“Let him who is thirsty come and take the free water of life”
An article titled “Why We Need to Improve the Method of Evangelism,” written by Pastor Oscar Amaechina, an evangelist for unreached peoples in Africa, was recently introduced in the Christian Post (CP) of the United States. Pastor Amaechina is the president of the Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network (AMEN), located in Abuja, Nigeria.
Pastor Amaechina wrote in his column, “Sometimes, preaching the Gospel by carrying megaphones to public places and holding city-wide ‘crusades’ by many of us have proven useful, but most of the time they are not as effective as they could be. Oftentimes, people hear the Gospel, and they seem receptive, but their lives show they’ve never been born-again — they simply continue in their sinful ways”, he said.
“I have also realized that most people whom we are engaging with do not pay attention to the gospel messages that we preach because of their physical challenges at hand. A hungry man finds it difficult to focus on anything but how to get food to eat“ he added.
“An empty stomach has no ears” is an African phrase that is commonly used to depict the desperation of the hungry in search of food. Preaching the Gospel without attending to the basic needs of the desperate sometimes ends in futility.
And he pointed out that the conventional methods of missions have also suffered a lot of setbacks, especially in areas where insurgency and terrorism are prevalent. In Northern Nigeria, most of the mission fields have been deserted as missionaries and Christians are killed daily.
“But I have noticed something striking. The unreached are now migrating in en-mass to the Southern part of the country. We can no longer send missionaries to the unreached, but God is sending the unreached to us.” he said.
“In response to this mass migration, we must recognize the immense opportunity we have in spreading the Gospel. We must relate to them with the aim of knowing them and introducing Christ. Our actions can lead them to Christ or scare them away,” he said.
He encouraged us to endeavour to pursue one-on-one friendships as part of the way we evangelize the world. A little shift from conventional methods can be of immense help in reaching the unreached. A little bit of change can go a long way in bringing many to Christ.” (Source: Christian Today Comprehensive).
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come, and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. (Revelation 22:16-17)
God, please prepare a church to preach the gospel by recognizing that it is an opportunity to reach unreached tribes from the areas where missionaries cannot go due to insurgency and terrorism in Nigeria. When the church not only looks after the needs of the life of the unreached tribes but also prays for them to realize the void in their souls, pray that the Holy Spirit of Truth works in them. Let the Nigerian, who was wandering without the gospel, find a way to God, get the free water of life, and share God’s grace with other souls.
Prayer 24·365
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