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INTRODUCTION
The mention of the term ‘evangelism’ evokes many preconceived ideas here in America. To the politically-correct liberal it is a synonym for ‘intolerance,’ where one religion tries to impose its beliefs on others, a view considered discrimination in a multicultural world. For most Christians, the first thing that comes to mind with ‘evangelism’ is handing out tracts or preaching on a street corner. Consequently, the liberal has believed a lie sold by the enemy who has called good evil and evil good, while the Christian has seen only one facet of a very comprehensive task.
SURVEYING THE CROWD
True Christianity is not a religion; it is relational, vertically between believers and God, and horizontally between each other. I often survey many at the congregations of the churches I minister in, asking them how they became Christians. If I ask how many came to know the Lord by someone giving them a tract while they were walking along the street, usually no one responds. If I ask who was saved by hearing a street preacher on a corner, maybe one in three hundred will respond. If I ask who became a Christian, and is in a church today because they saw an advertisement for some kind of outreach, again, perhaps one in several hundred may respond. But when I ask who became a Christian because they knew someone, a friend, family member, co-worker or loved one, 99% of the people raise their hands.
PROVING A POINT
What does this survey prove? It tells us that most people come to know the Lord through someone they have a relationship with who already is a Christian. Does this mean we should not waste our time printing and handing out tracts, preaching on street corners or advertising our church functions? Certainly not! We need to keep doing more, but these things in themselves are obviously very limited in their effectiveness.
“IT’S THE EVANGELIST’S JOB…”
Many also mistakenly think it’s the evangelist’s job to get people saved. While it is true that the evangelist, like all Christians, should be personally leading people to Christ on a regular basis, his or her main purpose is to equip the Body of Christ for the work of evangelism. The evangelist is a ‘gift’ (Eph.4:11) to the Body for the purpose of the ‘perfecting of the saints.’ This means he is charged with promoting maturity, and that is arrived at when the saints can reproduce. The evangelist, being a shepherd, cannot reproduce sheep, shepherds can only reproduce shepherds! Sheep reproduce sheep!
HERE COMES THE BRIDE…
Over the course of my ministry, I have had the pleasure of conducting many wedding ceremonies and it is always a joy to watch the bride walk down the aisle to meet her intended. But as she walks towards the altar, she is actually making a public statement which declares; "I am mature and able to reproduce!"
“I WAS A CHILD BRIDE!”
When Christ returns, He is coming for a bride ‘without spot or blemish.’ He is not coming back for a child bride! A mark of Christian maturity is the ability to reproduce other Christians. In America, the church has become a side show where leaders ‘perform’ the ministry while the congregants are all spectators. Evangelists must rise up to take on the challenge of bringing the body to a point where everyone is involved in the business of populating Heaven and sending hell into a recession.
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