To fulfill the Great Commission, lives must change

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GRAPEVINE – In order to fulfill the Great Commission, Christians must live their lives differently, according to featured Radical Engage speakers.

Radical Engage as an evangelism conference sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

New programs and ministries are good, said Bob Roberts, pastor of NorthWood Church in Keller, but they don’t necessarily encourage people to share their faith. A person’s willingness to share his or her faith is a result of a strong relationship with Christ, not outside influences.

Steve Stroope, pastor of Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, speaks Sunday night, Jan. 25.
See an Engage slideshow here. (BGCT/Photos by Ferrell Foster)

Christians must be committed to following Christ and filled with God working in their lives, Roberts continued. When that happens, evangelism and the making of disciples will become natural and regular activities.

God called His followers to live with “abandon,” blessing others to the best of their abilities, Roberts said.

“We don’t need a new way to share our faith,” he said. “We need a new way of living life.”

Steve Stroope, lead pastor of LakePointe Church in Rockwall, said a commitment to Christ frees people to use their gifts to share the gospel. They begin to understand there are multiple ways people share their faith, and all of them are valid ways to expand God’s kingdom. Then people are empowered to do just that.

“If we are going to win the entire world, we have to set the whole church free to share their faith,” he said.

Set free, Christians will talk about God and his actions in routine conversations, Stroope said. Some of those dialogues will have eternal impacts.


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“Witnessing is more in a sentence than a paragraph,” he said.

If Christians continue to live life as they are, Roberts believes they will continue failing to reach the non-believers around them.

“There are people in your life that you see every day,” Roberts said. “And you’re not touching them.”


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