THE PARTNERSHIP NATURE OF WITNESSING
SEPTEMBER 12, 2025
TEXT: 1 CORINTHIANS 3:6-8
KEY VERSE:
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. (1 Corinthians 3:6)
It is no doubt that God has bestowed upon our hands the kingdom task of “fishing” for souls that are lost or perishing. Evangelism is a tripartite arrangement which involves sowing, watering, and increase.
The sowing stage is the stage where an evangelist ministers the gospel and the genuine facts of salvation to an unsaved soul for the first time and tries to explain the basic intricacies of the kingdom to him.
The watering stage is the stage where either the original preacher or a new person entirely then decides to follow up on what the unbeliever already heard by trying to convict his soul more with the help of the Holy Spirit. They try to encourage and motivate them so as to solidify their newly-found stand. This shows that the role of evangelism is not a one-man assignment.
Personal effort is needed in line with God’s command (Acts 1:4-8), but ultimately, it is God that gives the increase and makes the whole exercise fruitful. The increase stage is the only stage that is operated by God only without any input from man. It is God that gives the increase to every evangelistic task. We are labourers in the vineyard of God. Ours is to go out there to glean the whitened fields which are ready for harvest, while trusting God to increase and convict the souls Himself. Do not be discouraged when you minister to a person newly and it seems not to yield any fruits. You may indeed have planted a seed for another to nurture subsequently. The reason why many get disappointed easily in the course of evangelism is that they expect immediate changes in the life of the person they just ministered to. It doesn’t work that way. It’s a gradual and germinative process. Also, when we are able to win a soul for Christ, we should not claim the glory for ourselves as we are merely tools/agents of conversion ordained by God Almighty. Souls are converted by the special grace of God and not by our eloquence, grammatical fluency, or intellectual prowess.
SEARCHLIGHT:
In witnessing to others, do as God has laid in your heart and never try to force things by your own power.
PRAYER:
O Lord, empower me with the requisite passion for lost souls, in the Mighty name of Jesus.
BIBLE READING:
Jeremiah 16-18, Mark 3
PASTOR MICHAEL OMOLE
