The founders of this church wandered around 'speaking the word' (Acts 11:19-20 RSV), 'telling the message' (GNB). We don't know their names: they were probably not 'apostles' but ordinary Christians committed to sharing the Good News with those they met. Churches everywhere are healthy or unhealthy to the extent that their members are verbalizing their faith. Where this is left to 'professional' clergy or evangelists, those churches are diseased.

Evangelism is 'one beggar telling another beggar where to get food' (D. T. Niles). Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). The Lord is patient, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins (2 Peter 3:9). It is God's desire that all hear the Good News in such a way that they will turn from idols (ie. living for anything other than God, 1 Thessalonians 1:9). In the terms the New Testament uses people either 'perish' or are 'saved' according to their response to this Good News. And we, his people, are commissioned to preach it! What an awesome responsibility!

Peter Wagner (Your Church Can Grow) says 10% of all Christians have a special evangelistic gift, but only about one half of one per cent are actively using it. (3) Why is that? However the other 90% are also 'gifted': all the spiritual gifts are meant to lead persons to Christ. But let us hesitate before we launch 'total mobilization' efforts: these often induce unnecessary guilt.

The most overtly 'evangelistic' Christians are the fundamentalists, who have a more literal view of hell. As we move towards the 'universalist' end of the theological spectrum ('everyone is/will be saved'; 'if there is a hell God will empty it') evangelism becomes almost non-existent. Three other theologies which hinder evangelism: 'hyper- Calvinism' (God saves who he wants to save, and rejects the rest, there's nothing we can do about that); anti-proselytism ('even if they are only nominal members of my church don't you preach to them'); and the view that 'all religions are valid, Christianity doesn't have all the answers'. What is your view?

Good evangelism is more than apologetics, which attempts to give a reasoned defense of the Christian faith. Apologetics cuts down trees; evangelism builds houses! Evangelism is more than imparting organized doctrine: as John Stott puts it, you have to win a person's confidence before you can win their soul! (Do what Jesus did: minister to a 'felt need' first - loneliness and poor self-image, sickness, hunger etc. - you supply the examples. Stott told a conference on evangelism in Britain: 'Christians are more like the pharisees than Jesus. We keep our distance from people. We do not want to get hurt or dirty or contaminated'). But good evangelism is more than being friendly: I come across 'friendly' churches that can't name many people who have committed their lives to Christ in the recent past. (Reason: new people change the chemistry of the group, and we unconsciously freeze them out of our social life). Good evangelism is more than inviting your neighbour to a 'mission' at the church (although these are valuable - your church ought to have regular special evangelistic efforts, appropriate to the culture of the people you are aiming to reach). Evangelism is relating as Jesus did to people day by day, week by week. The best evangelism is done by new converts: they still have the most non-Christian friends! And the best evangelistic churches are where people truly love one another, especially across racial, social, cultural and other barriers which previously divided them.

Size per se is not an infallible measure of spiritual health. Some small churches are healthy, others malnourished; some large churches are healthy, others fat! However we can say that all healthy churches are experiencing additions by conversion, ie. they grow! Some of these growing churches give themselves away by adopting a 'mission mode', sending their trained members away to plant other churches, and so may not, over time, experience net numerical growth. That's OK. But I would be worried if my church were not causing the angels to have a party from time to time as people come into Christ's kingdom! This church experienced rapid growth, both numerically and spiritually (not all churches grow both ways at the same time!).

The acid test: list all the young people and adults who have come to Christ, joined the church and are growing in their faith in the last, say, ten years. Write down their names. In the 'Great Commission' Jesus gives his followers (Matthew 28:19-20) there are four 'action verbs' - going, making disciples, baptizing, and teaching. But only one ('make disciples') is in the imperative mood, and therefore the 'main command'. Our central purpose is not merely to win 'converts' but to make disciples!

In the end, an evangelistic lifestyle arises out of the reality of our experience of Christ. If he has really changed our lives, that's great news, and we'll want to share it!

Further Reading: Peter Wagner, Your Church Can Grow, Regal, 1976, David Watson, I Believe in Evangelism, Hodder and Stoughton, 1976

Questions: (1) Discuss this statement from theologian Emil Brunner: 'The greatest sin of the church is that she witholds the Gospel from herself and from the world.' (2) If you were to plan a strategy to acquaint everyone in your area about the facts of the Good News, how would you do it? Why not do it? (3) In your group, tell one another how you would help a person who said to you 'I want to become a Christian.'

Idea: Run a 'Christianity Explained' group for church members, new Christians and their non-Christian friends.