--- title: "Dead to Alive: The Urgency and Beauty of Evangelism | The Branch | The Tree Church" url: https://thetree.church/blog/2026/10/22/dead-to-alive-the-urgency-and-beauty-of-evangelism-the-branch description: "Pastor Chris Reed, Pastor Matthew Johnson, and Pastor Anthony Lombardi talk about why God uses people to share the good news of Jesus." lang: en --- 721 N. Memorial Drive, Lancaster, OH 43130✦ Main Service: Sunday 9 & 11am✦ Movement Youth Sunday 5:30pm✦ Lancaster & Logan, Ohio✦ 721 N. Memorial Drive, Lancaster, OH 43130✦ Main Service: Sunday 9 & 11am✦ Movement Youth Sunday 5:30pm✦ Lancaster & Logan, Ohio✦ Blog (https://thetree.church/blog) The Branch Podcast: https://thetree.church/blog/category/the-branch-podcast # Dead to Alive: The Urgency and Beauty of Evangelism | The Branch October 22nd, 2026 by The Tree Church “I think the best way to stop darkness is to shine light.” Pastor Matthew Johnson Why would God trust ordinary, imperfect people with the most important message in the world? On this episode of The Branch, Pastor Chris Reed hosts Pastor Matthew Johnson and Pastor Anthony Lombardi for a conversation about evangelism. It follows the first two weeks of the Everyone, Everywhere series, where Pastor Matthew has been teaching on the importance and urgency of sharing our faith. ## Everyday Passions The episode opens with a fun question. What completely ordinary thing are you passionate about? Pastor Matthew admits he could not think of anything, so he asked his son Cole. Cole said he loves researching products and writing reviews to help other people. His second answer was gaslighting, because he says his dad does it to him and his siblings. Pastor Matthew laughs that tormenting your kids in love is part of a dad's job.Pastor Anthony names two things. He grew up with homemade sauce, so subpar pasta sauce bothers him more than most people. He also cares about common courtesies. It drives him nuts when someone walks through a held door without a thank you.Pastor Chris says impatient, dangerous drivers make him mad, especially when he is already going over the speed limit. He also refuses to write in his journal without his favorite flat black felt pen. Pastor Matthew jokes that whoever is passing him is probably him or Pastor Anthony. ## Why God Uses People Then Pastor Chris pivots to the main topic. Of all the ways God could have accomplished his plan, why is his primary strategy for sharing the good news of Jesus to use people?Pastor Matthew believes there are many layers, but he names two. First, being used by God transforms us. He jokes that if he were not a pastor, he is not sure he would even be a good person. The serious side is that his calling keeps him focused on integrity. Second, we are the ones connected to people, talking to them and loving them. We are practically God's hands and feet.Pastor Anthony agrees that our participation is part of our transformation. He adds the idea of incarnational ministry. Jesus put on flesh and came near to us, and at the end of the Gospel of John he says, as the Father has sent me, so I am sending you. Because God is relational, he says, "We were created for relationship and therefore the best way to convey the message of the good news is in the context of relationship."Pastor Chris adds that God speaks to us in a way we can understand. When God came down on the mountain in thunder, the people of Israel were terrified, so he spoke through Moses. Pastor Chris shares an illustration he has heard from other pastors. For an ant to understand that a person loves it, the person would have to become an ant. In the same way, God comes down to our level and then invites us to participate with him. ## God Calls Who We Are Now Pastor Chris notes that many people struggle with not feeling good enough for such a big mission. If God were waiting for a future version of us with nothing left to learn, he says, God would be waiting a long time. He points to Paul, who told Timothy that Christ came to save sinners, of whom he was the foremost. Paul regretted persecuting Christians, yet Christ used even that to show how far he would go to rescue someone. Pastor Chris finds that his own failures are often where people connect with him most. They think, if God can change your life, he might change mine.Pastor Matthew agrees. If Scripture only showed God choosing the best of the best, we would all feel less than. Instead, we see Samuel, who was dedicated to God from birth, alongside Paul, who was called while persecuting the church, the disciple Matthew, who was called from the tax collector's booth, and Abraham, who most likely worshiped other gods. God did not leave any of them where they were. He transformed them.Pastor Anthony says this is part of discipleship. A mentor once pointed out to him that Jesus sent the disciples out to preach and heal while they were still saying and doing some really dumb things. Many of us think we need years of Bible studies before we are ready. Those things are good, but Pastor Anthony believes that taking active steps of faith, especially in areas like evangelism, supercharges our growth. When we take ownership of God's calling, we have more skin in the game, and a desire to read