6/19/14 David about 20
Is a
church invitation evangelism? Many pastors
and other church leaders assume it is, and some even seem to believe it is the
only effective or legitimate form of evangelism in our culture. But I have met too many church attenders who
still have no idea of what the Gospel is and too many non-attenders who only
think we are inviting them to church to build our particular tribe or increase
the amount of donations in the offering plate.
I continue to believe Jesus’ directive to “go and preach the gospel” to
all creation is being ignored in favor of trying to get all creation to “come
to our meetings”. There is a natural
tension, I think, between the pastor and the evangelist. The emphasis on inviting people to meetings –
to hear the gifted pastor preach the Gospel – blurs the distinction between the
two and makes the evangelist seem unnecessary.
The evangelist, on the other hand, can’t afford to ignore the need for
the work of the pastor and the gatherings of the church. If it wasn’t for the local church, where
would I refer the people whom I share the Gospel with? My confidence in sharing the gospel on the
streets is directly related to my confidence in knowing I have a solid body of
believers backing me up in the church. I
have more than Jesus to offer people on the streets, I have His Body – the Church. I was reminded of this in a conversation with
an Asian man named David (his American name), who was riding bike past our
church building. I had flagged him down,
hoping to share the gospel, only to find out he is a relatively new immigrant
from China and his English is somewhat limited.
We could talk about simple things like God and Heaven and church, but I
was unable to explain some of the more abstract concepts of the Gospel. David began to ask about our church and when
he could attend, and I was so glad to be a part of a local church gathering
that includes a number of Chinese believers whom David could relate to. Pastors and local churches, you may not think
you need evangelists, but we sure need you!
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