Evangelism Handbook

Many books look at the message and the methods of evangelism, but we will never go farther than the power of God will take us. David Livingstone sat at his father’s knee and heard stories of great people of faith.¹ As a teenager in Scotland, David began to pray this prayer: “God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to yours.” He met Mary Moffat, told her of his passion, and together they went to Africa.

Soon after they arrived in Africa, Mary Moffat grew very ill. Having had two children and unable to handle the rigors of life in Africa, she said, “Oh, David, I must go back to England. What are you going to do?” Livingstone replied, “The smoke of the fires of a thousand villages in the African morning sun haunts my soul.” And she said, “Then, David, you’ve got to stay.” He said, “I’ll join you back in England in a few months.” But those few months turned into a year, and that year to two, and then to three and four.

When Livingstone returned to England, the queen of England said when he walked into the royal throne room of Great Britain, it was as though the presence of God had been ushered in. A lion had mauled his arm, and he had lost one eye to the jungle brush. After he had been home only a few months, his wife Mary asked, “David, where are you?” And again he said, “The haunting smoke of a thousand villages in the African morning sun haunts the soul within me.” And she said, “Then let’s go back.” Not long after they returned, Mary Moffat Livingstone died.

David also died deep in the heart of Africa. The Africans carried his body through the jungles to a ship for its return to England where it now resides. But before they sent the body, they cut out his heart, and it was buried in Africa. The African people said, “His body may go, but his heart must stay, for he brought the heart of the gospel to the heart of our nation.”

Our beliefs must be biblically grounded, and our evangelism methods must be effective. But our hearts must be filled with a passion for God. Such a passion flows from the spiritual resources we have as followers of Christ.

Part II deals with the spiritual resources related to evangelism. A spiritual passion for evangelism is essential, as noted by Wesley Duewel: “All other passions build upon . . . your passion for Jesus. A passion for souls grows out of a passion for Christ.”² John Wesley recognized this and shook a nation. He said, “Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen, such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on earth.”³