By James R. Estep
“Where’s Waldo?” If you were a child in the 1990s, or even a college student, you probably spent copious hours diligently searching brightly colored pages in oversized books hoping to find an iconic figure. Characterized by his blue pants, red-and-white striped shirt and cap, with an impish grin and unruly hair, circular glasses and wooden cane, not to mention his striped socks . . . who could miss Waldo? Yet, he always seemed to be either lost or in hiding, needing finding. The whole series of books is founded on one assumption: Waldo needed finding!
Real Life Waldos
We live in a world of real life Waldos. In 2024 the Washington Post reported that 29 percent of Americans identify as “nones” in terms of religious affiliation, with Axios sharing that 49 percent of the U.S. population rarely or never go to any religious services. People are “lost.” Unfortunately, our enthusiasm for finding a fictitious cartoon character has apparently surpassed our interest in finding real-life Waldos, lost people, those who are unchurched and unreached.
In April 2025 Carey Nieuwhof published his “Five Disruptive Church Trends That Will Rule 2025,” based on studies of congregations across North America. In it, he assessed, “Evangelism is on life support in most churches.” While the conversation among church leaders over the past five years has been dominated by disciple-making, two issues emerged: (1) “Fuzzy and unclear” descriptions of disciple-making, and (2) Evangelism is absent from disciple-making! Based on a recent Barna Group study, when ministers were asked to assess the evangelistic outreach of their congregations, they reported that it had dropped from 13 percent in 2015 to just one percent in 2023!
Reversing the Trend
How can evangelism become a priority for the church? What can be done to reverse the current circumstances? First, start recognizing lost people. How familiar are you with the community in which you minister? Not just the congregation, but the community. Where are the lost and broken people? What opportunities for ministry and sharing the gospel does this present? Studying the neighborhood and community around the congregation, receiving a demographic study and determining who God has specifically placed within your reach is indeed a reminder of reality beyond the congregation’s walls.
Second, equip individuals to do evangelism. When I served with the Lincoln Christian Institute, the most frequently requested seminar was “How to Share My Faith,” a seminar on evangelism. Churches cannot assume people know how to evangelize. They need both training and resourcing to effectively share the gospel.
Third, encourage people to do evangelism. Highlighting the opportunities within the community, sharing first-person videos of conversion stories, and identifying those who have actively engaged in evangelism are ways to encourage others to do evangelism. Stories demonstrating the power of the gospel always motivate others to share their faith.
Fourth, become a welcoming church. If Christ accepts someone, we need to accept them as well. We need a discipleship pathway, a “What’s Next” for someone who has accepted Christ, a path forward for new believers.
The Crux of the Evangelism
Three parallel parables are found in Luke 15, all about reaching out to the lost. Jesus teaches about the lost sheep (3-7), the lost coin (8-10), and the lost son, better known as the prodigal son (11-32). In all three instances, something is lost and is found. Upon finding each lost item, a celebration occurs! This is, of course, preceded with a period of intense desire and diligent search for the lost item; like the father who saw his returning son “while he was still a long way off” (v. 20). Naturally before a search can occur, we must acknowledge its absence. Why look for something that isn’t lost? But all of this is contingent on one final observation: You have to value that which is lost. If it’s just a dumb sheep who has wandered off, not even realizing its lost, who cares. If it’s just one coin, it may not be worth bending over to pick it up, like a penny falling out of your pocket. If the son is prodigal, then he is getting what he deserves. He asked for it; let him face his own consequences. We would never notice their absence, conduct a search, or celebrate upon their return. Evangelism begins with valuing lost people.
It comes down to this: Do you care? Do you value lost people? Do you have the same compassion for them that Christ had for you (John 3:16; Romans 5:8)?
Lead Well!
Author: Christian Standard
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