Southwestern Seminary student’s first time to share Gospel in the U.S. results in two professions of faith

When Jason*, a new Master of Divinity in Biblical Counseling student from China, saw the class posting to join one of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Everyday Evangelism teams for the first visit of the semester, he decided to participate because “we have to evangelize in the classes and I [thought] I should do something practical.”

Everyday Evangelism allows Southwestern Seminary and Texas Baptist College students, faculty, and staff to take part in reaching the Greater Fort Worth area with the Gospel as participants go to college campuses, parks, and other locations weekly to engage in Gospel conversations. During the 2020-2021 academic year, even with COVID-19 restrictions, over 250 professions of faith were made through the visits.

Jason had only lived in the United States for less than two weeks when he joined Sufnat Wasti’s August 21 team in their visit to an area university.

Wasti, a Ph.D. student in evangelism from Pakistan, divided the students in couples based on their previous evangelism experience. Students who were more seasoned in evangelism were paired with those who had never shared the Gospel or who were still learning. Wasti told the students to go “where students are sitting” such as the campus student center and library.

Wasti and Jason teamed up and encountered two university students from Houston, Asalia and Alicia. Wasti, who has led teams through the weekly outreach endeavors for five years, introduced himself and Jason to the two young ladies by stating, “We are students of religion and we are here asking students about their beliefs [and] cultural background.”

After Asalia and Alicia indicated that both of their parents were Christians, Wasti continued the conversation by asking about their personal beliefs about religion and God. When the two girls indicated they “struggled with it,” Wasti inquired about their views on life and eternity. Both Asalia and Alicia indicated they believed in heaven and hell and that “some people go to heaven and some go to hell.”

“That just naturally led to the next question, ‘How do you think somebody goes to heaven?’” said Wasti. “At that point they said when you do good deeds and more good deeds, God will send you to heaven.”

Wasti shared the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He explained their one sin separated them from God and through their story he “tried to show them that no matter how many good deeds you do, we have done more than one bad deed, so that means we have no chance if good deeds were the way to go to heaven.”

Jason, who had been listening to the conversation, felt compelled to share his testimony with Asalia and Alicia. He told them he, too, had grown up in a Christian home, had attended church and Sunday school “all the time” and followed his parents’ faith, not making a relationship with God personal.

Jason explained when he was a university student, he began to question God and the Bible, ultimately feeling “guilty because when I read the Bible, I know God’s requirements for holy, but I am a sinner. So, I just [said] God is too holy and I am too sin[ful]. It is too far away for me to know Him.” 

However, Jason shared with the two university students he was continuously seeking the Lord in the Bible and saw “Jesus face-to-face and so that is why I totally changed after that. That is why I don’t question God anymore. Because I know He is real and Jesus is real. He … indeed has touched my life.”

After Jason finished sharing his testimony by stating that “only accepting Christ that He took the punishment of our sins and we go to heaven under His holiness; that is our only hope” did one of the students respond, “I want to seek for God also like that.”

Wasti and Jason continued sharing the Gospel with Asalia and Alicia twice more before both ladies prayed to receive Christ.

However, Wasti and Jason did not learn until later about the prayer Ariel Lee prayed that same evening. Lee, a 2018 Southwestern Seminary Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling graduate, arrived at the university after the teams began canvassing the campus. Wasti said Lee began to pray, specifically that “today at least two people would get saved.”

The evangelism opportunity was Jason’s “first time to go to evangelize in the United States.” However, he said it was a “great opportunity” because persecution makes “it … hard to share the Gospel in China right now, especially for the campus and university.”

Jason encourages other Southwesterners to take part in the Everyday Evangelism teams because “it is much easier and more open to you. It is a great experience for me to say, ‘This place is open and I can share. I can go around and talk with them and share Jesus Christ with them.’”

Wasti agreed while also noting the urgency of sharing the Gospel.

“The U.S. is open and we can share with anybody without any fear,” Wasti said. “Just take opportunity of this and just go out and share. These people are dying and they don’t know Christ. Love for God and His glory and compassion for these people should motivate us to go. If Christ died for them, we have no excuse. We have to go and share the Gospel.”

Everyday Evangelism is open to any Southwestern Seminary and TBC student, faculty, and staff who would like to participate. More information about Everyday Evangelism meeting days, times, and locations can be found here.

*Name changed for security reasons.