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There are at least three passions that should grip every pastor as it pertains to evangelism and missions. These passions are not restricted to pastors only; in fact, every Christian should share these passions. This is not to suggest that there are not more things that should drive pastors. However, as it pertains to evangelism and missions, pastors should be passionate about the following:

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1) Pastors must be passionate about God’s glory, His global praise and universal worship lived and declared among the nations. When we read the vision of heavenly worship in Revelation 4-5, 7 we get a glimpse of God’s passion for His glory as the heavenly beings and EVERY NATION AND ALL TRIBES AND PEOPLES AND TONGUES worship God and the Lamb. Pastors must be passionate about all creation recognizing, rejoicing in, and ascribing glory to God. Related to this, pastors and congregants must evangelize for the sake of Christ's Name (Romans 1:5; 3 John 7). Apart from this, pastors, and potentially, the people they shepherd, will lack the chief motivation for evangelism and missions.

 

2) Pastors must be passionate about the salvation of the lost from their enslavement to sin, God's wrath, and from this crooked and perverse generation (2 Corinthians 5:20; Acts 2:40; Philippians 2:15). The apostle Paul experienced grief and sorrow for unbelieving Israel to the degree that  he could wish that he be cursed in place of seeing them save (Romans 9:1-3). Few persons would make such a statement, but he did. His heart's desire and prayer to God was for their salvation (10:1). Are we zealous for the salvation of unbelievers? Without a passion for souls or a practical love for our perishing neighbors, evangelism and missions will be nonexistent. 

 

3) Pastors must be passionate about upholding the purity of the gospel (Galatians 1:6-7). Pastors should share the apostle Paul's passion to uphold the purity of the gospel and to protect the congregation from embracing or proclaiming a distorted gospel of any kind. Since unbelievers cannot be justified apart from faith in Jesus Christ, pastors and congregations must proclaim faith in Christ as the sole criteria for justification (Galatians 2:16). Moreover, when evangelizing, pastors and congregations must crush the temptation to edit or add to the gospel (1:6-7).

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When it comes to evangelism, there are several passions that should grip every pastor. Guided by the Holy Spirit, pastors evangelize and promote missions for the glory of God, the cause of Christ and the gospel, and the salvation of men and women. Pastors must instill these in the congregations they shepherd. Do this for the sake of the Name, the reconciliation of men and women, and the gospel. 

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