Serious, self-sacrificial evangelism – a talk with Will Han

by Westminster

June 02, 2022

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The Word at Westminster

Serious, self-sacrificial evangelism - a talk with Will Han

00:00 / 46:49

Evangelism is sharing the good news (the “gospel”) about Jesus.

Jesus tells us to do it. It’s important. It’s for the clear benefit of others. But at the same time, can be challenging, intimidating, and even scary!

In January 2020, Will Han was invited to speak to the Presbytery of Barrie at Westminster Church about this very topic. Someone once described the 14th century friar Henry Suso like this: “he endeavours with great enthusiasm to kindle the name of Jesus in all cold hearts.” The same could be said for Will.

At the time of his talk, Will served as the Church Planting Catalyst for the North American Mission Board—mobilizing, developing and deploying church planters in Ontario, Canada, by providing funding and training. His passion is establishing churches for every people group everywhere.

Will served as the Executive Vice President of the Lausanne Canada Leadership Team, an organization who had its origins in the friendship of Billy Graham and John Stott, and whose purpose is to be a catalyst between different Christian groups to impact Canada for Christ.

Will grew up in the countryside of South Korea and embarked on an adventure as an international student to Canada when he was fifteen years old. Will has had many unique faith experiences from living in a Buddhist monastery to sharing the gospel in unchartered villages in India, and he has a focused passion for sharing the gospel in multi-faith contexts.

Will is an avid hobbyist and outdoorsman and his many interests enables him to connect with people from various backgrounds and faiths. He served as a congregational pastor for over 15 years.

Will is married with children, and is someone Pastor Ruttan is privileged to call a friend and former classmate during their years of seminary training in Toronto. He is one of those people who exudes humility and sincerity, and who is a true disciple of Jesus, seeking to follow the Lord with his thoughts, words and actions.

Will shares some prepared remarks, and at the end, Pastor Ruttan asks him a few specific questions about evangelism. [The questions are listed at the end of the ‘notes’ section below.]

Enjoy!

Notes:
-Jesus’ command in John 15:12-13 as the foundation of evangelism.
-Understanding what Jesus means by “love.”
-Being honest about our willingness to lay down our lives for others, to live sacrificially.
-What does it feel like to share the Gospel?
-“We love to share what we love.”
-“Evangelism is an inevitable, helpless by-product of us encountering Jesus in our daily life.”
-“Evangelism is an outward expression of the Gospel we personally experience.” This encourages us to ask how we encounter Jesus in our daily lives. This is always present in the best evangelism training.
-When faint hope starts permeating in different parts of our lives.
-Jesus has gifted us the life we so very much enjoy, so we can’t help but share it with others, even sacrificially.
-Four key areas where we can encourage others to really start to experience the Gospel of Jesus in a tangible way based on Genesis 3: (a) identity, (b) relationships, (c) biological vulnerability, (d) life and career experiences.
-“Inside my heart is thriving because I have yoked with Jesus who gives me a rhythm of grace.”
-“If sin can kill, gospel can give more life than ever before…”
-“I know that my faith stands not on words, but my faith stands on the demonstration of God’s love in my life through my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and his Gospel.”
-“Hope is a good projection of tomorrow.”
-“Introducing Jesus to people around you—and to ourselves—is gifting a free gift of hope to us and those around us.”

Live questions
1. I feel like my life isn’t very put together and that I often don’t feel like a very good Christian, doesn’t that put me in a bad position to talk about Jesus?

2. Some of my friends have raised big questions like why there is so much evil in the world if God exists and how can you trust an old book like the Bible in the first place. I often don’t know how to respond and that often makes me timid about saying anything about my faith. How do I get around that?

3. In terms of evangelism, what is the difference between inviting someone to church and speaking to them about Jesus?

4. A lot of people struggle with their purpose… What role does hope have to play in evangelism?

You can listen to the audio version of this talk wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or TuneIn). You can also watch it here on YouTube.