Soul winning is not just an ambition for a few choice souls who wish to be accounted wise in the sight of God, but rather a statement which sets out the great task in which every believer is involved because of his or her relationship with God. “Every believer is primarily a missionary!”

Facts On Soul Winning

•  Evangelism is neither debatable nor optional; it is obligatory.
• The gospel must be proclaimed! All who know Him must make Him known
• The whole church is a missionary community existing for the world and reaching beyond itself in its attempts to win the world.
• God never asks man to become a spiritual recluse, but He commands man to go and tell the story of His love. Characteristics of a soul winning centered church.
• There must ever be the cry of the new-born babe in the community of the saints.
• The church is a fellowship where those who know Christ are bound together in the Spirit.
• It is a lecture room where great truths are expounded.
• Church is an instruction class where teaching on every Christian virtue is given and a nursery where young Christians are nurtured and helped in the early stages of their new lives.
• It is also a maternity ward where children are born in grace and where new-born babes give their first cries of delight.

The joy of soul winning
One of the things which delights every soul-winner is to hear the person whom he has just led to Christ thank God for his own salvation and then immediately pray for the salvation of someone in his family who is dear to him. It's the mark of reality. He has tasted, and others must come and taste too! He is born to reproduce.

Here are some few examples of people whom the delight of knowing Jesus; the Lord of Lords and the Saviour of our lives had an immediate effect. And what joy to a soul winner who experience the radical transformation of alive that he has introduced to Jesus!

1. John 1:41-42 "He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus."
2. John 1:41“When Philip began to follow Jesus, he immediately "found Nathaniel and said to him, 'We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote – Jesus of Nazareth. "
3. John 4:29 “The Samaritan woman who met Christ at the well was so convinced by His searching word that she rushed excitedly back to the town "and said to the men, 'Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?' "
4. John 9:25 “When Jesus healed the man who was born blind, his exhilarating testimony was, "Whether be a sinner of not, I know not; One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”
5. Acts 9:20 When Saul of Tarsus was suddenly converted on the road to Damascus, he was blind for three days, but when the scales fell from his eyes, "Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God."

The transformed Christians have the same testimony in the spiritual realm and they give it with great joy and gratitude, "I was blind but now I see!

What is our purpose as Christians?
Peter speaking to Christians says, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.“1Peter 2:9

That purpose of every Christian existence is.

• To be vehicles of vision.
• To be instruments of illumination.
• To be the medium of the manifestation of the great God and His wonderful salvation!
• To preach God.
• To show Him to all the world.
• To bring others into God's saving light.
• They are born to reproduce!

When Christians burns for Christ, When the Lion of Judah stirs their hearts, they wakes up and run to the fields with zeal not seen before, with charisma and commitment like that of Jesus!  Amos 3:8 “The Lion has roared. Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?”

Jeremiah 20:9 “Then I said , I will not make mention of him, or speak any more in his name; But His Word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not," declared Jeremiah.

What should drive us into soul winning?
While the Great Commission is of the utmost importance, the obligation to spread the gospel to all nations depends as much upon the strength of His command to us, as upon the nature of His person in us.God is love, and this love which sent Jesus to the Cross to save sinful man is within us. His spirit of self-denial and sacrifice possesses our lives so that we are united with Him in this great crusade for the salvation of men and women.

The more we are controlled by this sacrificial Spirit of Christ, so much the more will we be prepared to be involved in the sacrifice of ourselves, our ideals and our plans, for the sake of the gospel. To deny our involvement and responsibility would be to deny the essential character of the God who indwells us. Evangelism is grounded in the very nature of God. Not only is Jesus the motivating power within us but He is also the great example to us. Paul states, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no
reputation...but humbled Himself...became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."

But why did He have to go to a cross? Why did He have to suffer? Why should He be forsaken by God? Why was the cross necessary? Why? Because man could be saved in no other way!

•  Listen, the eternal counsels of redeeming love demanded it; man's guilty, ruined,helpless condition required it; the glory of God made it indispensable!
• There was no other way in which the divine glory could be maintained;
• No other way in which the claims of the throne of God could be answered;
• No other way in which heaven's majesty could be vindicated,? No other way in which the eternal purposes of divine love could be expressed;
• No other way in which sin could be put away and forgiven;
• No other way in which Satan and his awesome power could be vanquished; no other way in which God could remain just and yet be the Justifier of ungodly men; No other way in which death could be robbed of its sting, or the grave of its victory;
• No other way save by the sufferings and death of our blessed Lord Jesus.

What Kills the burning fire of soul winning?

1. When the church becomes cold and formal, the Holy Spirit is grieved, and because He is not in control, missionary zeal and effort decline.
2. If you or I grow cold toward God and allow materialism and indifference to crowd out His presence, our desires for God and His work will fade and grow faint and missions will lose their interest. But if we return to Him allowing Him to flood our beings and control our lives, we will certainly sense the Big Compelling of the Holy Spirit sending us out to tell the gospel story!

•  How close to God are you my friend?
• When last did you hear Him speak to you?
• Are you conscious of the inward compulsion of the Holy Spirit to tell the story of divine love? This is part of God's great plan for the evangelization of the world.

3. Wrong priorities by churches towards soul winning. Many churches are burning up to achieve other things more than soul winning. Some churches tend to invest more heavily in structures, vehicles and Public Address Systems way above soul winning and evangelism. The ratio of their expenditure between soul winning and other church projects is so trivial to be noted.
4. Cold pastors to soul winning Many Pastors do not burn up in their hearts for soul winning. They feel as though soul winning does not make much of their work. And what is their work? Their work as many will say is to administrate the church and preach. Unfortunately, few pastors realize that soul winning is not a gift, its a command. Very few realize that soul winning is their primary obligation!

To be continued....

From April to August this year, We have been able to reach 15 million + people with the good news of Jesus over the Internet.
Be part of the soul winning team for Jesus!

Pastor Moses Mwicigi is the Senior Pastor at the Good News Fellowship International. He has a burning desire of seeing more souls brought into the Kingdom of God.