Sweaty palms. A knotted stomach. Shallow breathing. A quickening pulse.
For Christians, these are the telltale symptoms of a first-time evangelist preparing to share their faith.
“I think that's a lot of the reason why a lot of people don't share their faith in the first place is because it's intimidating,” Joyel Victor, a senior biology pre-med major, said. “It's so intimidating. What if you don't know what to say, or how are you gonna start the conversation?”
JD Jones, a junior Christian ministries and biblical literature major at Taylor University, agreed. Despite Christ’s instructions to evangelize in Matthew 28:19-20, many Christians struggle to share their faith for a variety of reasons.
However, Taylor’s Campus Crusade for Christ International (Cru) ministry seeks to change that trend, equipping students for evangelism through local outreach.
A national and international student outreach ministry, Cru is present on more than 2,000 college campuses across the United States, providing a space for students to learn about the gospel and fellowship with other Christians, the Cru website stated. The ministry is especially vital at secular universities, Joyel said.
At a Christian university like Taylor, Cru functions a bit differently. Because the campus community provides ample opportunity for Christian fellowship and spiritual growth, Taylor’s Cru ministry focuses on gathering students for evangelism at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, Joyel said.
Partnering with Ball State’s Cru chapter, the organization usually completes about three outreaches a semester along with periodic evangelism training sessions throughout the school year, Joyel explained.
Each evening of outreach takes four to five hours, beginning with dinner and fellowship at the student center. Then Jones, one of Taylor’s Cru student leaders, outlines the plans for the night and students carpool to Ball State.
After their arrival on the Muncie campus, Cru leaders conduct a brief evangelism training session for students, Jones said.
Though there are many methods of sharing the gospel, Cru provides a resource called Know God Personally (KGP). This survey simplifies the process of entering a spiritual or gospel conversation by providing questions tailor-made for evangelism situations, Joyel said. The questionnaire includes queries like “What is the gospel?’”, “Who is God?”, “Who is Jesus?” and “Why do we need Jesus in the first place?”
After touching on the basics of evangelism, leaders separate attendees into groups of two or three, Jones said.
“We usually try to mix experience and unexperienced, and try to mix Ball State and Taylor students up so they get new perspectives, and so that they know the campus,” Jones said.
After pairing up, the students scatter across campus, approaching groups or individuals to start conversations. The actual outreach usually lasts for an hour to an hour and a half.
When the evangelism portion of the night concludes, the group comes together for a short debrief session, Jones said. Individuals share their experiences and then leaders record data such as how many spiritual conversations, gospel conversations and conversions occurred that night.
“It's really encouraging to come back as a whole Cru and hear other people's experiences, and the good and the bad,” Joyel said, “And just be so encouraged that no matter what is happening, God is still working.”
While sharing the gospel in an unfamiliar environment is far from easy, Jones believes Ball State evangelism encourages spiritual growth among Taylor students and allows them to fulfill their Christian calling to make disciples.
Joyel agreed. Evangelism is an essential part of the Christian faith, she said. While believers do experience rejection when evangelizing, people––especially students––are hungry for the gospel.
“People are looking for religion, and they're looking for something to believe in,” Joyel said. “That's just so clear talking to people.”
Angela Victor, a sophomore biology health science major, has also seen a willingness among students to enter spiritual conversations at Ball State.
Prioritizing evangelism in the midst of a packed school schedule is difficult, Angela said. However, students are going to be busy for the rest of their lives — if they want to prioritize something, they should begin now.
In spite of fear, busyness or a variety of other excuses, Joyel urged students to “just try it!” Just as He guided many characters in the Bible, God will provide students with the necessary words to speak, she said.
“It is scary, but that is what we're called to do as Christians, is we're called to go out and take a leap of faith and talk about God,” Joyel said. “I think that it is a leap of faith, but I think that it's so rewarding in the end, and it's like, encouraging once you've done it.”
Students can email Jones at johndavid_jones@taylor.edu for more information or to join the Ball State Evangelism GroupMe. Students can also look for information about evangelism trainings and outreach nights in Taylor’s daily announcement emails or on advertisements posted around campus. The next Ball State outreach night will take place on Oct. 23.
