Apostle Prof Peter Ohene Kyei (Rtd), a former Rector of the Pentecost University College (PUC), has charged church leaders to prioritize personal evangelism because it the most effective approach to soul winning.
According to Apostle Prof. Kyei, ample evidence points to the fact that “personal evangelism has a higher level of effectiveness in soul winning” and therefore called on ministers to make conscious efforts to engage in personal evangelism and also equip and encourage members to do same.
“Soul-winning must be our priority as ministers if we love the Lord. We are Christ’s Ambassadors, and so we must take the Great Commission seriously,” he stated.
Apostle Prof. Kyei, who is the immediate-past Winneba Area Head, made this assertion on Thursday, January 23, 2020, at the ongoing 7th Ministers and Wives’ Conference when he presented a paper on the topic: “Possessing the Nations Through Personal Evangelism.”
The paper, passionately presented, was interspersed with some heart-warming examples of best practices from the Bible and other places as well some old-time evangelistic songs that kept participants attentive and inspired with the evangelistic zeal as he charged them to commit and be dedicated to personal evangelism.
In his presentation, Apostle Prof. Kyei revealed that personal evangelism was a prominent feature of the Early Church.
“When severe persecution arose against the early believers after the martyrdom of Stephen, they spread out beyond Jerusalem sharing the good news through person-to-person evangelism,” he said.
He also posited that every Christian has a responsibility towards the Great Commission to bring and share the good news of Christ to the lost. “It is a moral obligation for Christians to share the Good News,” the former Rector stressed.
The retired minister indicated that the early church was very dedicated to the Great Commission to the extent that they refused to surrender or succumb to any opposition in the spread of the gospel.
“Not even persecution could stop them (Acts 8:1-5). They were unstoppable! Now it is our turn! We cannot do otherwise in our quest to possess the nations,” he charged.
Apostle Prof. Kyei also bemoaned the reluctance of contemporary Christians in engaging in evangelism in recent times.
“Too often, evangelism has been neglected and is of least concern to many Christians in contemporary times”, he stated adding that “the Early Church took the Great Commission so seriously that, after the Holy Spirit “invaded” their lives in Acts 2, they fearlessly, persistently and continuously evangelized to possess the nations even at the cost of their lives”.
Apostle Prof Kyei also warned the ministers against the distortion and manipulation of the gospel as has become the norm in recent times with some people manipulating the gospel message for personal gains.
“In contemporary times, the gospel of Christ has been distorted, and instead of urging people to accept Christ, there is massive manipulation for personal gains. The gospel often remains untaught; biblical words are distorted to water down the true meaning of sin, death and hell or even confuse genuine seekers of the truth. The promise of health and wealth deceive the most vulnerable: the poor, disadvantaged and sick. And many churches are after a costless, comfortable and benefit-giving “gospel” that is found nowhere in the scriptures,” he said.
Apostle Prof. Peter Ohene Kyei (Rtd.) also advised the ministers of the church to always prepare before embarking on any evangelistic activity because evangelism is a process with a chain of events in order to maintain, nurture and disciple them to be grounded in Christ.
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