TEEN BYTES - NICK & LIZ | KAIROS GLOBAL | SEPTEMBER 2019

Author: Sharon Siby

Nick: Hey dude, did you hear about our church’s new initiative to evangelize?

Liz: Yeah man. Isn’t it great?

Nick: I mean, yeah, it’s great but I don’t really know what to do, you know? I mean, evangelization is like going out into the streets and teaching others about Jesus, right? I don’t know if I can do that??

Liz: I know how you feel man, that’s how I felt initially as well. 

Nick: I feel a but coming.

Liz: BUT, evangelization starts with our relationship with Jesus. Evangelization isn’t about preaching on the street sides or converting thousands of people. Its about your relationship to Jesus and you following His calling. That can come in many different ways, for some people, their calling is to preach on the street sides and for others it may be to write about God for others to learn about him. 

Nick: So, you’re saying that there are many ways to evangelize?

Liz: Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying! Evangelization means to be led by the Holy Spirit, wherever it may lead you and be permeated by the love of Christ. The most important thing is to live your life as an example of faith.

Nick: Live my life as an example of faith?

Liz: Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven”. Our lives should be our greatest evangelization. If we live as a good Christian, our lives can impact more people than just our words;should we live with this mindset. 

Nick: Dang man, that’s deep! Do you have any tips for how to live as a witness to Christ?

Liz: Thanks fam, and yeah, I have a few tips. One thing that you can do is be joyful. Pope Francis says that “And may the world of our time, which is searching, sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, be enabled to receive the good news not from evangelizers who are dejected, discouraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervor, who have first received the joy of Christ.” 

Nick: So, I should live my life with the joy of the Lord, sounds easy enough. Any other tips?

Liz: Another thing is that evangelizers should love people. The greatest commandment is “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and a foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” In order to follow these commandments, we must love those around us in all circumstances. This may include supporting them and standing up for them, no matter how difficult it may be for us. 

Nick: That too doesn’t sound hard. But still, isn’t it hard to evangelize?

Liz: Of course, dude, evangelizing does require us to get out of our comfort zones. Just like how the apostles left behind everything that they were comfortable with, their families, their communities, their lives, to follow Jesus, so must we. It requires us to be humble and realize that we must follow Jesus wherever he calls us.

Nick: Thanks man, you were so helpful dude!Liz: No worries, dude! Ask if you have any questions!

Nick: Okay man, bye!Liz: Bye fam!