Is one type of motivation for evangelism better than all the others? Maybe you’ve been asking yourself that question as we’ve explored several of the most basic types of evangelism passion fuel these past weeks (compassion, heaven, hell, obedience and love for God).
Well, of course, the passion fuel I’m driven by personally is obviously the superior fuel, hands down!
Just kidding… But in fact, there’s a degree to which my flippant answer sheds some light on the question.
The Superior Fuel
Think about it. The best type of passion fuel for you or for me is the one that the Spirit of God has seen fit to motivate each of us with. So we would be wise to avoid being judgmental about others’ evangelism passion fuels if they differ from our own. It’s all too easy for us think that our way is the best way.
Actually, if you take a look at the two premier evangelists in Scripture, Jesus and Paul, you’ll see that they were motivated by several different passion fuels throughout their ministries. For examples of what drove Jesus, check out Matthew 10:28; 18:10-14; 22:34-40 and 28:19. Or take a look at Paul’s writings and you’ll soon discover the breadth of his evangelism motivations. Check out Acts 26:12-28; Romans 15:16; 1 Corinthians 9:16-17; 2 Corinthians 5:10-14; 1 Thessalonians 1:10 and 2 Timothy 2:10.
It Starts With a Spark
So lead from your strength. Start where you’re at when it comes to evangelism motivation and slowly start adding other types of passion fuel into your tank. In my experience, it really doesn’t matter which fuel is primary in driving you to action, as long as your action is ignited by the spark-plug of the Spirit.
Check out these two passages that make it clear that the Spirit is our ultimate power for evangelism:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).
All the evangelism passion fuel in the world won’t do any good without the spark of the Holy Spirit.
Make It Personal
As we wrap up this series on passion fuel, let me challenge you to reflect on the following personal questions:
- On a scale of 1 to 5, how much does each passion fuel motivate you to share your faith? Which one is your strongest motivation? (compassion, heaven, hell, obedience or love for God)
- Now that you know your primary passion fuel, what things can you do that will fill your tank up with it so it starts driving you in evangelism?
- What other passion fuels might you want to try adding to your motivational mix?
- Have you been relying on your own strength to evangelize? Will you start praying for the Holy Spirit to provide the spark that will ignite your passion fuel?
- How will you pass this on to your students?
- What’s one specific thing you will do in the next week to help motivate yourself and your teens to take THE Cause of Christ seriously and start sharing the gospel?
Lead your students into the exciting and sometimes scary adventure of sharing their faith and living for THE Cause by helping them tap into their own personal passion fuel and the power of the Holy Spirit.
