But for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
—Genesis 2:20–22

Jesus said to go into all the world, so what does your world look like? Your world might not be across the oceans, but your world might be going to the grocery store or taking your kids to school or going into work as a broker at Morgan Stanley. But you have a sphere of influence, and that sphere of influence—evangelizing—is not preaching from a pulpit.

To preach means "to proclaim." You go through struggles but have a peace that your neighbor doesn't have. You go through setbacks but trust God and He turns it around for good. These serve as opportunities to evangelize in your world. Your life is proclaiming the Gospel, the Good News of hope. Your life is the 67th book of the Bible. You are the living epistle of Christ—"written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart" (2 Corinthians 3:3). Meet people at their point of need. The man who brought me the Good News didn't say, "You need to be saved." Rather, he said, "I see your pain. I know you're searching for answers. and I have your solution." So when you're out to dinner and you look into your server's eyes and God inspires you to leave a $20 tip when it should be a $4 tip, you're bringing light into their darkness. You win people to faith by being the light of this world. Jesus said, "You are the salt of this earth," and salt makes people thirsty. That's evangelism.

Being a Christian is not just about you. It is about Jesus and helping others find Him. We do that by loving people by means of the gifts that God has given us. For me, it began when I started to minister to little boys and girls in the inner city—to hug them and bring them toys and bring them hope and tell them they were special. And, amazingly, as I was loving them and healing their hurt, it brought healing to the little broken girl inside my woman body. So, when you get outside of yourself and begin to serve others, you discover your greatest joy, and it is really satisfying to your own soul.

My greatest trophy in life, and what still takes my breath away, is to hear from someone: "Paula, what you said changed my life." Evangelism is servanthood, and it is the greatest privilege and joy in life.

Related Texts: Matthew 4:19; 5:16; John 4:28–29; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:9–11; 2 Corinthians 3:2–3; 1 Peter 3:15–16