What Happened When God Called This ‘Closet Christian’ to Crusade Evangelism

I have a confession to make.

When I heard the call of the Lord to be a crusade evangelist, I had not won one soul for Jesus. I confess this to my eternal shame. I was a closet Christian.

Yet, when the Lord spoke to my heart and appointed me to the mighty task of mass evangelism, I instinctively understood something: He could not use me to preach the gospel to the masses until I could witness to the individual. And so, I started—albeit awkwardly and messily. But, in spite of my inexperience and nervousness, the Lord used me to win the lost, soul by precious soul. Today, He uses me to win both the one and the many!

Why do I share this with you? For two primary reasons. First, when the Lord calls you to do something, I guarantee that you will feel unqualified for the task. You will feel insufficient, unprepared and unable. This is completely natural, dear friend. Our God wants you to step out upon the waters. He wants you to be completely reliant and utterly dependent on Him. He wants you to cling to Him fervently and draw from Him desperately. Why? He wants you to achieve the impossible—and the impossible is only possible if attempted hand-in-hand with Him! In my case, He called a young woman who had not yet won one soul for Jesus to win the masses for Jesus. How typical of the Lord! After all, He called uneducated fishermen to lead the early church and teach ceiling-shattering doctrine. He called a murderer and church-hater to pen the gospel of peace and write a prolific portion of the New Testament. He called a herder of sheep to be the king of His people. In short, He calls us to become what we most certainly are not and then makes us to be what we could never dream of becoming. This is the delight of the master of the universe and the prerogative of the architect of all creation! And so, embrace the uncertainty, push past the fear and take that first step of faith. This leads me to my second point.

Dear friend, whatever dream the Lord has laid upon your heart, whatever purpose He has called you to accomplish, the important thing is for you to get going. Take the first step, regardless of how small it may seem or how poorly you take it. The Lord will grow you, advance you and, when the time in right and your character is steadfastly grounded in Him, He will raise you up! Take the first step … and then the next … and then the next. For me, starting to evangelize one-on-one was the first step. Perhaps your first step is registering that dream business, applying for an online course, volunteering at your local church or simply spending more time with the Lord in prayer and His Word on a regular basis. You know what that first step is, and if you are unsure, take the most logical one. God loves action. If you take an action step with a sincere heart, doing your best to follow His leading, He will use it for His glory and redirect if necessary. The Lord works with workers and moves with movers. Go forward, and go for it! The Lord is with you.

Listen to the first episode of In His Name on the Charisma Podcast Network, Getting to Know Tamryn and learn more about how the Lord called me to crusade evangelism and how I went about taking that first step of faith. I know it will be a great encouragement to you in your own walk with the Lord. {eoa}

Tamryn Klintworth is an evangelist and the founder of In His Name Ministries, an organization winning Africa for Jesus through mass crusades and empowering believers around the world to be used by God. Connect with @tamrynklintworth on Instagram and Facebook.

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