All By Myself

Over the years I‘ve had a few individuals tell me I shouldn’t be doing street evangelism alone. They think it’s unscriptural because Jesus sent his disciples out two by two. Certainly, there are advantages to going out in pairs or groups. Deuteronomy 32:30 says that if one can chase a thousand, two can “put ten thousand to flight.” There is power in agreement.

However, that doesn’t mean Christians are useless by themselves. There are examples in the Bible where individuals ministered to others without having fellow believers with them such as Philip leading the Ethiopian eunuch to salvation (Acts 8:26-40). While I prefer having a partner with me on the streets, many times no one else has been available or willing to join me.

One day while staying at a church in Hanover, Germany, the Lord told me to go out and evangelize that afternoon. But except for handing out a couple of tracts, I resisted doing so because I wanted someone else ministering with me. While venting before the Lord in the church sanctuary, I received a revelation as to why He often has me witnessing solo. It is to overcome the fear of man. As the old saying goes, “You and God are a majority.”

Because of my disobedience, the Lord kept me in Hanover an extra day and told me to aim for ten salvations. I had to do a lot of “fishing” to find those ten souls. During this, I was also able to share many Scriptures with an atheist, a lesbian, and a young woman promoting the Green Party. After praying with my tenth person that day (a Muslim originally from Lebanon), I was walking back to the church when I felt led to approach a couple talking in front of a tattoo parlor. The woman spoke English and prayed with me to get born again. Praise God for 11 salvations that day!  

If Jesus Christ continues to tarry His Second Coming and more laws are passed restricting the preaching of the gospel, we may find ourselves in challenging situations where the Lord will expect us to testify of Him even if other believers aren’t present. Jesus said in Matthew 10:18-20 (KJV), “And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.”  

If you were waiting at a bus stop and the Lord put in on your heart to witness to an elderly person standing next to you, would you refuse to do so just because nobody else was with you? I hope not. You could be that person’s final opportunity to receive salvation.

Speaking of the elderly, I once saw a news report about an 84-year-old New Yorker named Irma Moraes. For over 40 years, Irma passed out gospel tracts alone in the Times Square area almost every day. If an 84-year-old woman can do that all by herself, then how can other Christians have an excuse for not obeying the Great Commission?

 “For many are called, but few are chosen.” - Matthew 22:14