"Have Christians Gotten Evangelism Wrong?"

 

Last night over a long spring evening dinner on our patio, Kristi and I got to hear from a couple who have been missionaries in Cameroon for years.  They are back in the States, at least for a while, now.  And they are having to rediscover what "evangelism" means in this, their homeland!  The husband is visiting in a  neighborhood where he shared the Gospel 20 years ago, but finding a different neighbor, a different response and the need to understand our new context.

Here's an online article I ran across that offers some thoughts about: 

• Come v Go
• Consumer v Disciple, and
• Do v Be

What do you think? 

How do these apply to your setting, maybe the new church you're working with?  

Only 3% of Churches Reproduced Themselves Last Year

Only 3% of churches served as the primary sponsor of a church plant (new congregation) during the previous 12 months, and only 14% gave financial support in partnership with other churches to help start new congregations.  A total of just 28% of congregations participated in some way, financial or otherwise, in church plants.

These findings come from a LifeWay Research survey of 1,004 Protestant pastors conducted in December 2008 and released April 2010.  “Although we see more church planting involvement, we need to see a much higher number of churches starting churches,” Ed Stetzer, President of Lifeway Research, said. “It is widely acknowledged that church planting is the most effective form of evangelism. It should be of great concern that only 28% of North American churches helped start new congregations at all, including only 12% of those who took primary responsibility. For too long, churches have assumed that mission involvement and church planting is someone else’s responsibility.”

This story summary: http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/may10s2c.htm
The LifeWay article:  http://www.lifeway.com/article/170227/ 

Creating a "God Space" for spiritual conversations

Here’s something I just read. Any suggested answers to his “million-dollar question”? (If so, leave a comment.)

[After telling a story about having a spiritual conversation on a plane] “Every Christian speaker and leader I know seems to have an airplane story. I think it’s because on an airplane, your spirituality has no bearing on where you sit or whom you sit next to. God uses this to bring Christians and non-Christians together as fellow sojourners heading in the same direction. Common ground, close proximity, no cell phones, and the belief that you will never again see the people you are sitting next to create greater possibilities for the natural and the supernatural to collide in meaningful ways.

“Here’s the million-dollar question: How do we natural create room for spiritual conversations like that in our everyday lives? Surely God doesn’t intend for us to wait until our next ride on an airplane.”

Doug Pollock, God Space, Rev! magazine, Sept/Oct 2009, p 50

I recommend the whole article, though I'll tell you beforehand, there is no easy answer given.

More resources, along with some solid ideas for these conversations can be found at the author's website--www.GodsGPS.com

More on Urban Evangelism

Years ago I read the following in Real Hope in Chicago, Wayne Gordon's great book on urban church work...and it has stayed with me. It supports from a different angle the previous blog entry's call for fresh, contextualized ways to talk about the Gospel.

Before long I realized that "get saved" evangelism was designed for suburban folk. It had little meaning in an urban context. The needs of people in the city are not the same as those of people in the suburbs, where material and social needs are met and where people can be more easily motivated by feelings of guilt. People in teh city are not encumbered with feelings of guilt. Their deepest feelings are of hopelessness.

If the Christ of the suburbs is the Christ of forgiveness, the Christ of the city is the Christ of hope. Ultimately, of course, Jesus offers both, but recognizing difference in perceived needs plays an importnat role in forming strategies for evangelism. (p. 170)

A new evangelism question?

One of the most exciting things about new churches is the potential they have to reach people who don't know Jesus personally yet.

Below is one suggestion for a fresh approach in evangelism. If God's given you other ways that spark authentic and relevent conversations about the Gospel, share them with us in the "Comments."

from "An Efficient Gospel" blog entry at http://christianvisionproject.com/2008/02/an_efficient_gospel.html

People are not asking the traditional gospel question much anymore. Asking, "If I died tomorrow, where would I end up?" does not generate much life. But asking people, "If you had just a few years left, what kind of life would you want to live?" generates enormous energy. It is a question of hope, something our balkanized world sorely needs. And perhaps not surprisingly, Jesus has a response to those who are asking such a question and on just such a quest. To them he says, "Wake up." "The kingdom of God is at hand." "Come, follow me."