Evangelism

"Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury.  He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.  Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to this chariot and join it."  So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah.  He asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?"  He replied, "How can I, unless someone guides me?"  And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.  Acts 8:27-31

In doing some research on Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, I discovered that the Philip mentioned in Acts 8 is one of the seven chosen as the first deacons of the church during the persecution of Christians following the martyrdom of Stephen.  He was known as "Philip the Evangelist" presumably to distinguish him from Philip, Jesus' apostle. If you read further in Acts you will find that Philip went on to tell the Ethiopian the good news of Jesus.  When they came to some water by the road the Ethiopian asked to be baptized which Philip gladly did.  Philip was sent by the Holy Spirit to be on that road to meet this important official and he was them "spirited" on to preach the good news until he settled in Caesarea.  This all happened before the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (Paul).

What a remarkable evangelism story.  Evangelism doesn't have to be a complicated life-altering matter as it was with Philip.  It can be as simple as a warm greeting to someone in church, inviting someone we know to come with us to church or just telling someone about our church and its programs.  I think of Kristin Morton so far away in England doing God's work, a missionary and evangelist all in one.  What a wonderful way to praise God for all He has done for us.  Evangelism can also be reaching out to our neighbor in need as our Social Ministry does, or taking part in the care packages sent to our college and military youth, or agreeing to sponsor a new member.

I first came to worship at Holy Trinity in 1967.  It was an older congregation at the time and I was not sure that it was the church for me.  As I was leaving (having decided not to return), I was greeted by Margaret Drake (who many of you may remember fondly).  She welcomed me and told me a little about Holy Trinity and its programs.  At the time she was a Nursery teacher.  This one person reaching out made me want to come back to worship again and I have been at Holy Trinity ever since.  She also didn't waste any time having me sign up to teach Sunday School, which turned out to be the greatest joy of my life. 

Dear Lord, thank you for sending people like Margaret into our lives to bring us closer to you.  Thank you for all the members of our Evangelism and Social Ministry Committees and missionaries like Kristin who labor with love and joy in Your vineyard.  Help us to be a better evangelist for you.  In Jesus' name we pray, Amen

                                                                     Rae Starke

                                                                     raestarke1234@aol.com