How Do I Gauge Success in Evangelism?

Have you ever wondered if you are an effective evangelist? It seems like some people seem to have all the success in evangelism while others do not share that same success. A few of these effective evangelists are people like Billy Graham, Reinhard Bonnke, and D.L. Moody. Combined, they have led millions of people to Jesus Christ which greatly overshadows the number of people I have led to the Lord--and maybe you too. But does this mean I am a bad evangelist? Does this mean you are a bad evangelist?

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells a story about sharing the Gospel which is all-too-famous in many Christian circles. “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand” (Matthew 13:3-9, NLT).

In this story, I believe Jesus is showing us a picture of evangelism in the Kingdom of God with four key ideas being present. First, a great evangelist is faithful to scatter seed, second, we do not get to determine the type of soil, third, true conversion always yields fruit and fourth, true conversion is produced by God, not the sower. Now, a word on each.

A great evangelist is faithful to scatter seed. In this story, Jesus uses the illustration of a farmer scattering seed in a field. The job of the farmer is to scatter seed. Jesus does not give us the impression that he had any other role to play after the seed was sown. The farmer simply sows the seed. 

Evangelism, at its core, is being faithful to scatter seed like this farmer. There are no other requirements of eloquence or intelligence, for these do not guarantee evangelism will follow. Evangelism is faithfulness to the discipline to share the message of Jesus with those around us. Whether we are eating lunch with a friend or on stage in front of 10,000 people, a great evangelist is faithful to share the Gospel regardless of who is present. 

Now, we move to the next part of the story. While sowing, the farmer encounters four very different locations where the seed was scattered. The first area was on the road, and the birds came and took it away. The second area was the shallow, rocky soil, and the seed could not fully grow. The third area was the thorny soil, and the plant was choked out as it grew. Lastly, the fourth area was the fertile soil which allowed the seed to produce a fruitful crop. 

This leads me to the second idea: we do not get to determine the type of soil. The farmer scattered seed everywhere. 

Good places.

Bad places. 

Fertile.

Infertile.

Dangerous.

Safe.

...everywhere.

In my analytical mind, if the farmer was going to maximize his use of seed, he should have prepped all the soil to ensure that all the soil was ready to yield a fruitful crop.  Yet, the farmer did not do this. He essentially “wasted” 75% of his seed on bad soil. This seems really careless. However, I believe Jesus is letting us know that as we share the Gospel, no seed sown is wasted (remember to be faithful) and we do not know the type of soil it is falling onto until the seed is sown. Some people may be the path. Others may be the shallow, rocky soil. Some might be the thorns. But still some might be the fertile soil that produces a harvest. 

Third, true conversion (salvation) always yields fruit. This is something that we miss in many church circles in America, yet Jesus knew this very well. Conversion is not about receptivity but about transformation. We pat ourselves on the back because people raise their hands on a Sunday, but how are they six months later? 

Now this may seem hard to swallow, but let me ask this: If conversion was about receptivity, then why does Jesus only paint the fertile, fruitful soil in a positive light? Did not the second and third soils “receive” the seed like the fourth soil? Of course they did, but conversion is not about reception. It is about transformation in your life and mine that yields fruit thirty, sixty, or one hundred times what was sown. (No, I am not a proponent of salvation by works. Works are the fruit of our salvation).

So maybe when we count our salvation numbers, should we wait till we see the fruit of their life? We might have a lower count, but it would be an accurate count of people who are in the Kingdom.

Lastly, true conversion is produced by God, not the sower. As seed is sown, the farmer must entrust the soil and the elements to enable that seed to produce fruit. Likewise, as we share the Gospel, we must entrust the Spirit of God to enable that seed to produce fruit. The results, as Jesus would have you and me to know, are not in our hands.

I think this is what I have struggled with the most in evangelism. I used to believe that I was saving people. What an arrogant thought! I cannot save people anymore than I can keep a fire from being hot. By nature, it is impossible. However, God can save people, and He does a really good job at this work. When I realized this, any pressure I had placed on myself about evangelism subsided. I had understood my job and God’s job. And that is what matters most.

My prayer is that you have gleaned a nugget or two from this to apply to your evangelistic efforts and that God would lead you people who need the Gospel as He leads me to people who need the Gospel this week.