So What Is this "Pledge" Stuff, and How Does It Affect Me?
The dictionary defines a pledge as a solemn oath to do, or not do, something of importance. It is serious business, only to be undertaken after careful consideration of the factors involved, the price that must be paid to honor the commitment, and your willingness to make the hard decisions and exercise discipline over your mind, will, emotions, and body. Proverbs 20:25 says, "It is a snare to a man to utter a vow [of consecration] rashly and [not until] afterward inquire [whether he can fulfill it]." Please consider this as you move forward.
We find pledges in many areas of life - the military, school, business, sports, organizations such as the scouts, etc. We also find them in our spiritual life; a case in point is the Pledge to the Christian Flag, patterned after the Pledge of Allegiance in the US.
Even though we all understand that the spiritual disciplines are important to living an effective life, we don't often make the commitment - to ourselves or others - required to fully live out the calling on our lives that makes an eternal difference for the lost.
As we undertook the development of our evangelism tools and processes here at 30 Second Evangelism™, we realized a vital tool was missing: a tangible way to demonstrate our commitment to our Lord, and to ourselves, when it comes to sharing the Gospel with a lost and dying world. Something we could refer to in order to stay on track.
In business and in life, what gets measured gets done. After prayerful consideration of the attitudes and actions that produces effective personal evangelism efforts in our own lives, we sat down and drafted a set of guiding principles. We didn't just pull them out of thin air, but based them upon the principles found in the Bible.
It is our experience that each item on this list contributes to creating an effective LIFESTYLE of personal evangelism. Less a list of "to-dos", it is who you are (or will become) as you prayerfully implement each item in the pledge.
A word of caution is in order. You should always be the master of any tools you use, and never let the tool become your master. Don't become so dogmatic and legalistic about following these principles that it has a negative impact on your life and the lives of others. If you do, you will be miserable and probably make it harder for you to influence them.
Pledge Download and Instructions
(Click on the image to download a PDF version of this document)
Here's How to Use the Evangelism Pledge
1. Downloadand print the pledge. 2. Read through it prayerfully, and ask for the Lord's guidance. If He leads you to use this tool, sign and date it. Put it where you will see it on a daily basis. Next to the bathroom mirror is a great place! You can print one to use as a bookmark in your Bible, too. Fold it so the text faces outward. 3. Go down to Follow-Up; take action #3, FIND an accountability partner. Set up the regular day and time you will touch base. 4. Begin working through the principles, beginning with Spiritual Preparation, and continue through each section. 5. Then, give us some feedback on how this tool is working for you! 6. Share this with fellow believers who will benefit from using it.