opening Call To Worship Scripture: Psalm 96:1-4

Children’s Scripture Time: John 1:29-34 share about how they can be an eyewitness to their friends at school about Jesus.

Good morning! I hope that you all had a wonderful new year celebration. We went to see the lights in Batesville and we had a good time together as a family. Hard to believe that Christmas Break is almost over for our kids and college students. Hard to believe that we are in 2026. In just a couple of weeks, I will be forty-eight. As a church, we have entered our one hundred sixteenth year as a church in this community. Even more amazing is that the God who has written the story of South Side Baptist Church from its humble beginnings as Sulphur Springs Baptist Church is still writing the story of South Side Baptist Church.

I’ve thought and prayed a lot about this church and the future. Last month, we talked about making room for Christ in our lives, and we talked about being salt and light in a world that so desperately needs it. So where do we go from here, what does the future look like for South Side Baptist Church?

Thinking about the future is not an uncommon thing to be thinking about at the start of the year. Many of you may have thought about what you hope this year will be like. People often think about where they want to be, whether it is accomplishing something, being healthier, being better at something, or to achieve a dream. People make resolutions, and while the majority of people tend to give up on their resolutions by the middle of February, some complete them.

I’ve often thought about our focus as a church. A year from now, where do we see ourselves? To establish a strong framework, we’re going to spend the next several weeks grounding ourselves in what God has called us to be and to do, both as followers of Christ and corporately as South Side Baptist Church. Jesus gave us direction and a path in Matthew 28:18-20. After His resurrection, He has a message for His followers:

Matthew 28:18–20 CSB

18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Let’s pray.

Jesus' final words to His disciples emphasize the authority and mission He has entrusted to us. The Great Commission is not just a command but a relational invitation to participate in God's redemptive story by making disciples. With Jesus' promise of His presence, we can be assured that we are never alone in this calling. He leads us every step of the way.

You and I as Christians and members of South Side Baptist Church are called to be His witness to the world. We are called to bear witness, to disciple, to go on mission, and to worship Jesus Christ who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We need to get back to the basics as a church. In The Great Commission, Jesus reveals the calling of His people, the church. Over the next few weeks, we will look at the four callings of the church:

Four Callings

Evangelism

Discipleship

Missions

Worship

Today we begin by looking at our calling to be an evangelist. Jesus tells us to go. To evangelize, telling the world about Jesus. If I was to say that it absolutely matters that we go and be a witness about Jesus, every believer in here would agree. If I was to say that the world needs the hope that we as followers of Christ have, every one would agree, and I’d get some “AMENS!” out of it (Have fun with this). If I say Jesus is the answer for the world today, I’d hear even more amens!

But if I were to then say, “and you get to share that answer with the world.” It might get pretty quiet. If I were to say that if we want to see people come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, then you and I have to be willing to share, it might get pretty quiet. If I were to tell you that if you are a follower of Jesus, then you are called to be an evangelist, you might look at me like I’m crazy. For you an evangelist might be someone who comes to a church and preaches. You might think of Christian social media influencers like Wes Huff, Bryce Crawford, or Cliffe Knechtle who go around at events and college campuses defending and evangelizing for the faith. (Have fun here like say if you are of a certain age, you might even picture someone in a three piece suit that is snug as a bug on a rug.)

However, the truth is that you and I are called to be an evangelist of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You and I as members of South Side Baptist Church are called to evangelism. To be an evangelist is to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ with the intention of inviting others to believe in him as their Savior and Lord. Today, I want us to focus in on three areas of focus on evangelism, for us as individuals and us as a church.

Proclaim The Power

Trust The Spirit

Shine The Light

1. Proclaim the Power

So as we begin let’s dive into the first component, Proclaim the Power. Open your Bibles to Romans 1:16. Paul addresses the Romans in his most theologically based book to a group of believers who were struggling in a culture that was full of immorality, and worshipped everything under the sun, except the One who made the sun. Sounds a lot like our world today. The church was fighting all kinds of issues and struggled to live out what it meant to be a follower of Christ. Paul writes this letter to equip and encourage them.

This is what he writes in Romans 1:16:

Romans 1:16 CSB

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.

