Rev. Katie Ricke, delivers the message at morning worship on Friday at annual conference in Bismarck, North Dakota,

Rev. Katie Ricke challenged the Dakotas Conference, during Friday morning worship, to not look at evangelism as a contest, but rather take a lesson from a formerly blind man.  

Ricke, the pastor at Beresford Zion United Methodist Church, referred back to John 9:6-34, the story of Jesus healing a man born blind. The man’s healing acted as a testimony to his new life.

“Evangelism is about an invitation into a new life,” she said. “It is through discipleship that we dig deeper.”

The first step is to know how encountering Jesus has changed you and in what ways has your relationship with Christ changed the way you live. The blind man’s change was an evident one, he went from a beggar to being accepted by his community. 

Secondly, aspiring evangelists do not have to know everything. People often feel that they have not studied enough or do not know enough to evangelize. Ricke challenged this mentality. “Evangelism should be a natural outflow of our own relationship with Jesus Christ,” she said.

While studying the Bible and theology are important parts of growing in one’s faith, evangelism is rooted in relationships. That means evangelists don’t need to have all the answers. 

Finally, Rev. Ricke encouraged the conference to have the boldness and confidence of a blind man who can now see, and to approach the Miracle Offering with the same boldness. 

At the service, Bishop Bruce Ough, resident bishop for the Dakotas-Minnesota Area, called for the conference to give toward the 2019 Miracle Offering. In 2019, funds will go toward the Endowment Fund for Theological Education in the Central Conferences and the Dakotas United Methodist Foundation Scholarship Fund for undergraduate students planning to prepare for pastoral ministry and individuals training to be licensed local pastors in the Dakotas. Conference attendees also offered their commitments to reach out in love to someone in their world who does not know Jesus.  

“Spreading the Gospel is about letting those fruit of the spirit shine through so that people can see the power of God in and through you,” Ricke said.