Today on The Evangelism Podcast, I talk with Aaro Kumpulainen who recently led an evangelism training workshop in Tampere, Finland. We talk about the core elements of the gospel message: the problem of sin, the solution of Jesus’ sacrifice, and the choice to put one’s faith in Jesus. We also cover the importance of presenting the gospel clearly and directly, without forgetting to talk about Jesus. You will be blessed as you listen today.
Learn more about Aaro: https://www.armofgrace.com/team/kumpulaiset
Transcript:
Evangelist Daniel King (00:00):
Welcome to the Evangelism Podcast. I’m Daniel King. I’m excited about telling people about Jesus today. I have a very special guest with me. Aaro, thank you for being on the Evangelism Podcast.
Aaro Kumpulainen (00:11):
It’s a pleasure. Thank you for having me
Evangelist Daniel King (00:13):
Now say your full name.
Aaro Kumpulainen (00:14):
My name is Aaro Kumpulainen . Try to say it with me Aaro.
Evangelist Daniel King (00:20):
Well, thank you for being on the Evangelism Podcast and today we are in Tamara, Finland and we have just completed in evangelism training in how to witness one-on-one. And you were the instructor and you did an excellent job. We filled the room, packed jam full of people. Some of them were some of my team members from the United States, but there were many, many finished people that came. And let’s talk a little bit about what you covered in this workshop today. What do you feel is the most important thing that you told
Aaro Kumpulainen (01:02):
Everyone? Well, obviously at the evangelism training, the most important thing is to get the gospel correct When you share people about Jesus, don’t forget to share about Jesus.
Evangelist Daniel King (01:15):
Something you said was really good. You said that evangelism is not just about debating. It’s more than just smiling at people. It’s more than feeding the poor. Of course, all that is very good. It’s more than just saying Jesus loves you, but it’s actually leading people to a point of decision. And so you present the gospel, you talk about Jesus, and then you bring people to that point where they either says, yes, I want to receive Jesus, or they reject him and walk away. And we can’t make them make the choice, but we can present Jesus to them. And one of the things you said just now that I thought was so good is that when we tell them about Jesus, you have to make sure that you tell them about Jesus. And you said, when you make chicken soup, make sure you don’t forget the chicken.
(02:06):
Amen. And so Jesus is the most important thing when we must make sure. I had a really wonderful interview with Aaro in Finland, but unfortunately one of the cords on my microphone had a short in it. And because of that there was lots of hisses, crackles and pops, which I’m sure that you have heard on this recording. And so I really apologize for that. And part of my interview was not usable. It was impossible to understand, but I still wanted to present the teaching that Aaro did on evangelism because I thought it was really good. And so I’m going to give you his notes that he taught in Finland, and then we will continue with the rest of the interview with him where the audio was a little bit better, not perfect, but still I apologize for the problem. So in this workshop, Otto broke down the gospel into three essential parts.
(03:17):
The problem, the solution, and then the choice. The problem is sin. God created us to be his friend, but then sin separates us from God. It leads to a broken relationship. Sin is breaking the will of God. And sin is things like lying, lust, stealing. It leads to bitterness, brokenness, guilt, shame, fear, emptiness, and ultimately eternal destruction. But the solution is Jesus. Jesus lived a sinless life. He died on the cross because of his love for all of humanity. He suffered the punishment for our sins. He was buried. He rose from the dead and is now alive. And he invites you to freedom. And so after you present the problem and the solution, then you leave the person with the choice. And the choice is to put your faith in Jesus and come to a place of repentance where you turn away from your sin.
(04:27):
And so faith in Jesus means that you trust Jesus for salvation. You turn away from your old life, you turn to Jesus. And so you give people the choice. Do you want to follow Jesus? Jesus is the king of the world. He wants to be the king of your life. Do you want your sin forgiven? Do you want new life? Do you want to be filled with the Holy Ghost? And so the reason that you present the problem first is that if you don’t know you have cancer, you don’t want to take cancer medication. But once you find out that there’s a problem, then suddenly the cancer medicine becomes a lifesaver. And so then when you present people with a choice, you tell people that it’s not about trying harder, it’s about trusting in Jesus. And we should ask people which direction they want to go.
