The image of a scared high school freshman on a charter bus nervously trying to eat a sack lunch prior to doing door to door evangelism in Washington, DC flashed into my mind. This was the moment when my personal fear and aversion to evangelism started. I could feel my pulse quicken and my mouth went dry as I relived this memory all over again.
It was December 2017 and I (Rob) was on a Zoom call with Doug Schaupp about the GFM Zero Conversion Cohort when I heard the phrase “who are the people you will put on your list?” What?!? Wait a minute here. I signed up to coach students to do evangelism, not do it myself. Isn’t that what a coach does, lead and instruct from the sidelines? My whole concept of the cohort had just turned upside down. What have I gotten myself into? Even as campus staff with InterVarsity, my first thoughts were not of personal evangelism, but of discipling my students. Aren’t discipleship and evangelism two different things?
As Rick Mattson and I began meeting with two of my students as part of the evangelism cohort it quickly became evident that I was going to be challenged in many ways over the coming year. I needed to decide whether I was going to accept this challenge. The words of a missions trip leader and coach came to mind, “As a leader, never ask someone to do something that you aren’t willing to do yourself. Lead by example!”
As the cohort progressed, Rick consistently pressed us to stretch ourselves and set measurable monthly goals of engaging our friends and co-workers around spiritual conversations. He did not shy away from pressing us into uncomfortable situations and asking tough questions, especially when we did not follow through on our goals. I very much appreciated him holding us accountable, as this was key to my growth. I was learning to coach my students through the process of personal and corporate evangelism while at the same time being coached myself. Together, the students and I began to grow in our coaching skills and in our ability to discern, listen and ask good questions as we took risks in conversation.
My chapter was invited to participate in the cohort because the chapter had not seen a first-time decision of faith in many years. Hence the name Zero Conversion Cohort. I have often wondered how the group got to that point, especially when one of our basic GFM commitments is evangelism. I think there are two main contributing factors – a fear of rejection and a fear of change. Inviting someone new to experience our community involves taking a risk and the possibility of them saying no. Secondly, the presence of someone new will change the chemistry of the group and things will be different than before. Overcoming these and other barriers to reaching out and inviting others needed to start with individual students. Over time the students in the cohort moved from not caring much about the eternal destiny of their friends and coworkers or not seeing the point in reaching out to others to a place where evangelism is in the forefront of their minds. It is great to see students encouraging and coaching one another to interact with their non-believing friends. Their hearts have truly grown in their capacity to Love God and to love others.
We have entered our 3rd year of the evangelism cohort and have added three students to our original group of two. As our cohort continues to grow, the influence of the cohort over the entire fellowship has expanded. We are starting to see slow changes in the basic attitudes of our Fellowship – a shift from an inward focused “huddle” to a group that is outwardly and campus-centric. The Fellowship is beginning to make outreach events and calls to faith a regular part of what they do. This is much like turning a large ship – small changes over time alter the course.
Being on the introvert side (as are many of my students), I have always been hesitant to initiate a conversation with non-believers around the subject of faith. I never enjoyed making a cold call, whether it was a fundraiser as a kid or in evangelism. I preferred to tag along as “prayer support.” As I’ve participated in the cohort it has taken a concerted effort to overcome the deep-seated fears and misconceptions that were born in me so many years ago in DC. My students and I continue to learn from one another’s successes and failures. As we have taken risks, we have grown. And what a reward that is! One of our goals as staff is to help our students grow and mature spiritually. As we seek to transform the lives of students and faculty, we need engage them on multiple fronts. One of these areas must be evangelism.
Back to my question – "Aren’t discipleship and evangelism two separate things?" The real answer is – NO! Discipleship and evangelism are two interwoven cords. One cannot grow and expand without the other. As the students grow in evangelism and likeness with Christ, they are equipped with the tools to be strong witnesses in their neighborhoods, churches and the marketplace.
Many things have dramatically changed through our participation in the evangelism cohort – my personal attitude toward evangelism, the students’ attitudes toward evangelism, the direction of the grad chapter at UMichigan and the number of first-time professions of faith within the chapter. We’ve had the privilege of taking part in four first-time professions of faith in Christ over the last two and half years! I’ve included a photo of myself with Shirley (left), who came to Christ with the help of Claire (right), a student in the evangelism cohort.
Missionary William Borden sums up this new attitude best through this inscription in the front of his Bible:
“No reserves. No retreats. No regrets.”