Paul writes that he is not ashamed of the gospel. For Paul, the Gospel is the power of God to save everyone who believes. When it comes to the hope of Christ, there is nothing to be ashamed about. It is the hope that this world needs. It is the hope that you and I have that we are called to share with our world around us. You do not have to leave this town to see people who need to hear this Good News.

Yet, I think sometimes we keep from sharing the good news of Jesus. We justify ourselves, saying we don’t have time, or we don’t want to make people feel uncomfortable. With our coworkers, friends, colleges we will talk about everything else, but when it comes to the Gospel - we don’t say a word about it. Some of us, people know that we are church going people, but do they know that you follow Christ? I’m not saying that every time you have a conversation with someone you demand them to make a choice (Have fun with this, like you don’t go to your colleague and ask them if they were to die tonight, where would you go, because you might end up in an HR meeting).

You may be here and think, yeah I’m not ashamed but I don’t want people to think that I’m crazy. I understand that. I used to think that way, and let’s be honest - there are those who do wild and crazy things, proclaiming it in the name of Jesus. However, sharing about the transformative power of Christ in our lives is not crazy! It is loving! It is caring!

Think about this: What good is it to have the cure for what our community needs and be quiet about it? Sharing the Gospel does not have to be complex, like rocket science. But if we are not willing to share the Gospel, then what are we doing as a church? The Gospel is the power of God! And He invites those of us who are followers of Jesus to proclaim this power to the world! To our neighbor, our teacher, coworker, husband, wife, children, friends, and enemies! We are not to be ashamed to share it. It is the power to change hearts, to bring hope to a dark world! As a church, we are to proclaim the power of the Gospel EVERYWHERE and with EVERYONE!

As a church, we need to be willing to proclaim the power of the Gospel. This is something that as a church we have struggled to do consistently, outside of a couple of things that we have done. This is not something that is unique to our church alone. Thousands of churches struggle with this. They become complacent with how things have been, and continue to do the same thing over and over. Do you know what happens when churches cease to share the Gospel? When they don’t reach their community? When they expect that people will just come to their churches without going out and interacting with them? When the church becomes “ashamed” and hides behind their pride? They die. They close their doors and cease to exist.

For those of you who will look at that and say well, that’s the pastor’s fault for those churches who close. And in some of those cases, it may be true. But if you think it is the Pastor’s responsibility to go and share, then you are flat out wrong. It is not the pastor that grows the church. It is us being willing to be unashamed of the Gospel and sharing it. Jesus didn’t tell just the Pastor to go into all the world, He told ALL OF US.

2. Trust the Spirit

The Gospel is nothing to be ashamed about. We get to proclaim the power not for our own glory, but rather for the Lord. We as a church are not only to proclaim the power, but we are to trust the Spirit. Turn to 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. Paul writes to the church at Corinth to address many issues - division, sin, the Lord’s Supper to name a few. The churches back then did not have access to the Scriptures that we have today. For the majority of them, their knowledge was limited, and Paul writes to address how to live. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 Paul writes:

1 Corinthians 2:1–5 CSB

1 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom. 2 I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.

For many of us, it isn’t necessarily that we are ashamed or afraid to share the Gospel, but it is more that we are unsure of what to say. What if they ask a question that I don’t know the answer to? What if I say the wrong things? What if I fumble over my words? For some of us we feel inadequate because of our “lack of knowledge.” We know Jesus as our Savior and we desire our family and friends to know Him, but we fall into the fear of what if they ask this? What if they say that? What if I draw a blank.

But do you notice that Paul says that he did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom? Did you read where he wrote that he came to them in fear, and not with persuasive words? The guy that wrote the majority of the New Testament, who we look to a lot, and read a lot just said to the church at Corinth, that he came to them with fear. Yet did that stop him? No. Did you notice how he was able to preach to them? Did you notice how he was able to speak the Gospel to them? He said “with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.” Paul trusted the Holy Spirit to guide Him. He didn’t wait, he went trusting in the Holy Spirit to give him the words to say.

