by Jefferson David Tant<\/p>\n
So, what do I mean by the title “Pulpit or Personal?” It has to do with the preacher’s challenge to preach the gospel. Obviously, there are different ways by which we can shine the light of the gospel into a world full of darkness. We can publicly preach from the pulpit, we can write articles on Bible subjects, we can let others see Christ living in us through our examples, and we can practice what we call “personal evangelism.”<\/p>\n
In this article, I want to focus on the matter of personal evangelism, as I believe it is a very effective means of leading others to Christ, and one that may be overlooked or neglected today, even by preachers. I have known of preachers who seem to think their only responsibility is to stand in the pulpit to proclaim the gospel, and thus who are not interested in doing personal evangelism, one-on-one teaching.<\/p>\n
Are there any examples of personal evangelism in the New Testament? Yes, there are.\u00a0Take, for example, our Lord’s conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. “There came a woman of Samaria to draw water.<\/em>\u00a0Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water<\/em>” (John 4:7-10).<\/p>\n Thus began a personal conversation with this woman, which was a bit out of the ordinary because she was (1) a Samaritan, (2) a woman, and (3) an adulteress. You know what they say in baseball-“three strikes and you’re out.” But that didn’t hinder Christ from talking with her about spiritual things. We know that Christ often addressed large crowds of people, but his interest in the salvation of souls was not limited to large crowds.<\/p>\n This passage gives another example of personal evangelism. “So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” They went out of the city, and were coming to Him<\/em>” (John 4:28-30) She didn’t keep this good news to herself. She immediately went to share it.<\/p>\n Now consider Philip. Do you remember a job description connected to him? He is referred to as “Philip the evangelist” in Acts 21:8. When we think of the work of an evangelist, we naturally associate that with standing before an audience and preaching to them. But it seems that Philip was also doing some personal evangelism, as we find him riding in a chariot teaching the Ethiopian government official, “The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him<\/em>” (Acts 8:34-35).<\/p>\n Then we have Andrew, who was called by Christ, and what was the first thing he did after being called? “One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “‘We have found the Messiah’ (which translated means Christ)<\/em>” (John 40:41).<\/p>\n And so it goes. Here we have Christ, a sinful woman, an evangelist, and Andrew, all engaged in personal evangelism. We really need to be doing this today. Times have changed since the days of my grandfather, J. D. Tant, and other pioneer preachers. A two-week gospel meeting in a tent may have seen 50 or more baptized. People were not distracted by the internet, TV, movies, etc., and may have accepted an invitation to come to a service, possibly as an opportunity to see some neighbors whose farm was five miles away, and in doing so heard the gospel.<\/p>\n In the days of my father, Yater Tant, the Jules Miller filmstrips were popular. You would go into someone’s home for five nights and view the five lessons. Many were converted as a result. Today? Five nights? Probably not. People are too busy, too preoccupied. But if you can engage in a brief discussion, that can open doors. I have had conversations with bank tellers, store clerks, next-door neighbors, homeless people, waitresses, and prisoners. I have been honored to baptize those who have come forward at the singing of the invitation song following the sermon, but have also been honored to baptize many as a result of personal evangelism.<\/p>\n There’s a song in many of our hymnals that we are familiar with, titled “You Never Mentioned Him to Me,” authored by James Rowe (words) and James Gaines (music).<\/p>\n O let us spread the word where’er it may be heard, Help groping souls the light to see, That yonder none may say, “You showed me not the way. You never mentioned Him to me.”<\/p>\nA few sweet words may guide a lost one to His side, Or turn sad eyes to Calvary, Dear Reader, if, by chance, someone says these words to you on Judgment Day, what will you say in return? Think about it. Have you even talked to your next-door neighbor?<\/p>\n And finally, even if you are not a preacher, the need for personal evangelism is just as much for you as it is for preachers. From time to time, I cite the Great Commission, which is a commission to every Christian, no matter what your job or occupation may be.<\/p>\n “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age<\/em>” (Matthew 29:19-20).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Christ’s commission is for every Christian. Let us be about our Father’s business.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Jefferson David Tant So, what do I mean by the title “Pulpit or Personal?” It has to do with the preacher’s challenge to preach the gospel. Obviously, there are different ways by which we can shine the light of the gospel into a world full of darkness. We can publicly preach from the pulpit,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[536,451],"class_list":["post-43111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-preaching","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":91508,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-fruits-of-personal-evangelism\/","url_meta":{"origin":43111,"position":0},"title":"The Fruits of Personal Evangelism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Joe Collins In Matthew 28:19-20 and Mark 16:15-16, Jesus commanded all disciples to go and preach the gospel and teach all nations. For centuries, men have been fulfilling this commandment. Christians often become discouraged when they cannot see all of the results from their labors in personal evangelism. Perhaps\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":69136,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/not-everyones-cup-of-tea\/","url_meta":{"origin":43111,"position":1},"title":"Not Everyone’s Cup of Tea","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores I'm not everyone's cup of tea, and I get that. As a preacher, my delivery is far from \"polished,\" and I often speak from the heart. God willing, it'll be a heart full of His word, but it's from the heart nonetheless. I love preaching, which motivates\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95996,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-pulpit-belongs-to-the-gospel\/","url_meta":{"origin":43111,"position":2},"title":"The Pulpit Belongs to the Gospel","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 8, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bill Robinson A pulpit is a small piece of furniture that carries a large responsibility. It is not a stage for personal taste, not a platform for political conviction, not a podium for the latest cultural trend, and not a chair from which to dispense opinions about romance, relationships,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39212,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/training-young-men-to-preach\/","url_meta":{"origin":43111,"position":3},"title":"Training Young Men to Preach","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 31, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant Each generation passes and another follows. This has been going on\u00a0 -well, ever since Adam and Eve started the cycle. Included in this cycle are those who preach the gospel. Paul mentioned five functions that were assigned to men in the body of Christ - apostles,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28446,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/five-imperatives-in-evangelism\/","url_meta":{"origin":43111,"position":4},"title":"Five Imperatives in Evangelism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Royce Bell Trust God's Power Ever remember: For all we do, at whatever cost and in whatever numbers, the positive results of any effort are attributable to God and Him, Alone. For example, note the words of Paul, \"I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth\" (I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93923,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/communication-fuel-to-the-fires-of-evangelism\/","url_meta":{"origin":43111,"position":5},"title":"Communication: Fuel to the Fires of Evangelism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 13, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jim Deason via\u00a0Biblical Insights, Vol. 14 No. 8, August 2014 \"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation\" (Mark 16:16). It is called the Great Commission, and so it is. First given to the apostles, the work of Christians everywhere is to take the gospel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43111\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}When in the better land before the bar we stand, How deeply grieved our souls will be,
\nIf any lost one there should cry in deep despair, “You never mentioned Him to me.”\n
\nSo work as days go by, that yonder none may cry, “You never mentioned Him to me.”\n“You never mentioned Him to me, You helped me not the light to see;
\nYou met me day by day and knew I was astray, Yet never mentioned Him to me.”<\/blockquote>\n