“I want to let you into a secret. Nobody likes
evangelism. Not you. Not me. Not Christians. Not non-Christians.” So writes Krish Kandiah, from the Evangelical Alliance. He
continues: "Of course, everyone celebrates when somebody is
converted. We all long for our friends and family to know the hope that
somebody once shared with us. But the business of actually telling them about
God often ends up feeling awkward, politically incorrect, frightening, messy
and time-consuming.”
“According to a recent Evangelical Alliance survey of
17,000 UK evangelical Christians, the older we are in years and faith, the less
likely we are to share our beliefs. This survey, 21st Century Evangelicals,
also showed that although 90% of us are convinced that we should be active in evangelism,
the likelihood that we will speak to anyone this month about God is no more
than 60%. The survey confirmed what many of us already feel: evangelism is
important – but it just isn’t happening.”
“Why is it so difficult to talk about the most central
and significant part of our lives? Why do so many of us feel timid, but appear
arrogant? Or feel unqualified, but appear Biblebashing? What does evangelism
need to look like to be biblically faithful and culturally relevant, an
integral and inspirational part of our walk with God, and a natural part of our
relationships with others?”
“Evangelism doesn’t have to mean
arm-twisting our neighbours into attending church meetings, or forcing our
colleagues to come to terms with their own mortality in their coffee break.
Evangelism doesn’t have to be formulaic, middle class, manipulative or
misleading. Evangelism doesn’t have to be a war of words or wills. Evangelism
should not be a chore, a challenge – or a choice.” As we will see, “Evangelism
Jesus-style is for all his disciples as we live authentic, humble lives.”
So, how do people become Christians?
Well, there
are many different ways. No two people have the same story. Many people are
brought up in the church. They are evangelised and nurtured through their
family and through all the contacts within the church that they have as they
grow up. Some lapse away from church and then come back to a living
faith later in life. Others stay as part of the church but are still not really
sure what they believe. Others come into contact with the God and the claims of
the gospel through all sorts of circumstances, things as varied as moving
house, losing a loved one, reading a book, the birth of a child, chatting to a friend,
or looking into a star filled sky. Something happens to open people up to the
possibility of God, and so begins the journey of discovery that we call coming
to faith in Jesus Christ. But one thing is common to every story, and that is
the presence and the loving purposes of God. God is the evangelist. God is the
one who calls people. God is the one who is known to people though Jesus
Christ.
Our job as the church isn’t to convert
people – only God can do that – but to allow God to use us in his constant
desire to make Christ known to everyone. We do this by trying to live
Christ-like lives, by serving our local communities, by providing
opportunities for people to find out about the Christian faith, and by sharing
the story of our own faith and the story of Jesus. This intentional
ministry of witnessing to Christ and helping people make the journey of faith
is what the church calls evangelism.
Our Text for 2014 (Colossians 4. 5 – 6)
sets this out when it says: “Be wise in the way you act toward those who are
not believers, making good use of every opportunity you have. Your speech
should always be pleasant and interesting, and you should know how to give the
right answer to everyone.”
This text says that mission and
evangelism is about our actions and about our words. To combine these two as
our Text for 2014 suggests we just need to rediscover something of our Lord
Jesus: “Jesus demonstrated the good news of God in his actions centering on his
life, death and resurrection, but also in the way he touched lepers, challenged
hypocrisy, fed the hungry and healed the sick.
Jesus’ perfect actions spoke louder
than our words ever could. But he didn’t stop there – he explained his actions,
finding the right words for the right people and modelling for us the fact
that, just as we push back the boundaries of social action, equally we need to
be pushing back the boundaries of our conversations.
Sometimes Jesus told a story, sometimes
he engaged in discussion, sometimes he reminded people of Old Testament ideas,
sometimes preaching, sometimes provoking, sometimes walking away with a
punchline. He never used long words, he was never patronising. He was always
accessible, always loving, always gracious ... Evangelism Jesus-style is for
all his disciples as we live authentic, humble lives.”
Now, there are some who
are natural at sharing the gospel, but most of us need help to develop our
skills. When it comes to evangelism we have the advantage that God himself is
the Evangelist. He wants people everywhere to know his love for them through
Christ and he invites us to join with him in this work. For many of us, as we
have seen, the thought of speaking about our faith is not natural yet, at the
same time we long for our friends, neighbours or relatives, to discover Christ
for themselves.
In 2014 the Diocese of Chelmsford will celebrate
100 years of faithful service to Essex and East London. 2014 will be a great
time to celebrate the hope which our churches have shared in the living Christ
over our first 100 years and to commit to our next 100 years together. Bishop Stephen wants
every parish in the diocese to: put on a Mission Weekend as part of the
centenary celebrations; try to do one thing in evangelism it has never done
before; and have in place a small team of people who have had some training and
experience in evangelism. Also
in 2014, by working in partnership with churches across London, Crossing London
hopes to provide, during Autumn 2014, an opportunity for 10,000+ residents in
London and the Home Counties to make a faith commitment and then to grow as
disciples of Jesus. Both initiatives encourage us to share
our faith with people on the fringe or outside of church and there is training, resources and financial support on offer so that we might make connections and evangelise more effectively in
our area.
Do you want
your Church to
reach people in your parish or benefice more effectively? Do you want people you are in touch
with through work or leisure to be transformed through the presence of Christ? Do you want to witness the change that
happens when the Kingdom of God breaks into your network and community?
If so, then all of us have a part to
play. Some will have a specific gift and calling to share the message of
Christ. Others will play their part just by being enabled to talk about their
faith with colleagues, friends and neighbours. Some will run groups to
help people find out about the Christian faith. Others will play a supportive
role, offering hospitality and friendship.
We need to find new ways of connecting
with people and sharing with them the gospel of Jesus Christ because it is laid
upon us to 'proclaim the faith afresh in each generation'. So, we need this
ministry of evangelism to be as normal a part of parish life as worship on
Sundays. For without an on-going ministry of evangelism we will fail in our
responsibility to answer the call that Jesus gives us at the end of Matthew’s
gospel “to make disciples.” And if we are not making and growing disciples all
the others things we long to do to make a difference in the world will falter.
May
we go into 2014 committed to that mission and open to the opportunities which
the Diocesan Centenary and Crossing London provide for our mission and ministry
here at St John's and in Seven Kings.
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John Tavener - Ikon Of Light.
