On the Offensive: Preach As You Go

We shouldn’t just preach when we get there—we should preach on the way.

“As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near’” (Mt. 10:7).

We often think of preaching as something that takes place at a certain location, at a certain hour, not too often, and not for too long. It also requires considerable preparation on the part of the preacher. However, this is not the kind of preaching Jesus was talking about when He gave His disciples the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19: “As you go, make disciples of all nations.” Preaching and making disciples should be a normal part of our daily life, not a special part. Nor should it be only for pastors and full-time evangelists.

“On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria . . . Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (Acts 8:1, 4).

Everyone except the apostles preached as they went. This was thousands of people, perhaps tens of thousands.

Christians are often intimidated by people who say, “Don’t preach to me.” Who made them the authority on what we should do? We are also intimidated by those who tell the laity that they are not “qualified” to preach. Obviously, the thousands who scattered from Jerusalem were qualified, and they were certainly not all ordained ministers.

The One who has all authority told us to preach as we go. Let us encourage one another to do this. When done with the weapon of the fullness of the Holy Spirit, this preaching is effective in the winning of souls.

*Excerpted from Weapons & Tactics. To purchase, visit ccmbooks.org/bookstore.