Fill Your People with the Gospel that They Might Overflow in Evangelism

It is tempting to encourage evangelism with guilt trips and preaching that focuses on "Do evangelism!" (And, I'm not saying there is no place to preach and teach the importance of evangelism -- we have an adult class on it right now!)

But a recent, encouraging email reminded me afresh of the important relationship between setting Christ before people each Sunday morning and them doing evangelism during the week. A member wrote:

We are very blessed to have such faithful teaching of the Word of God every week.  It's amazing.  It used to be that when I did evangelism, I would feel it was somehow disjointed from the "rest" of my Christian life.  You know, it was almost like you wanted to go out evangelizing just so that you would remember the gospel.

But now it's the opposite.  Evangelism works as an overflow from the word that is being planted every week in our hearts.  Since we glory in the cross every week at church (etc.), evangelism and conversations about the work of Christ are so much more natural.