Jesus’s final commission in Matthew 28:19-20 remains unambiguous: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” This mandate is not reserved for a professional class of evangelists. It threads through the entire New Testament as the natural outworking of discipleship.
Paul told Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Timothy 4:5), even though Timothy’s primary gifts appear to have been pastoral and teaching-oriented. After Jesus liberated the Gerasene demoniac, He did not invite the man to join the traveling band of disciples; instead He instructed him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you” (Mark 5:19).
Matthew the tax collector’s first recorded response to following Jesus was to host a dinner so his friends could meet the Savior (Luke 5:29; Mark 2:15). Sharing the good news is presented as a defining mark of genuine faith, not an optional specialization.
Yet contemporary data reveal a significant gap between biblical expectation and everyday practice.
The Current Landscape:
Willingness Without Intentionality
A 2025 Lifeway Research State of Discipleship study of U.S. Protestant churchgoers found that “Sharing Christ” ranked last among eight signposts of spiritual maturity, with an average score of only 54.8 out of 100. More than a quarter of churchgoers (27 percent) said they had not shared their faith story with anyone in the previous six months. The median number of times the average churchgoer had done so was twice.
Fewer than half (48 percent) reported that they intentionally spend time building friendships with people far from God for the purpose of sharing Christ. Only 45 percent said they had developed significant relationships outside the church with evangelism in mind. At the same time, four in five churchgoers pray at least occasionally for opportunities to tell others about Jesus, and 60 percent say they are eager to talk about Him with people different from themselves. The gap is not primarily one of desire; it is one of deliberate action.
A parallel Lifeway study of adult Bible study group ministry leaders underscored the problem at the structural level. Leaders ranked outreach and evangelism as the lowest objective for ongoing groups—behind Bible study, relationships, intentional disciple-making, ministry/service, and worship. Only about 5 percent of churches with ongoing adult groups identified evangelism as the top priority.
Allan Taylor, in his book Sunday School in HD, identified five common reasons believers fail to share the gospel: they are conditioned more by the surrounding culture than by the Word; they are fearful; they lack training; they are out of fellowship with God; and they lack a clear strategy. The research confirms that the final factor—strategy—is especially weak inside the very groups that should be the church’s primary relational engine.
Scripture as the Hammer and the Fire
Jeremiah described God’s Word as both “a fire” and “a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces” (Jeremiah 23:29). The image is not of a household tool but of a sledgehammer capable of pulverizing resistance. Scripture does more than inform; it confronts, convicts, and draws.
Arthur Flake, Lifeway’s first director of Sunday School in the early 1920s, grasped this reality and built an entire growth philosophy around it. His five-step “Flake’s Formula”—know the possibilities, enlarge the organization, provide space, enlist and train leaders, and go after the people—was never merely administrative. It assumed that ongoing Bible study itself was an evangelistic advantage. When people sit under the Word week after week, even before they fully believe, they become more receptive to its claims.
The New Testament provides a vivid case study in Acts 8. The Holy Spirit directed Philip to the desert road where an Ethiopian official was reading Isaiah 53. The man already possessed religious interest and some biblical knowledge—he had traveled to Jerusalem to worship. Philip began with the passage the man was reading and “told him the good news about Jesus.” The official responded immediately by requesting baptism. The sequence is instructive: Scripture created curiosity, a prepared believer engaged the text relationally, and the Spirit produced faith.
Bible study groups therefore occupy a unique strategic position. Guests who accept an invitation already know the Bible will be central. When the group treats Scripture as both authoritative and accessible, it creates a natural bridge for deeper spiritual conversation. Hiding or soft-pedaling the Bible’s role would be counterproductive; people expect it, and God uses it.
Resetting the Mindset:
From Occasional to Habitual
Recapturing an evangelistic posture requires more than exhortation. It demands structural and cultural change inside groups.
Practical steps include:
• Incorporating evangelism training into every group leader development pathway.
• Tracking simple metrics such as the number of personal invitations extended, guests hosted, and follow-up contacts made.
• Allocating calendar time and budget specifically for outreach activities rather than treating them as optional add-ons.
• Designating focused seasons—such as an “Outreach Month” in October—where the entire group ministry emphasizes inviting, hosting, and caring.
Inviting is foundational. Research shows that 60 percent of churchgoers have invited someone to worship in the previous six months, yet many invitations remain generic. Providing extra personal study guides and coaching members on how to hand one to a friend with a simple, low-pressure invitation raises the conversion rate from invitation to attendance.
Hosting well matters equally. Guests should experience genuine welcome rather than the awkward status of “visitor.” Name tags, intentional introductions, clear explanations of what the group does, and an atmosphere of warmth communicate that the newcomer is wanted, not merely tolerated.
Caring after the first visit is where many groups falter. Attendance is only the beginning of relationship. Consistent follow-up—texts, coffee invitations, practical help, continued prayer—opens doors for spiritual conversation that would feel forced in a one-time encounter. As Scott McConnell of Lifeway Research has observed, when people know the messenger cares, the message carries greater weight.
Unique Insights for Today’s Context
Several contemporary realities make the relational-Bible-study approach especially relevant. Most Protestant churchgoers (71 percent) already have friends with different religious beliefs—atheists, agnostics, Muslims, Jews, and others. Proximity exists. What is often missing is intentional investment in those friendships for the sake of the gospel.
Smaller ongoing groups also solve a practical problem larger worship gatherings cannot: they make newcomers known. An unchurched couple can disappear in a crowd of hundreds; in a group of 10–15 they quickly become recognized individuals. The same groups that excel at fellowship and Bible teaching can, with intentional leadership, become the primary pathway for both evangelism and assimilation.
Historically, when Southern Baptist churches treated Sunday School as the outreach arm of the congregation, the ratio of members needed to reach one new believer was far lower than today’s figures.
Removing evangelism from the DNA of groups has coincided with slower growth and fewer baptisms in many places. Reinserting it does not require abandoning solid Bible teaching or authentic community; it requires recovering the understanding that those very strengths are evangelistic assets.
The Opportunity Before Us
Ongoing Bible study groups are not merely a discipleship program. They are one of the most natural environments the local church possesses for helping every believer fulfill both the duty and the privilege of evangelism. Relationships already form there. Scripture already speaks there. The missing ingredient is deliberate, sustained intentionality—inviting people into the circle, hosting them as valued guests, and continuing to care for them long enough for the Word and the Spirit to do their work.
When groups recover this mindset, evangelism ceases to feel like an awkward add-on and becomes the organic overflow of life shared around the open Bible. In that environment, ordinary believers discover they can participate in the Great Commission not as specialists, but simply as faithful friends who keep pointing others to the One who still sets captives free and invites the hungry to the table.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Technology.
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