Scripture and pray grows with it. ## The Parts of Our Story We Hate Pastor Matthew observes that God often calls people who are uniquely bad at the very thing he calls them to do. That only shows God's power more clearly. So he asks how we should view the parts of our story we are embarrassed about or hate.Pastor Anthony's first word is dependence. He believes that if we had it all together, we would rely on ourselves even more than we already do. God does not instantly remove every impurity, so we keep going back to him. The same good news we share with others still applies to us. Sharing our ongoing struggles also keeps us humble and relatable. He says there is something compelling about a person who knows their own brokenness and shares the goodness of God as an invitation, not from a place of looking down on others.Pastor Chris agrees and clarifies that he is not talking about shame from something done to us, like abuse. He means our own struggles that God may call us to confess so we can help others. That takes humility and keeps us dependent on Christ. It also reminds us that we are not the hero. We do not fix people or save them. As Pastor Chris puts it, "we're always a signpost pointing them to Jesus."Pastor Matthew shares that he has made many mistakes he wishes he could take back. Yet he is glad for the humility they brought. If his story were only success, he believes he would be self-dependent and arrogant. Every time he realizes how much grace God has shown him, it compels him to show more grace to others. Who is he, after all the mercy he has received, to withhold it from someone else? ## Salt and Light in Ordinary Relationships Pastor Chris asks what it means to be salt and light in ordinary relationships. Pastor Anthony believes hospitality is one of the greatest tools we have, especially in an epidemic of loneliness. He encourages listeners to invite neighbors over for dinner or take a coworker to coffee or lunch. In those settings, there are natural opportunities to listen, pray, and share our faith.Pastor Matthew agrees. Our culture often thinks being salt and light means speaking out loudly about everything we are against. He does not believe that is the best way to stop decay or darkness. Blasting people on social media often pushes away the very people we could have loved. Instead, he says, "I think the best way to stop darkness is to shine light." We do that by being so loving and kind that people are drawn to it.Pastor Chris adds that sharing the message goes together with loving people well, and drawing someone to Christ usually takes time. His connect group talked about being urgent yet patient. We keep our urgency by praying for people regularly and inviting them over again and again, while we wait, love them, and want a real relationship with them. ## Come and See Pastor Anthony brings up Philip inviting Nathaniel to meet Jesus. Nathaniel asked, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip simply answered, come and see. What does that mean for evangelism today?Pastor Matthew shares a story about running. He hated it because he treated every run like a race to beat his best time. When he brought his frustrations to Pastor Chris and their friend Brandon, they kindly offered a different perspective based on what they had learned. Pastor Matthew says that never offended him, because he was the one bringing the problem. Life works the same way. When a friend shares what is falling apart, it is natural to say, let me tell you what I have experienced. That is an invitation to come and see.Pastor Chris says this is where character and love build the foundation to speak. He makes a point of apologizing to his kids when he handles something wrong, so they can see that there is grace for mistakes. In the same way, our lives can show the blessing of a relationship with God. Pastor Chris notes that in Acts we are called to bear witness, which includes both how we live and what we say.Pastor Anthony adds that come and see is a gentle invitation. Many people assume Christians want to force their beliefs on others, so an invitation is a very different posture. He believes more people are spiritually seeking than we realize. And for anyone afraid of questions they cannot answer, he says we are simply inviting people into an ongoing conversation on a journey we are on too. ## People, Not Projects Pastor Matthew shares a tension he felt while teaching the series. There were people in the room who were not Christians, and he did not want them to feel like projects. So how can we have a heart to reach people without treating them that way?Pastor Chris says it starts with genuinely wanting a relationship. God may sometimes prompt us to share with a stranger in a grocery store, but most of the time he calls us to invite people over and go to lunch with them over months and years. If people sense we are only checking a box, they will not be interested in a relationship.Pastor Anthony says language matters too. Terms like soul winning can make evangelism feel like a transaction. He does not know how many people he has led to the Lord, because he does not save anyone. He simply hopes his words, actions, and relationships point people to