WHAT IS EVANGELISM?

“Evangelism? What is it? A waste of time! Last church I was in had one of those groups and in five years that committee didn’t bring in one new member.” “Evangelism? Oh, you mean that Talk about the Savior program, don’t you?” “Evangelism? Forget it! I’ve had my fill of people pushing their way into my home and force-feeding their beliefs down my throat. I won’t help our church do that to someone else.” “Evangelism is persuading men and women to decide for Christ.” “Evangelism is inviting people to church.”

Someone has numbered 32 such foggy and blatantly false concepts of evangelism currently in use (or misuse). Should it come as a surprise that such definitions have discolored the Biblical character of evangelism even for some in WELS? And what a shame, for evangelism is a beautiful, vigorous, Scriptural word.

Evangelism is rooted in a Greek word which simply means, “to speak the Gospel,” to proclaim the good tidings that Christ Jesus came into the world to redeem sinners. The angels appearing to aged Zacharias and the Bethlehem shepherds proclaimed this evangel. Jesus used the term to identify His ministry to John the Baptist, and Paul to describe his work among the Galatians. D.T. Niles described evangelism as one beggar telling another where to find bread. Such a definition is akin to the account of the four leprous beggars of II Kings 7 who found bread and meat aplenty in the deserted Syrian camp and carried the good news to the starving in Samaria. Therefore evangelism in its broad sense is the proclaiming of the Law and the Gospel to lead sinners to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

In this sense Evangelism is at the heart of the church’s mission. Embodied in Christ’s command to “preach the Gospel to every creature,” and rooted in the central doctrines of Scripture, evangelism dare not be divorced from doctrinal emphasis, nor indifferent to Biblical truth. Evangelism must be given the front-row attention it deserves, lest our churches become but whitened sepulchers, dead memorials to a people who lost the objective of the Gospel.

In a narrow sense evangelism refers to the explicit communication of Law and Gospel to the unchurched. It is a conscious effort carried out formally or informally to proclaim Christ to those who are not under the care of a Christian ministry. It requires not only the living of a Christian life, but especially the speaking of the message of sin and grace. It is in this sense that the term is most commonly used, as for example, when we speak of our Synod’s Commission on Evangelism or of our congregation’s evangelism committee.

This work of evangelism is not to be identified with skillful communication, though effective evangelists usually possess special communication skills. I Peter 2:9, Acts 1:8 and other passages reveal that all Christians are to bear witness of our Lord. Every Christian has his or her own pulpit: home, factory, nursery, garage, recreation and the like. All are able to bear witness to Christ in some form in their daily living. All Christians are witnesses. But among that great number of witnesses are some with specialized gifts, consisting not necessarily in the ability to speak well, but also in a deep, heart-felt concern to reach out with their gifts. These Christians possess the ability to evangelize in their communities in an organized manner or an extension of their congregation’s ministry. Christ gave some as evangelists, we read in Ephesians 4:11. In Africa laymen in whom these qualities are recognized are encouraged to be lay-evangelists to their villages and tribes. They attend our Bible institute and receive specialized training. Perhaps the time has arrived that our State-based congregations enlist and train, perhaps even call as part-time servants, those who possess such evangelistic gifts.

It would seem that in every congregation there are such people. To identify, call and equip them to be evangelists would surely further the work of the congregation to bring the Gospel to the unchurched and to train all the congregation to be more faithful witnesses.

If you are one who has disdained the term “evangelism”, or viewed the word with suspicion, may the Holy Spirit open your eyes to its true beauty and simplicity. Let evangelism for you be not a detached activity, but a very active and personal use of God’s gifts to proclaim Christ our Savior and His victory which has snatched men out of the jaws of spiritual death. As His is the Gospel, so may His be the glory.