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Evangelism for the Ordinary Church
Just because your people don't like to evangelize doesn't mean they can't share their faith.
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A few years ago while candidating, I looked at a number of profiles sent to me by congregations searching for a pastor. One question my denomination asks churches to answer on such profiles is, "Name two or three specific things you have done to evangelize your area in the past year." My heart sank as I read responses such as, "We let the local Rotary Club use our fellowship hall once a month for its dinner meetings," and "Our Christmas Eve service is always advertised in the local paper." It seemed few congregations were excited and intentional about reaching their world for Jesus Christ. I eventually found a congregation that said it was ready to evangelize, but I was in for a shock. The first year I pastored Cobblestone, I conducted a two-day evangelism seminar. Only three people attended. Though tempted to start sending out my resume again, I decided to make the best of it, hoping someday the Lord would guide me to a healthy church that wanted to evangelize. Although Pastors Often Hear "Everything Depends on Leadership." In Reality, Everything Depends On God."
But as I was waiting, I got to know the people of Cobblestone. I discovered they were willing, even eager, to do evangelism. It just wasn't the sort of evangelism I originally had in mind. Redefine "target group"The conferences I attended urged me to target a specific group (baby boomers, Gen X-ers, etc.) and gear up my congregation to reach it. The only problem was that our congregation was made up of various generations. Just which specific group were we called and equipped to reach? I found out the people of Cobblestone had another target audience in mind. They were concerned about friends, co-workers, and family members (of whatever age and group) who didn't know the Lord. As long as we kept asking, "How can we reach those close to us with the gospel?" evangelism took place and unchurched people began joining Cobblestone. Stop using the E-wordFor many, evangelism is what Billy Graham does when he preaches to stadiums full of seekers and thousands come forward. Nobody in my congregation felt he or she could do that. To others, evangelism meant intruding into the lives of total strangers by handing out tracts at the mall or calling door-to-door or phoning a list of names. Nobody wanted to do that. People here in the Northeast value their privacy. To violate another's privacy is seen as a downright un-neighborly and uncivil act. A year after my ill-fated evangelism seminar, I decided to try again. I offered an evening on "How to Explain Christianity to Your Friends." I felt encouraged enough to offer another one on "How to Share Your Faith with People Who Think They Already Know It All." It seems the folks at Cobblestone are willing to be trained in evangelism—as long as we don't call it that. |             |
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