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Sometimes, even unbelievers seem to understand the connection between conviction and outreach. Some time ago, an article in The Atlantic cited Michael, a Dartmouth student and atheist, who said:

I really can't consider a Christian a good, moral person if he isn't trying to convert me … Christianity is some­thing that if you really believed it, it would change your life and you would want to change [the lives] of others. I haven't seen too much of that. — Michael

“Listening to Young Atheists,” The Atlantic, June 5, 2013, page 10

Similarly, Penn Jillette, the atheist illusionist and comedian, said:

I don't respect people who don't proselytize. I don't respect that at all. If you believe that there's a heaven and hell and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that it's not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward … How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? — Penn Jillette

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6md638smQd8

Don't underestimate the role of convictions in changing lives. Becoming convinced that the gospel is true is a vital step in motivating Christian ministry: outreach, witness, evangelism, church planting, and world missions. Why do we expend so much energy, time and treasure in these endeavours? Because we are convinced that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life and that we can only come to the Father through him. Let this truth sink into our souls, and we will find it affecting every aspect of our lives, “taking every thought captive,” as the apostle Paul might say, so that sinners might be saved (2 Corinthians 10:5).

—  Thayer Salisbury

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