Spiritual Gift of Evangelism in the Marketplace
The spiritual gift of evangelism is the special ability to spread the awareness of God’s glory by sharing the gospel message with unbelievers in such a way that men and women become Jesus’ disciples and responsible members of the body of Christ.
Marketplace Christians with this spiritual gift are passionate about verbally sharing the gospel message with their co-workers, clients, customers, supervisors, vendors, etc.
Spiritual Gift Recognition Statements
- “I have led many people to Jesus during my lifetime.”
- “I am passionate about sharing the gospel message with all types of people.”
- “I have challenged other Christians to share their faith with non-Christians.”
Marketplace Impact
Evangelism is one of Robert’s primary spiritual gifts. For the past 35 years, he has worked as an expert witness for attorneys who defend people who have lost large sums of money entrusted to their stockbrokers. Because of his expertise as a former stockbroker himself, Robert has been called in by these attorneys more than 1500 times to interview their clients, many of whom are senior citizens and widows. Robert’s expertise concerning the financial industry helps these attorneys build their cases against stockbrokers and financial institutions they believe have taken advantage of their clients.
As you can imagine, the people Robert interviews usually are in extremely desperate situations and are in search of hope and vindication. Over the course of the entire year leading up to each trial, Robert has pointed these people toward Jesus, the One who offers true salvation. Robert reported that, in nearly each of the 1500 times he has met with a client, he has prayed for the person to receive Jesus as his or her personal Savior—unless the person was already a Christian. Almost every non-Christian person he has prayed for in these office settings has become a Christian. If the person was already a believer, he would pray that he or she would experience even greater joy and power through the Holy Spirit.
Not only would he pray with the clients to receive Jesus, he would pray with the attorneys to receive Jesus. One of the attorneys he led to the Lord went from being a depressed alcoholic to becoming a joyful, Christ-centered philanthropist who went on to start one of the largest law firms of its kind in the United States. He and Robert are close friends and brothers-in-Christ to this day.
Biblical Insights
- Acts 8:5-6, 26-40; 14:21; 21:8
- Ephesians 4:11-14
Discussion: Do you have the spiritual gift of evangelism? If so, please share how you use this spiritual gift in a business setting. Can you think of any other marketplace Christians who use this spiritual gift in a business setting? If so, please share his/her story to encourage other marketplace Christians who have this spiritual gift.
