Playing Evangelism, the Long Game

“At the same time pray for us, too, that God will open a door [of opportunity] to us for the word, to proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I have been imprisoned; that I may make it clear [and speak boldly and unfold the mystery] in the way I should.

Conduct yourself with wisdom in your interactions with outsiders (non-believers), make the most of each opportunity [treating it as something precious]. Let your speech at all times be gracious and pleasant, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how to answer each one [who questions you].” (Colossians 4:3-6, AMP)

An older gentleman was featured on Humans of New York’s Facebook page this week. He shared his story of running for New York City Council ten years ago in Eastern Queens. He speaks about how even just ten years ago, in a post-9/11 city the people of his community were legally abused because they lacked political power at even the lowest levels. Most were not even voters.

This man’s community was, more specifically, South Asian Muslims. 

He spoke about his experience running for city council, going door to door with a volunteer for his campaign. Together, they helped people who had never been registered before become voters, aiming to transform the electorate one voter at a time. 

This gentleman ended up losing his election ten years ago, but a decade later, that volunteer that once went door to door with him is now the new Mayor of New York: Zohran Mamdani.

That outcome has angered many. There are some that say there is yet another mass-exodus of New Yorkers preparing to leave the city for good because of it, wishing to abandon the city to the bed it’s made.

And while neither I, nor this site, has no stake in New York City politics, this story still holds a spiritual commentary for the Christian church today. America is a melting pot. That’s the way it was built and will always be, but the Christian church is very much at a crossroads: We can either throw our hands up and blame the world for getting darker or we can evangelize harder.

Say what you want, but eastern religions are playing a longer game than we do. They don’t care about lost battles, like that older gentleman’s lost campaign ten years ago. They have their eyes set on how those lost battles begin to turn the tides into bigger victories. After all, what is a city council chair compared to the mayoral seat of one of America’s biggest cities?

But the Christian church has become more about instant gratification and social followings. Our churches are so afraid of losing people in the pews that they forego opportunities to unite with other like-minded, local churches. Pastors are so focused on preaching snappy clips that might go viral on social media, that they’re missing real life, missional evangelism opportunities in their own backyards. Christians hate rejection so much that they won’t go door to door to share the Gospel.

Why are Eastern religions doing better at evangelism than we are? Because we’ve lost the plot. We should be praying constantly. We should be praying that God furthers His kingdom through us. We shouldn’t just pray that someone more spiritual gets the opportunity to tell someone about Jesus in the grocery store. We should be praying that God would strengthen us. That God would increase our faith and our courage to share the Gospel ourselves.

Our country is currently in a perfect place to minister to others and share Jesus in the process. Thousands of Americans have lost their food stamps and live in food-insecure homes. Go to your local food bank and ask if you can volunteer. Ask if you can pray with the people you’re helping. Go offer hope in a hopeless world. Go offer Jesus to people that need Him. 

“My campaign might not have been the swing of the axe that knocked down the tree– the first swing rarely is. But it turns out we were breaking the ground for something bigger.” That is a direct quote from the Humans of New York Story. God is opening doors, friends. He is giving us opportunities to speak boldly and interact with non-believers. Are we taking those opportunities?

Are we making sure our conduct is Godly at all times? Are we treating each evangelistic opportunity as a precious treasure? Is our speech gracious? Do we converse and discuss Christ with others in a way that turns others off? Or are we seeing every conversation, every outreach, every act of service to others as the swing of an axe?

What you do today may not be the swing of the axe that knocks down the tree, but it is doing something. It’s laying the groundwork for something bigger to happen later. It could be ten years, twenty years– it could be after you’re long gone– before that work is seen, but what is the alternative? 

Christians have a bad habit of pointing to the rapture for everything. Yes, Christ is coming one day, but no one knows when. And yes, there is a merit to always living ready for the Lord to come, but not at the expense of evangelizing the Gospel. If our only response to a dark world is, “Jesus, come and end it all!” then we are stopping far short of the Great Commission that Jesus left us with until He returns or calls us home.

Keep swinging your axe for the Lord, friends. Find something to do in sharing the Gospel today. The opportunities truly are ripe for the picking. I will pray that you seize them, as you do the same for me. We may not see instant results– the tree we are hacking away at may not fall tomorrow– but we know how the story ends. We’ve been given the end of the Book.

God’s will is still being done. There is nothing, no one, and no Mayor of New York City, that could stop it from being done. Praise the Lord, and swing that axe.