Tens of thousands of Seventh-day Adventist lay people worldwide are rediscovering the joy of sharing their faith. They have a new understanding of their role as Christians. The Biblical truth of God’s call to be His witnesses has lifted their vision and transformed their lives. They are sharing their faith with renewed enthusiasm. A sense of excitement about what God is doing through them has elevated their own spiritual experience to new heights.

Where the church is growing around the world, lay people are actively involved. Evangelistic success is largely dependent on an active laity. Lay people, distributing literature, sharing Christ with their friends, visiting their neighbors and giving Bible studies, are making a dramatic difference in the advancement of God’s kingdom.

These consecrated lay people are participating in the largest evangelistic thrust in history. They are seeing scores accept God’s truth for this hour. Over 2,800 people every single day—or one million per year—are becoming Seventh-day Adventists. Most of these new converts can trace their conversion to the loving witness of a church member. Adventist lay people realize that we are living on the verge of the kingdom of God. They have a growing conviction that the coming of our Lord is near. Church members are giving their time, using their gifts and actively witnessing for their Lord.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus gave a clarion call to service to the New Testament church. His words are too plain to be misunderstood:

“Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” MATTHEW 28:19-20

Ellen White, God’s last-day messenger, clearly describes how the work of the great gospel commission can be accomplished.

“This can best be done by personal efforts, by bringing the truth into their houses, praying with them, and opening to them the Scriptures.” REVIEW AND HERALD, DECEMBER 8, 1885

“It is the privilege of every Christian not only to look for but to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” CHRIST’S OBJECT LESSONS, PAGE 69

“Long has God waited for the spirit of service to take possession of the whole church, so that everyone shall be working for Him according to his ability.” ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, PAGE 111

Lay involvement is the key to fulfilling the great gospel commission. Listen to this inspired statement:

“The work of God in this earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers.” GOSPEL WORKERS, PAGE 352

God is gathering lay people around the world for a final movement at the climax of earth’s history. He will pour out His Spirit on them as they use their gifts to proclaim the Good News. Evangelism is the dynamic heartbeat of the New Testament church.

The book of Acts is alive with lay people witnessing for their Lord. Jesus called Peter, a fisherman, Matthew, a tax collector, and Luke, a physician, to be His witnesses. Lay people, both men and women, were called to share their faith. On the day of Pentecost, 3,000 were baptized in a day. A few months later, the church grew to 5,000 men, not even counting women and children. The Christian church numbered from between 15,000 to 20,000 shortly after Pentecost.

What caused this unprecedented evangelistic explosion? The entire church was focused on the central objective of winning the lost to Christ. Each member had a passion for soul-winning. Their energies were directed to saving lost people. The book of Acts is being repeated today. Once again, lay people are becoming enthusiastic about sharing their faith. Once again, there is a new openness in society and thousands are being baptized. Christians now know what work they have to do.

“Our work has been marked out for us by our Heavenly Father. We are to take our Bibles, and go forth to warn the world. We are to be God’s helping hands in saving souls—channels through which His love is day-by-day to flow to the perishing.” TESTIMONIES, VOLUME 9, PAGE 150

Light Your World for God three (3) course series, will take you through the simple, practical steps of becoming actively involved in many different ministries, but particularly by sharing God’s word through Bible study ministry. Although there are many ways of sharing our faith, God has especially called upon some to open His word and share His truth with others. As you apply the principles of these courses to your life, you will be enormously blessed. Your church will grow and God’s Kingdom will be advanced.

As a FREE gift with this lesson, click on the play button in the DOWNLOADS section to listen to Pastor Mark Finley’s sermon entitled, Jesus’ Method in the 21st Century, or click on the Audio button to download the sermon. Download a FREE copy of the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible and follow along with Pastor Finley as he reads the Scriptures.

Teenie and I invite you to enroll today as a student of Hopelives365 Online University, and “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).