(05:21):
Do you want to follow Jesus or do you want to go away from Jesus? And the more we show people that we care about them, the more we can talk about sin. And so he also had a great thought. That is if you see yourself as a soul winner, then you’ll be disappointed when you minister to someone and they don’t get saved. But instead of thinking of yourself as a soul winner, think of yourself as a sower, someone who’s planting seeds. Because when you plant a seed, you will feel successful every time you share, whether it immediately produces a harvest or not. And so we’re looking for open hearts. We’re not looking to have arguments with people, but in order to start a conversation, we go out witnessing. We don’t apologize. We’re children of the king of kings, we’re God’s representatives. And then one other thought that he had that I thought was really good, he said, evangelists are not born brave.
(06:26):
But you become brave with practice. And that’s true because the more that you talk to others about Jesus, the easier it becomes. And so the first time you go out witnessing, you might feel kind of hesitant. You might feel unsure about yourself, a little nervous, not sure what you’re going to say. And so you’re not born brave. But after you go out a hundred times a thousand times and you’ve had many, many conversations with people about Jesus, the easier it gets. And you become brave because now you have practiced. And you know that sometimes you’ll be rejected, sometimes you’ll be accepted. Sometimes you’ll find an open heart. Sometimes you just plant a seed. But you become brave because you know that the Holy Spirit is working through you, that the Holy Spirit will give you words to say God will help you in ministering to people.
(07:21):
And so those are some of the great ideas that were presented at our witnessing workshop in Finland. And now let’s go back to the finish of my interview with Otto. And hopefully despite the hisses cracks and pops that was caused by a bad wire, you still can get the gist of his spirit and what he’s trying to say. Otto is a great evangelist, and I was so impressed with his patience in witnessing one-on-one. Him and I ministered to one person in the park that when we finished praying for him, he had tears in his eyes. He was a drug addict, addict, a man who was cussing, playing rock music, but yet took a moment to have a spiritual conversation. And by the end of this conversation, this man was crying and said, I don’t know. I’ve never felt this way. I don’t know what I’m feeling, but I feel something different when he prayed the prayer of salvation with us. And so let’s go back to the interview. Here we go. Now you’re a graduate of the Christ for All Nations Evangelism Bootcamp. Tell me, what are some of the things that you learned in the bootcamp that you are putting to work in your ministry that God’s called you to now? I had the privilege of being one of the instructors for the bootcamp,
(08:49):
And it’s so amazing to see what God is doing around the world through people that have gone through the C Fan bootcamp.
Aaro Kumpulainen (08:56):
Yeah, absolutely. The Christ For All Nations Evangelism Bootcamp has helped me a lot, and I’m very grateful to evangelist Daniel Kolenda and other instructuctors like even Daniel King for teaching me a lot about just even the relationship with God. We cannot just be evangelists who just do do, but we need to be in the place of receiving from the Lord and seeing God and ourselves correctly. So even the foundational things I learned there, but the greater things that I could not find anywhere else other than from s and so far, how to put into words this beautiful mystery of the gospel.
Evangelist Daniel King (09:40):
Well, we’re here in Tamara, and we’re going to be doing several days of evangelism here in just a few minutes. We’re taking teams of people actually out on the street. We are not just teaching them in the classroom. We are going to go out and talk to people. What do you hope to see God do here in Tamara?
Aaro Kumpulainen (10:03):
Well, I hope to see what God has promised to do so we have a great trust that he will do it. So we want to see people have not just conversations and not just make decisions for Christ, but really to have an encounter with the living God, even on the streets during some short prayer moments or during while they listen to the gospel. That’s something will really change in their heart, that they will become part of this new wave of people who are on fire for God and that they would want it in such a way that they will come to the gatherings of believers here, even the Jesus tour events, the campaign nights, and to become disciples, to come into relationship with disciple makers and really go in the things of God and really even become missionaries or pastors or whatever their calling is as businessman, sharing the gospel wherever they go. Thank you so much for having me here.
