If you’ve grown up in the church or have spent any significant amount of time at church you have likely heard about the core purposes of the church. Rick Warren repackaged and made these purposes a hot topic in the 90′s when he wrote The Purpose Driven Life. In this book he states that the five purposes of the church are: worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and evangelism. Rick points out that a healthy life keeps all these purposes in balance and neglects none of them. The dilemma here is that readers have then taken this information and will live out four out five of these purposes, often neglecting evangelism, and tell themselves, “I’m not doing bad because I’m doing 80% of what I’m supposed to be doing. ” The problem wit this is they are actually doing much worse than they realize.
Evangelism is not a
verb, it’s a noun.
Evangelism is not a verb (euaggelidzo), it’s a noun (euaggelion). Literally, evangelism means “Good News.” It is a message, not an action. You don’t go around and do evangelism, rather every believer is to live out evangelism! David Wheeler writes, “Proper discipleship is never complete until the person being discipled multiplies their witness consistently into those who do not know Christ… A proper understanding of evangelism as the message of Christ, demands that the church prioritize the gospel itself.” Therefore, believers are not to just discriminate information about Christ to those around them, but rather one is live out out the “Good News.”
Be the Message Itself
How do you live out evangelism? You take the time to show the love of Jesus to those around you, pray for people who need to know Christ, minister to people , disciple people who need to know Christ, share the redemptive message of Christ and be the message itself (Acts 1:8). Evangelism is multiplication, clear and simple. Christ himself came to multiply followers (Luke 19:10) and if we are not multiplying, then we are not fulfilling the mission of the church (Matt. 28:19). Christians can no longer divorce themselves from evangelism. To be the church is to live out the “Good News” and communicate it to those around you. If you remove evangelism from the Bible, our faith and our lives, what is left?
“Evangelism, properly understood, must be reestablished as the main purpose of the church, not merely one of numerous functions.” ~ Wheeler
Paul,
This is a timely message. I cannot imagine a more important time in history, when evangelism is more necessary.
Although Jesus commissioned His disciple on a mountain in Galilee almost 2000 years ago, I still take it as a personal responsibility.
There are so many unbeleivers that it is astounding. Our institutes of begiining learning as well as higher learning are being spiritually as well as intellectually attacked. It is one of Satan’s most evident power plays to kepp Christians dumbed down and ineffective in spreading the Good News.
We need prayer, and we need courage. Spiritual warefare is accelerating up the mountains of disbelief, and for now, there is no peak in sight. We must move this mountain and tranform it into a mountain of belief. Winning souls for Christ is paramount. God bless every Christian that shares this spiritual burden. And may God prepare a warrior class of believers that fight with the armour of Ephesus rather than weapons of human destruction.
I am here to support you, brother. How may I serve?
In His Love,
Max Richey
That is what happens when you listen to someone like Warren. John MacArthur has a response called The Bible Driven Church, which corrects the nonsense of Warren.
I know people that think that they can be Christians without ever witnessing to people! Unbelievable. They think they can witness to people without using words. How sad. How lazy. You can take any number of people living out false religions who do the same. If you don’t witness as commanded, how will people ever hear the Gospel?
The Great Commission can be done in a few moments, with total strangers. You don’t need to be friends for years … or make it a time consuming process.
Check out The Way of the Master at Living Waters. (www.livingwaters.com)
This course teaches how to witness the way The Master (Jesus) modelled it in scripture. It is very effective. You can hear it too on the radio program Wretched Radio. The host uses it on Wednesdays (Witness Wednesday) where he walks around university campuses and witnesses to many students in the 2 hour show time.
The Great Commission is not optional.
Hi Steve,
I attended the Masters College, that is the college John MacArthur is president over, and have gone to the Shepherds Conference at Grace Community Church. I’m also very familiar with the Way of the Master and it’s radio show. While I think all of these ministries are great , I don’t think that just because someone has been apart of these programs that they always recognize the need to express God’s grace in words and action.
I would have to say I disagree about your assumption about Rick Warrens ministries. I studied his 401 Evangelism material and found that the people in his church are very involved in witnessing. I would even go as far as to say I found the people at Saddleback to have a higher desire to tell others about Christ than anywhere else I have been.
Personally, I have developed my own way of witnessing. I like going to Starbucks with a book where I wait for someone to sit next to me. From there I engage them in conversation and after a few minutes I ask them where they go to church. That is all I need to start a conversation about Christ and begin witnessing.
There are things I like about John and things I like about Rick, there are also areas where I disagree with them both as well. In this case I’m not as concerned about being in the Rick camp or the John camp, the only camp I want to be in is in Jesus camp. I was baptized in Christ, not in John or Rick.
1 Corinthians 1:10-13 “10Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” 13Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
Ps. Two other men who have really impacted me are John Piper and Francis Chan, but I can’t say I agree with them on everything either.