A few years ago it was estimated to require one thousand laypersons and six ministers one year to lead one person to Christ. It was also estimated that 95 percent of the Christians today never lead a soul to Christ. This is the reversal of Jesus’ strategy of New Testament evangelism. These trends must change if our world is to be reached, and evidences are that they are changing.

It is encouraging to read what George Barna’s research has shown. “Interpersonal evangelism is alive and evident. During the past year, more than 60 million adults (one-third of the adult population) claim to have shared their religious beliefs in hope that the recipient might accept Jesus Christ as personal Savior. The people who share their faith with nonbelievers do so often. On average, lay evangelists share with one person every month.”

The hope of reaching our world with the gospel is to harness the tremendous resources available to the church. Every church has an army of laypeople with a potential witnessing power to penetrate its community.

Darrell W. Robinson, Total Church Life, (Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville; 1997), pp. 174-175