This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Matthew 24:14 English Version

Getting Christians to be excited about sharing their faith is one of the hardest challenges we have. Somehow, we are led to think that there is a dichotomy between the gospel of salvation and the gospel of the kingdom. On one hand we are glad we are saved by God’s grace, but on the other hand we are passive about having people saved by the same grace. The bottleneck to this critical problem has been a poor idea of discipleship and mission.

Both the gospel of salvation and the gospel of the kingdom are two sides of the same coin. As such both discipleship and mission are not two different or optional activities, but they are taken as a whole to reveal the incredible love of God.

If we merely subscribe to the gospel of salvation and ignore the gospel of the kingdom, then our idea of sharing the faith remains limited to just wanting people to come to church and not come to Christ. If that is our tendency, then our expression of the Christian life is often marked by busyness, burnout and bitterness.

The Christian life is not defined by church attendance or hectic involvement of its activities. It is firstly and ultimately the radical and passionate pursuit of Christ because He has invited us to come and learn to be like Him. In doing so, you will realise that sharing your faith begins with following Him who calls you to faith and keeps you faithful.

It is by relying on and resting in the ever-present reality of Christ’s presence and power in your life that enables you to walk faithfully with Him and to live more fruitfully for Him. In doing so, your faith is not marked by busy activities which decrease passion or even negatively affect your spiritual walk. But rather, you become Christ-minded in all things, and the more you become Christ-minded the more you think and act according to His Word. So, when you say yes to Him—it is not because of obligation or guilt, but simply out of the revelation of His perfect love for you.

Discipleship and mission are not activities, but the life and lifestyle of every child of God who wants to be like the Father who loves the lost enough to bring them home.