Reflections on Evangelism
Josh Pool
Over the past three months, our men’s small groups have read books on evangelism. Before we move on to new topics of study in the new year, I thought it'd be useful to reflect on a few principles from the reading. Namely:
What is evangelism? and
How should a church together think about evangelism?
Nothing Less, Nothing More: A Definition and Subsequent Methods
One of the best definitions for evangelism comes from Mack Stiles: ‘Evangelism is teaching the gospel with the aim to persuade.’[1] Each word counts. Let’s break it down.
Teaching
It cannot be evangelism if it does not include teaching. It requires a transfer of information. It irreducibly involves a message, one that has to be ‘learned before it can be lived by, and understood before it can be applied.’[2] Why does that matter? Well, for example, we are sometimes tempted to categorize sharing a testimony as an act of evangelism. And while the two can and do often occur together, they are not the same. A testimony is personally bearing witness to the effect of the evangel in one's life. To share a story is not the same as teaching the truth. But what is that truth?
The Gospel
What is the gospel? The staccato answer is ‘God, man/sin, Christ, response.’ (1) The holy God who created us in his image has separated himself and condemned us as a just response to (2) our rebellion against him. (3) In his mercy and love, he sent his Son to be a man whose obedient life, sacrificial death, and supernatural resurrection restore a right and Spirit-indwelled relationship with God (4) for those who repent of sins and trust in him. This is the good news of Jesus Christ. Evangelism is gospel teaching. It is only when a conversation, speech, or sermon includes the explicit gospel that it can be reckoned ‘evangelism.’
One additional note here: I think it is especially important not to reduce repentance and faith. When explaining repentance, remember how comprehensive Jesus is: ‘Come and die.’ Repentance is reorientation; it's a new loyalty.[3] When defining faith, do not dilute it as merely intellectual or verbal assent. Rather, to believe is ‘to abandon all confidence in [oneself] and to trust wholly in Christ and the power of his redeeming blood.’[4]
The Aim to Persuade
The essence of evangelism must also include invitation. It is one thing to teach repentance and faith. It is another thing to offer it. Evangelism = information + invitation. Lose the first, and you are championing moralism. Lose the second, and you are giving a lecture. Evangelism is not done until we arrive at the question, ‘Will you repent of your sins and trust in Christ for forgiveness and eternal life?’
So then…evangelism = (1) teaching (2) the gospel with (3) an aim to persuade. Leave any one of these out and it may resemble a cookie, but it is no cookie. But what about when you add an unnecessary ingredient? Well, you at best confuse the nature of evangelism; and at worst, you change it altogether. One primary example here is an emphasis on results. While evangelism’s definition includes an invitation, it does not include the response to that invitation. It is still evangelism with or without conversion. The tension is clear: if you are not seeking conversions, you are not evangelizing. However, if you are defining evangelism according to those conversions (= results), you’ve gone one step too far.
But what's the big deal? What is the danger of making this mistake? Well, it quickly affects method. When results are too closely hitched to evangelism, it may tempt and convince the evangelist to illicit a response prematurely. It tempts well-meaning Christians to sacrifice biblical faithfulness at the altar of secular measurements. Suddenly, faithfulness is confused with fruitfulness.
Therefore, churches must regularly teach and reinforce a careful definition of evangelism. But that’s just it: what exactly is the local church’s role in our evangelism?
Expanding the View: Corporate Evangelism
Evangelism is often thought of in individualistic terms. But the NT also encourages a corporate role too. Remember Jesus’s words in John 13 and 17: ‘A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you…By this all men will know that you are my disciples’ (13.34-35). ‘I ask…that they may be one…so that the world may believe that you sent me’ (17.20-21). Our mutual love and unity have an evangelistic impact!
Importantly, this love and unity are primarily intended to be expressed in the context of the local church. Yes, unity and love between multiple churches is significant and helpful; but, more fundamentally, it is the love and unity between members of the same church that turn eyes and ears. When two men who, by worldly standards, should oppose one another love one another, it invokes curiosity. When two women who, by culture’s expectations, should be enemies and yet are committed sisters, it arrests attention.
Now, that is not to say that our love and unity are themselves evangelism. That would undermine what’s written above. Rather, think of this love and unity as handmaidens to evangelism. They call attention to the King. They are the sweet fragrance that entices the lost to hear good news. From there, the sovereign Spirit takes over. So then, one motive for our love and unity in the local church is what it does to outsiders. The biblical ‘attractional model’ is not to dilute the truth so as to soothe the seeker; it is committing to loving one another as we unite around the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is the church’s magnetic pull.
Even still, our love and unity are insufficient, right? How does the church share Christ together? Well, it starts most basically with developing a culture. If the whole church is to speak of Jesus, then evangelism must become a part of its shared ideas, its shared ethos, its corporate vocation. How do pastors and churches work toward this? How can CBC work toward this?
Here’s a brief sample:
Preach the gospel every Sunday
The preached Word is where discipling begins. And a pulpit void of evangelism almost guarantees pews void of evangelism. A pastor's preaching implicitly disciples his flock toward or away from evangelism. The most consistent way for a pastor to evangelize from the pulpit is to preach expository sermons. Because Christ is the theme in all of Scripture (Lk 24), the gospel should be inevitable in every sermon. As believers are edified, unbelievers are confronted. Exposition is necessarily evangelistic.
Also, a pastor's tone in preaching is important too. Evangelism must arise from a ‘warm-hearted and affectionate’ love—a ‘gospel view’ of people.[5] Pastors should exemplify the tone they long to see in their members’ evangelism. Sometimes that may include a sort of intensity, a serious plea. Usually, it will be a gentle, but clear, invitation. And then I would add: the pastor does well to informally speak about all these things regularly. This is a form of discipling. Culture is always linked to leadership; they rise and fall together.
You celebrate what you value
If we want evangelism to take off, we must celebrate it as much as we can. When a member evangelizes, let’s find ways for the church to know about it. A church that hears about evangelism once a quarter is likely to evangelize once a quarter. A church that hears about evangelism often grows to evangelize often. This is a place where I can improve as a pastor.
Have meaningful membership
If a pastor wants his sheep to evangelize, he must encourage (not blast) them to take their God-given responsibility with joy and commitment. To be a member is to contribute to the evangelistic culture of the church. It's simply a part of ‘what we do here.’ One simple way we can do this is to accentuate hospitality on Sundays. When a two or three members see a new face, they ought to go together to meet that person. They should not assume our guest knows the gospel. They should be warm and expectant. Develop a culture that expects members to engage with strangers, not only friends.
Evangelism is part of what it means to be a Christian. But not only that; it is part of what it means to be a church. Both private and corporate witness should mark a Christian’s life. After all, it is simply an overflow of who we are. Because we have the great, cosmic, eternal news of Jesus Christ our Lord, because we have been rescued by him, we can’t help but broadcast the news to those around us. May God use me and us to declare his message and save the lost.