Jesus. When we see people as people to be loved, it stops being a project.Pastor Matthew adds his own heart check. Will he still love this person if they do not accept Jesus or his invitation to church? If the relationship would change, he knows he is treating them like a project. If he would keep loving and investing in them, he knows his motive is pure. ## What It Means to Be Dead Pastor Chris turns to Ephesians 2, where Paul says that anyone not in Christ is dead in their sins. What does it mean to be dead, and what is the hope of the phrase but God?Pastor Anthony explains that Paul is talking about spiritual death, being cut off from a relationship with God. He points to John 17, where Jesus describes eternal life as knowing the Father and Jesus Christ whom he sent. We were created by God and for God. Jesus brought forgiveness for the purpose of reconciliation. Forgiveness was not the end goal. It was the way back into a relationship with the God who loves us, and our lives have meaning and purpose in him.Pastor Matthew jokes that he studied all week for his sermon and Pastor Anthony delivered that with no notes. Then he adds what he taught on Sunday. Healthy relationships come with benefits, and without a relationship with God we miss his presence, direction, protection, and provision. Paul uses such strong language because people without God are not simply uninformed. They are dead. That is why but God is so powerful. Instead of rejection, discipline, or destruction, God, rich in mercy, did the unexpected.Pastor Chris notes that his connect group talked about people who think their life is going pretty well. Without a relationship with God, even a good life is temporary and stunted. But they explain that money, relationships, and every good thing bring greater joy once they find their proper place, and that only happens when God is in his proper place as King and Lord. ## Reframing Evangelism Pastor Anthony asks whether Christians in the West hesitate to share their faith because they have lost sight of how good the news of Jesus is. Pastor Matthew says that was the premise of his message on Sunday. When we understand that we were dead and are now alive, we see that the people we love who do not know Jesus are dead too. If they were dying of a disease and we had the cure, we would fight through traffic and around roadblocks to reach them. Seen this way, our excuses lose their power. Pastor Matthew shares that teaching the message gave him a new hunger to look for opportunities to share the love of Jesus.Pastor Chris admits his mind jumps from one thing to the next, so he needs to keep being reoriented, like the mothers who have submitted prayer requests for their children every week for years.Pastor Anthony believes the answer is abiding in Christ. When he is focused on Jesus through the Word, prayer, and fellowship, sharing his faith becomes a natural byproduct. When he is focused on his own problems or goals, it falls off the radar. ## Our Part and the Holy Spirit's Part To close, Pastor Matthew asks about people who treat evangelism like sales and feel guilty when they do not see results. What is our responsibility, and what is the Holy Spirit's?Pastor Chris says our responsibility is always simply obedience. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that one person plants, another waters, and God gives the growth. If the Spirit leads you to a direct conversation, follow that. Otherwise, play your part and be glad you get to be part of it.Pastor Anthony says he is fully convinced that conversion is not up to us, and that should be a relief. Like a seed in the ground, we can water and till, but only the Holy Spirit can do the miracle and prepare the soil of a person's heart. He encourages listeners to saturate their evangelism in prayer for the specific people in their lives, like a neighbor or coworker. We can be faithful and trust God with the results, because "God loves that person more than we will ever love that person and he wants them to know him."Pastor Matthew wraps up with a laugh, noting that no one has quoted C.S. Lewis in about four episodes, and thanks both pastors for a great discussion. Listen to this episode Dead to Alive: The Urgency and Beauty of Evangelism | The Branch 0:00 59:33 Subscribe and follow Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7BWiObfPjKlJR2pB4OWH7o Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-tree-church-bible-study/id1557536518 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheTreeChurch1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theTree.church/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetree.church/ ## Take your seat at The Tree Church. If you are looking for a church in Lancaster or a church in Logan, we would love to welcome you to The Tree Church. We are one church meeting at two campuses in Ohio. Join us any Sunday at 9:00 AM or 11:00 AM. Lancaster Campus 721 N Memorial Dr, Lancaster, OH 43130: https://maps.google.com/?q=721+N+Memorial+Dr,+Lancaster,+OH+43130 Logan Campus 36 Hocking Mall, Logan, OH 43138: https://maps.google.com/?q=36+Hocking+Mall,+Logan,+OH+43138 We can't wait to meet you this Sunday! 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