I just read your post and have to say it is on target with my understanding of what evangelism is all about. I call it “gossiping the gospel” and to do this we have to see ALL involved in sharing the gospel as we GO in our daily lives. This would, of course, involve the Church equipping people with ways and means whatever those are. But that sees the gathered Church as more of an equipping station [place] and a healing station [relationships] so we can be salt and light effectively as a scattered Church rather than an evangelism station.

I agree with Bill. We are failing the people when we identify the Church as an institution or an organization to which one comes. We are that Organism that produces His Unique Life through His Spirit wherever WE are on a daily basis. That was the observable reality I see in the pages of scripture especially the book of Acts.

CB – Great thoughts about when you can “shoot” your ammo. Also, I hadn’t thought of those burned by church, but in a formerly churched culture, there may be many who are lost AND formerly churched.

Bill – I agree with the application of 1 Cor. 2:14 completely. Also, and I would like to expand on this some more, the evangelism via the church model is a holdout of the old Finney revivalism – man centered, emotion driven, and, in my opinion, backwards. It’s my privilege to have you link to these articles. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

I’m not sure it’s possible to invite lost people to church, since church is something we ARE rather than something we attend. And what we ARE is a completely different realm or category than the non-Christian (the natural man). Paul wrote, “the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

I love your story about the tent revival. Yee-haw! I betcha they even created a “sawdust trail” for people to “come to Jesus!” How laughable, isn’t it? And I loved your assessment of the local churches when they found out no one wanted to come: “The churches were a bit perplexed, but they enjoyed themselves immensely, so they considered it a success.” Sad, really sad, but it points to the mindset that can be found throughout the evangelical world.

I hope you don’t mind if I link to this series from my blog.

Blessings,

Bill Lollar
The Thin Edge of the Wedge

I have found it depends greatly on the person you are trying to reach with the gospel.

If the person has some background I invite them to Bible study. (Sunday School) Of course, you have to have a real Bible study to invite them, not the jokes that pose as Bible study in so many churches today. You have to have a group in the Bible study that will intergrate the visitor into the group. I don’t worry so much about them “staying” for worship in the beginning. If the Bible study group does its job they will be in worship in due time.

If a person has no background whatsoever I try to develop a relationship wherein I can share the gospel as a friend rather than a “preacher” at the proper time. (Evangelism according to Charlie is to never fire at a target until it is in range. Firing to soon will only cause a miss and the target will “go back to the bush.” :-)

There is another group to which ministry is really tricky. That group is folks that have been active in some church and got “beat up” for one reason or another. I never invite those people to church. You don’t ask a guy to go back and feed the dog that bit him. The person that has been injured in his soul has to be developed with a real concern. As healing comes they may return to their former church. If so your ministry is not in vain. You have restored a brother. He may come to your church. If so I believe the intergration into a Bible study group is still best for this person. He will come into the larger fellowship of the worship service as his development progresses.

This method will not get the highest Baptism trophy from the association or state convention each year, but it does make a difference in the Kingdom. I guess we just have to choose from whom or WHOM we want to hear an “atta-boy.”

cb

I was a transplant to the Bible belt and one of those millennials who had no idea why I should go to church. People looked at me like I was Satan when I told them that I didn’t go to church on Easter. Why go to church when I don’t go all year long? It seemed silly. I remember distinctly my English teacher lecturing me on the importance of going to church (yes, my public school teacher), but not once in the whole conversation did Jesus come up. You’d think if she had enough guts to tell me to go to church in a public school, she’d have enough guts to say, “Hey, you need Jesus.” It was another two years before the Lord rescued me.

From that time forward, I have always bristled at the constant exhortation, “Bring your friends to church.” To me, that’s like asking someone who speaks Hindi to come to meeting of people who speak Russian. I could go on and on, but I’ll stop now. Great post!

Grace and peace,

Emily