COME AND SEE

“The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ ‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked. ‘Come and see,’ said Philip.”  (John 1:43-46 NIV)

One thing I have observed in all my years of ministry is that the most effective and important aspects of evangelism usually takes place on an individual, personal level. Most people do not come to Christ as an immediate response to a sermon they hear in a crowded setting. They come to Christ because of the influence of an individual believer.

The church I pastor seeks to foster an evangelistic environment. And people are coming to Christ on a regular basis… And in the overwhelming majority of instances, they tell us they came to Christ primarily because of the testimony of a coworker, a neighbor, a relative, or a friend. Occasionally we hear people say they were converted in direct response to a message they heard in church or a sermon that was broadcast on the radio. But even in those cases, it is usually owing to the influence of an individual who encouraged the person to listen or brought him to church in the first place. There’s no question that the most effective means for bring people to Christ is one at a time, on an individual basis. 

-- John MacArthur (1939-2025) in “Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness and What He Wants to Do with You” 

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