Godly evangelism

The gathering — organized by the World Council of Churches in consultation with the Canadian and National Councils of Churches — brought together scholars and pastors from traditions as varied as Catholic, Orthodox, mainline Protestant and Pentecostal Christianity. About half of the participants came from Canada. The Oct. 30-Nov. 1 event bore the name “Reclaiming Evangelism: Celebrating Change and Collaboration.”

The participants share the same call to “make disciples of all nations,” and the same challenge of carrying out that call in a part of the world where church no longer holds a privileged place.

However, a desire to fill empty pews was not the main driver of the Nashville gathering, said the Rev. Heather Heinzman Lear. She is the director of evangelism ministries at United Methodist Discipleship Ministries and an organizer of the event.

“We are all part of the same family,” she told United Methodist News Service. “It was Jesus’ prayer for us to be one. We live out our faith in different ways or different practices. But I think the ultimate goal is for the church universal to work together in partnership with God to redeem the world.”

But Christians labor in a world where evangelism has sometimes been anything but godly. Robert Cousins, a Baptist participant reared in Northern Ireland, put that problem into sharp relief.

“I grew up in a culture where you evangelized by killing people, Catholics and Protestants,” said Cousins, now director of the Tyndale Intercultural Ministries Centre in Toronto.

So how can Christians share the good news of Christ in a way that actually imitates Christ? Here are some of the ideas discussed.

Focus less on church growth

For too many Christians, their evangelism model is: “Come to my church and do the jobs I’m tired of doing and pay the bills I’m tired of paying,” said the Rev. John-Peter Smit.

He is a regional minister for congregational health in the Presbyterian Church in Canada and works with many churches seeking to turn their numbers around. However, he said, too often their yearning is not to fulfill the Great Commission or bless their communities but to solve a problem.

For evangelism to be authentic, he said, it should mean a real welcome into a faith community.

“The community must recognize that as much as it benefits from evangelism, at a fundamental level it’s not about us,” he said. “It’s not about getting people to church. It’s about getting church to people.”

Pray

Many of the participants also emphasized the importance of praying for God’s guidance in sharing the Christian message.

“I think prayer transforms us,” said the Rev. Brenda Smith, program director with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. “I think there needs to be a culture of (prayer) in congregations … so that they can take it home and out as they live out our lives.”

Be inviting

The Rev. Judy Paulsen, a priest in the Anglican Church of Canada and professor of evangelism at Wycliffe College in Toronto, said Anglicans often have the misconception that evangelism means accosting strangers, interrupting their day and giving them something they do not want.

She challenges fellow church members to rethink evangelism by thinking of the relationships they already have. “God has placed these people as gifts to you, and you as a gift to them,” she said. “Authentic evangelism is grounded in relationship.”

Paulsen aims to train Christians to invite people with the kind of invitation God has already given them. She also wants to ensure that people who may have no clue about church life find a warm welcome.

She used the example of church she served that had parking spaces reserved for first-time guests. A church member had made it her personal ministry to watch who parked there.

“And then she would say to them: ‘Would you like me to sit with you? I’ve been here before, and I can help you through the service,’” Paulsen recounted. “Now, you can’t get a better hospitality program than that.”

Welcome the poor and sojourner

In Luke 4, Jesus quotes Isaiah, announcing that the Lord has sent him “to preach good news to the poor” and “to liberate the oppressed.”

But congregations often struggle to follow Jesus’ example. “The most critical aspect of evangelism is becoming a church that the poor can afford,” said Bishop Mark MacDonald, pastoral leader to indigenous peoples in the Anglican Church of Canada.

He said most North American churches, with the exception of historically black and some Pentecostal traditions, developed in a way that reflected the culture’s broader racism and classism. “So today, your wealth is a reliable predictor of your church membership,” he said.

Denominations have closed churches in poor areas, but that leaves the moral ground to hate groups that fill the vacuum, MacDonald said. He encourages Christians to reclaim their call to be in ministry with the poor and marginalized.

“Having a congregation is so important in places where you have high stress,” he said.

The Rev. Girma Bekele, an Ethiopian Pentecostal who now lives in Toronto, also challenged long-established churches to welcome immigrant congregations. Many of these new faith communities are growing rapidly while older, largely white congregations dwindle inside the tall-steepled buildings they own.

Perhaps it is time the historic churches shared their buildings and prime worship times with their newer neighbors, said Bekele, adjunct professor of global missions at Wycliffe College.

“We can never talk about justice until we embrace immigrant churches,” he said.

Focus more on discipleship

Ultimately, to be ethical and effective evangelists, Christians’ mission “must be disciple-making,” said Bishop Darryl B. Starnes Sr., of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.

Discipleship is an ongoing process, Starnes said, but if done right, it should be self-perpetuating.

“The reason that we nurture believers and equip saints,” he said, “is so that they can grow to the point of doing ministry that will reach the lost.”