As a church, we are called to proclaim the power of the Gospel. We are called to do things in this community that open up opportunities to share the Gospel message. It means doing things like our food and angel tree baskets where we not only gave food and gifts, but we gave gospel tracts, invited them to church, and prayed with them. It means a willingness to be public about our faith in the workplace and in the home. When we go out, and when we interact on-line. If people know more about our political stances than they do our relationship with Christ, that’s a problem. You and I are called to proclaim the power of the Gospel.

And, when we share the Gospel, we do not do this alone. Jesus Himself told us that we would have one to guide and lead us. This is what Jesus said in John 14:16-17:

John 14:16–17 CSB

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you.

As individuals and as a church, we do not go alone to share the Gospel. The Holy Spirit goes with us, and gives us the words and the ability to say the things that we need to say. Our role is not to lead in the conversation, but to trust the Spirit to lead us. That is all you and are called to do with sharing the Gospel. Not to go at it on our own, but to go with trusting in the Spirit.

Trusting in the Spirit does not mean that everyone you share the Gospel will respond positively to the Gospel. There will be those who will at first say no, and there will be those who will never say yes. You and I as individuals and as a church are called to share the Gospel, trusting the Spirit to do the work, leaving it for the hearer to respond to the Gospel.

When we trust the Spirit, the Spirit will be with us. When we trust the spirit, the spirit will give us the words to say? Will we still stumble over our words? Yes. Could we still say something goofy? (Have fun by saying “ABSOFRUITLEY BECAUSE POBODY’S NERFECT!).

You are human. You will make mistakes and you may trip up on your words. Yet trusting in the Spirit and sharing the Gospel is so much better than giving into the fear of the what ifs and the what abouts. Remember, his power is made perfect in your weakness. As a church we need to proclaim the power of the the Gospel, we need to trust the Spirit, and we need to shine the Light.

3. Shine the Light

Turn to Matthew 5:16. Last week we talked about being Salt and Light, and when we as a church follow the calling of Evangelism as individuals and as the church, we are being light bearers. Yet, being a light bearer of the good news of Jesus that is the Gospel is not just with our words. Now, our words do matter. Greg Stier who leads an amazing evangelism organization called Dare 2 Share said this:

“Preach the Gospel. Use words. It is necessary.”

-Greg Stier

Our words do matter, but it is not only our words that matter. This is what Jesus said in Matthew 5:16:

Matthew 5:16 CSB

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

You and I are to show how the Gospel transforms has changed our life with our words and our actions. That is what Jesus is getting at when He says for us to let our “light shine before others.” Our words and our actions are to be a reflection of the change that has happened in us. Our words matter, but our actions often speak louder than words; therefore, embodying the character of Christ in everyday situations can be a powerful form of evangelism.

Yet so often I see people who profess Jesus with their lips, and yet deny it through their actions. We may see on someone’s social media bio how they love Jesus and yet they post the most ungodly things with their words and actions. That is not how we are to be. Jesus, when He tells us to shine our light, is echoing passages like Psalm 19:14 where the Psalmist’s desire is for their life to be a reflection of God.

As followers of Christ, we do nothing for the Gospel if we do not live out the power of the Gospel in our lives. To shine the light of Christ means that we are to live for His glory and not our own. We are to love people because He loved us. Our actions along with our words are to point people to Christ regardless if they are our loved ones, a stranger, or the people we have a problem with.

As a church we need to be out there shining our light. As a church we need to be doing things that will reflect the power of the Gospel. That means that we need to do things like events and initiatives that point people toward the Gospel. Events like a Fall Carnival and Easter egg hunts. Dental and Medical clinics. Back to school events where kids have a great time and we become a help to parents as they get ready for the school year. Partnering with the schools and places like the Station. It means that we invite people to come - those who we run into in the store and our neighbors. It means that we love people no matter how they look or act. It means we have to be okay if the pews get dirty, and if kids get a little noisy in church and the parents do nothing. We cannot expect a lost world to act like anything other than a lost world.

It is time for us as a church to get back to the basics of what we are called to do. As a church, you and I are called to evangelism, sharing the Gospel through proclaiming the power, trusting the Spirit, and shining the Light.

Move down for the invitation.