Keeping evangelism on the front-burner

“In my church you’d think the Great Commission instructed us to go into all the world and form committees”, joked one of my friends. His frustration may have been delivered with a grin and a healthy dose of satire, but the point stung.

He is not alone in thinking that there is often a priority gap between our marching orders from the risen Christ (Matt. 28v16-20) and the everyday priorities of our churches – and us as individual Christians.

This is perhaps understandable. Many congregations are exhausted, and simply maintaining existing programmes can feel like a stretch. Church politics and managing division can be perplexing and stressful, and end up dominating every agenda. The demands of running a charity never get smaller; auditing accounts, having safeguarding policies, paying the pastor, Gift Aid returns and building maintenance are all important. Internal struggles within denominations and congregations to maintain theological precision can also leave little time or energy for the lost. If your church is in the middle of a building project, that useful “tool” can, left unchecked, become an end in itself. Busyness too can overwhelm us; the “tyranny of the urgent” is a rock upon which many a godly vision has been shipwrecked.

What can we do to make sure that we engage in “everyday evangelism”? How can we be sure not to relegate it to being an annual event, or subcontract it to an evangelism committee or professional evangelist? Here are some things I have seen work well in church life which help to keep our focus ‘Great Commission-shaped’.

Preaching: Where pastors talk about evangelism in their week-by-week preaching, it keeps the flame alive. Preaching Christ from all the Scriptures is the task, and equipping saints for works of service is the purpose! Those of us who preach should be frequently talking about gospel work, and of taking Christ to the nations.

Exemplify: The most effective enablers of evangelism I have seen are pastors who actively share their faith, and have non-Christian friends. Saying: “You should share the gospel!” is less effective than: “On Tuesday I had an interesting conversation with my neighbour. She’s agnostic and we talked about faith and evidence – do pray for her.” Don’t just preach it, model it.

Testify – everyday: Churches who are reaching the lost talk about it informally too. Fill your conversation with concern for the lost, and ask the most diligent evangelists in the congregation to share testimonies of their successes – and failures. Make evangelism a normal part of the Christian life, rather than an optional extra element of discipleship for the super-keen.

Review: Have an honest look at church life (and our individual lives), and see where evangelism sits in the priority list. If people are to be saved eternally, and sharing the gospel is God’s method – do church programmes, budgets and enthusiasm actually reflect that?

Strategy: Some churches have decided to dedicate specific time at every eldership meeting to the task of reaching the lost, and at every prayer meeting to praying around evangelism. They have done the same for the ministry programmes and the budget. Evangelism training events can also be a great way of focusing the church’s mind on the task – and keeping it there.

Jesus said: “I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance”. (Luke 15v7). In all honesty, too much of my life does not reflect such heavenly values.

Evangelism is difficult and costly, and challenges the supremacy of that most belligerent of contemporary idols: ‘a life of convenience’. In his stirring book, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, C. John Miller cautioned us that we face the choice “risk or rust!” and charts his own path out of introspective cynicism and into a life of effectively sharing Christ with the lost.

If we really believe the gospel, then the start of a new year might be the ideal time to declutter our lives and programmes so that the most important thing of all is not lost in a tangle of worthy, but lesser priorities.