Testimonies reflect Southwesterners’ passion to evangelize the lost

Jenny Kim loved sharing her testimony. When she gave her life to Christ as a college freshman, she was eager to share the story of God’s saving grace with anyone she could. But as she learned more about the Bible, feelings of inadequacy diminished her enthusiasm. Kim realized there was still much to learn, and she feared the difficult questions she may not be able to answer.

Crippled by fear, she stopped sharing the Gospel altogether. “I started to get scared that my theology might be wrong whenever I talked with others,” Kim explains. “I would refer people to other resources instead of sharing the Gospel myself.”

Not until she began her studies at Southwestern and enrolled in a contemporary evangelism course did Kim realize that her fears were just a lie from the enemy that hindered her from following God in obedience. She regained confidence as professors offered support and encouragement, providing new tools for her evangelism efforts.

“I have realized that people are more willing to listen than Christians are willing to share,” Kim says. “God has given us both the command and the power to go out and share the Gospel, so we should.”

Kim’s conviction to share the Gospel with nonbelievers as often as she can is a reflection of Southwestern’s passion to evangelize the lost. Kim is one of the many students who have taken advantage of Southwestern’s numerous opportunities to partner with fellow students and professors to reach local neighborhoods, grow in their own evangelism efforts, and prepare for a lifelong commitment to reach the world with the Gospel.

Master of Arts student Jong Lee says his participation in “Going the Second Mile” helped him to overcome his fear of witnessing to people he did not know, particularly through door-to-door evangelism. Lee explains that he found it easy to share the Gospel with friends and family but was skeptical of cold-call evangelism. Still hesitant, he eventually joined an evangelism team one afternoon, and he immediately saw the value of this type of evangelism. Only one person responded to the Gospel message, but he says he realized how many people were hearing the Gospel for the first time.

“I realized that God really orders us to share the Gospel will all of our neighbors,” he says. “I followed the group and began to learn a lot about how to evangelize.”

In contrast to Lee’s fear of witnessing to strangers, Master of Divinity student Daniel Moon always found it more difficult to witness to those in his day-to-day life. As a member of a student ministry during his college years, he was familiar with evangelizing people he had just met, but he was later convicted of his neglect to share with family, friends and colleagues. 

“I came to Southwestern to study more of God’s Word, but it cannot stay only inside the four walls of a classroom or just in my head. I need to share constantly,” Moon says. “God has brought me wonderful Southwestern friends who have become evangelism partners. Because of them, I am able to be more consistent and intentional in sharing the Gospel.”

For Master of Arts student Marla Rasberry, God has used the time in her evangelism classes and her regular involvement with Southwestern’s various evangelism efforts (including “Everyday Evangelism” and Crossover) to give her new tools to grow in evangelism. Although she says evangelism has never been difficult for her, she believes there is always something to learn.

“We are really blessed to have the professors we have, because they want to encourage students to get out of their comfort zone and to use their gifts that the Lord has given them,” Rasberry says. “The Lord has developed in me a passion for evangelism. I used to be more shy, so it is amazing to see where the Lord has me now and to look back and see how God has used me to lead people to Christ.”