I said on Tuesday that my goal for 2008 was to share the gospel with more people than I did in 2007. Easier said than done. I've made these types of resolutions in the past and haven't always followed through with them. After hearing a convicting sermon on the importance of evangelism I get myself all ramped up to go out and start a small revival in my town. I envision myself confidently sharing the gospel with strangers and them falling at my feet crying out, "What must I do to be saved?" I imagine myself walking into Starbuck's and hearing one employee say to another, "Boy, I wish someone could tell me how to get to heaven." But it never works out this way. Evangelism is hard, and the constant presence of the fear of man and selfishness doesn't make it any easier. That's why I need a plan of attack. My plan for 2008 has two parts:

Plan to pray

The simple truth is, I'm never going to change apart from the supernatural help of God. I can't change on my own. I'm too weak, too sinful, to easily discouraged. I need the power of God Himself. And so I plan on praying regularly that God would do two things. First, I'll be praying that He gives me opportunities to share the gospel. I'll be praying that God opens many doors for me to proclaim the message of salvation. Second, and perhaps even more important, I'll be praying for courage to take those opportunities. I'll be pleading with God for Spurgeon-like boldness to share the gospel. I need doors, and I need courage to step through those doors.

Plan to plan

Sharing the gospel also takes a certain amount of strategic planning. If I'm going to grow in evangelism, I need to plan on spending time with non-Christians. This planning isn't anything fancy. I won't be going out to Staples and purchasing a new PDA to help me with this strategic planning. All I need is a cellphone and a calendar. I'll pick up my cellphone, call a non-Christian friend, and ask him if he wants to go to lunch. When he says yes, I'll then write down the date in my calendar. Then I'll return to step one, and plan to pray. Evangelism requires a plan.

I'm glad I've got a plan, but my hope for change isn't ultimately in my plan. It's in God Himself. God is eager to help me change. He's eager to help me grow evangelism. He wants to see sinners saved even more than I do. So my hope rests not in the plan, but in God. May He receive all the glory.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some phone calls to make.