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Summer 2009 | Volume 67, No. 4
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Personal Evangelism Yields 27 New Believers
by Keith Collier
Personal evangelism produced divine results last fall at Southwestern. Faculty, staff, and students reported 27 professions of faith during the “50 Days/50 Ways” evangelism emphasis, which comprised the second half of the yearlong “100 Days of Evangelism” initiative in honor of the seminary’s centennial anniversary.
Harvey Solganick, professor of humanities in the College at Southwestern, participated in evangelism efforts with his church and used the Christmas season as an opportunity to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah to Jewish family members. His efforts were rewarded when his brother agreed to attend a Messianic congregation with him.
“My brother had terminal cancer and had only a year to live, so I asked him to dedicate his life and accept Yeshua as Lord,” said Solganick. “I had been witnessing to him several times during our evangelism effort days, and finally he agreed.”
Solganick’s brother died less than one week later. “This evangelistic moment was valuable to me personally as I know I will see my brother again in his glorified body as a brother in Christ,” he said.
Of those reporting, many witnessed 50 or more times during the campaign. Min Su Lee, an M.Div. student from Korea, lives on campus and has no unbelieving friends, so he targeted local shopping centers, parks, and universities. Despite language difficulties, Lee used tracts and evangelism surveys to engage people with the Gospel.
Mike Bishop, an M.Div. student, had the opportunity to lead seven people to Christ while training other students in evangelism. Bishop often makes himself available to take Southwestern students into the community to model personal evangelism.
“I make (evangelism) intentional everywhere I go,” said Bishop. “Every conversation we run into and every person that God draws across our path is truly a divine appointment. We can be so much more effective if we speak for Jesus when we see the opportunity.”
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