Apostle Obadare would say soul-winning is the act of “searching for lost souls and backsliders and bringing them home to Christ.”[1] We do this act of winning souls by bearing witness of Jesus Christ, i.e. telling others about the good news of Jesus. Any serious church must intentionally continue to embark on soul-winning, not just for the sake of stability and growth but also as an act of obedience to the owner of the church, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ – who commands that we should go and propagate the gospel (Matthew 28:19-20).

Lost Souls: These are people who are loved by God but do not know His love and therefore have not given their lives to Him by accepting the saving work of His Son, Jesus Christ.

  • Jesus himself has come to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10; Mat. 18:11)
  • There is joy over every sinner that is found and brought home (Luke 15:4-7)

Backsliders: Are people who have left faith because of the cares of the world and various winds of doctrine and other problems. Since the church is the body of Christ, she must go out there and help Jesus to look for and find the backsliders.

  • The parable of the lost son is a good example of this (Luke 15:11-15)
  • We are to rejoice when they return (Luke 15:28, 32)
  • God wants us to seek the lost (Ezekiel 34:4-6)

Often we reduce the need to win souls or bear witness by saying that our behavior or character is the way we witness. Yes, we witness with our character but this must not replace the act of actually opening our mouths to declare the love, life, death, resurrection and coming back of our Lord Jesus Christ. We as a church must not shy away from speaking the good news.

  • The only way the world can know about the salvation of Jesus is if someone (you and I: the body of Christ, the church) would testify of Him (Rom. 10:14-15). Greg Ogden wrote that witnessing is “sharing our faith with our friends.”[2]

One big problem however is that whenever witnessing, evangelism or soul-winning is mentioned in church, many of us Christians become anxious because we think it’s a hard or shameful work. Greg Ogden recommends these six principles that help to reduce anxiety and free up the body of Christ to do soul-winning:

  1. “Reduce self-consciousness and increase God-consciousness”[3]: We are so conscious our self that we think we would look bad if our message is not received. Instead, we should just preach Jesus, thinking of His sacrifice on the cross, not about ourselves.
  2. “Our witness is only one of many influence”[4]: We must know that God has many people that He assigned to witness to souls. You may be just one of them. You may the one who preaches, I may be the one who nurtures, God is the One who actually saves the soul. Knowing this will reduce our anxiety.
  3. “Listen by asking probing questions”[5]: Get to know their concerns, people will let you into their lives and you’ll be able to Jesus, the One who can help them.
  4. “Ask People to investigate Jesus”[6]: Invite people to ‘come and see’ for themselves. Give them the scriptures to read, they’ll find Jesus.
  5. “Share out of Joy”[7]: Let the joy of your own salvation be what motives you to share the gospel
  6. “Their best selves await them”[8]: Let them know that the best is yet to come, it can be found in Christ Jesus.

I conclude by saying the best way and most sustaining way to begin and continue to bear witness is to receive the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Himself said, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Let’s all pray for the power of the Holy Spirit which can help us do the work assigned to us. He is the enabler.

[1] Timothy Obadare, Seven Significant Ways Declined by the Holy Spirit for the Edification of the Church of God in the World (Akure: WOSEM Press, 1985), 4

[2] Greg Ogden, Discipleship Essentials: A guide to building your life in Christ (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Connect, 1998), 164

[3] Ogden, 167

[4] Ibid., 168

[5] Ibid., 168

[6] Ibid., 169

[7] Ibid., 170

[8] Ibid., 170