Now What?

The following post is written by an East-West missionary on our short-term mission trip team.

Recently an older gentleman walked up to me and asked, “What do y’all do?”

I was working a booth at an event on behalf of East-West, so I told him about the ministry and the distinct vision God has given us as an international missions organization.

Walter*—the older gentleman—responded with his own intro to a lengthy soliloquy about his problems with Christianity.

What began as a simple task to promote East-West and recruit people to join our cause quickly turned into a blatant opportunity to talk about Jesus and His gospel.

I sat down and talked with Walter for two hours as the event wound down for the evening. From Genesis to Revelation, I walked him through the story of the gospel, answering his questions along the way.

Some of the things Walter said blew me away. He believed there had to be some sort of god because someone had to have created everything. He even said he could believe in the physical life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

But despite his belief in multiple truths surrounding the gospel, he said he just didn’t get how the death and resurrection of Jesus could actually save him from anything.

His roadblock to faith in Jesus was the grace of Jesus—the climax of this good news.

When Walter and I eventually parted ways that evening, he remained blind to the gospel, and I thought, “Now what? What do Christians do when we share the gospel with someone and they walk away remaining in unbelief?”

I wrestled with these questions and sought wise counsel to help me sift through this experience. Here are the key points I took away:

• Jesus saves people by His grace alone (Ephesians 2:8)
• I do not save anyone by how eloquently I present the gospel (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)
• My only responsibility is to faithfully and truthfully share the Gospel (Mark 16:15)
• I am to pray for my friend’s unbelieving heart to be opened (Ephesians 1:17-18)
• I pursue further relationship with this neighbor and talk about who Jesus is with him as he continues to ask questions throughout the discourse of sharing life together (Mark 12: 31, 1 Peter 3:15)

When we share our faith with others—regardless of the outcome—we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). This is our greatest motivator to mission.

*Name changed for security reasons.