Josia, a young evangelist attending the European Congress on Evangelism in Berlin, Germany, has experienced rejection for his faith in Jesus Christ many times.
He often hits the streets in his home country of Germany to share the Good News of a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.
“In Germany, most people think they are good people by themselves,” he mentioned.
Another problem prevalent throughout Europe, he added, is that many churches are simply not preaching God’s Word. They are no longer talking about Jesus Christ.
“Sometimes, the church is so boring—no joy, no vision, no hope for the future,” he said. “We need to stir it up and bring the Gospel back. People want to follow a master who is worthy to die for.”
He resonated with a message in which Will Graham, Executive Vice President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, spoke about the importance of extending an invitation to others to follow Jesus.
Graham told the congress guests about his early ministry—how he was nervous to give people the opportunity to respond to the Gospel after his sermons. He feared no one would respond, and he confessed he was scared of rejection.
But he has realised through his years of ministry, and through the godly examples of his father and grandfather, that an invitation must be given—whether or not anyone accepts it.
“We are called to be fishers of men,” he explained, citing Matthew 4:19. “If you never draw in the net, you are never really fishing. What God did on the cross—it demands a response.”
Josia shared that he was encouraged by Graham’s testimony of how God created in him a heart of boldness. “Sometimes it feels like no one is responding, and no one really cares [about faith],” he explained.
“It was so refreshing to see that Will Graham himself struggled with the fear of rejection of his message as a young man,” he said.
Another guest from Germany, David Schnitter, was encouraged during a message from Greg Laurie, an evangelist and the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in California.
Laurie shared spiritual analogies he drew from his childhood, as a paperboy. “My job was not to make the news; my job was to deliver the news—that’s it.” Similarly, when we share the Gospel, he said, “The results are in the hands of God.
“When you stand before Jesus on that final day, He’s not going to say, ‘Well done, good and successful servant.’ He’s going to say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ You have to be faithful,” Laurie said.
Schnitter, who’s been a pastor in Berlin for 13 years, explained that Laurie’s challenge to remain steadfast in the simple truth of the Gospel was just what he needed to hear. “God schedules encouragement just when we need it,” he noted.
Schnitter was also strengthened by the fellowship he enjoyed with other believers at the congress.
“Ministry in Berlin can get so lonely,” he explained. “To be in a room with over a thousand like-minded people—in my own city even—it tells me that God is not finished yet with Europe.”
Even better, Schnitter ran into an old friend at the congress whom he had not seen in over 20 years. The two first met while sharing the Gospel on the streets of Italy as young men, but they lost touch over the years.
“To see that he’s still going for it and also involved in a local church, and he’s still evangelising years later—so encouraging,” he said, his face beaming with a smile.
Will you pray for all those who attended this event, that they will return home with a renewed passion and boldness for the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Ask God to give them abundant opportunities to proclaim the Good News—and that He will draw many people to faith in Jesus Christ all across Europe.
