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In America, some churches are starting Saturday evening services (in addition to those on Sunday) because they have found unbelievers in their areas are more open to attending then. This, of course, is not necessarily the right pattern for other churches; the main point is that we need to stand back and be creative.

In some communities, that will mean developing specific programs to meet the needs of specialized groups—mothers, singles, single parents, teenagers, the elderly, business people, and so on. Each of those groups has particular felt needs, and these often can form the point of contact between them and the church.

I do not want to be misunderstood, however. Evangelism is more than methods, and in fact, methods can get in the way of authentic evangelism. Methods are necessary, but methods also can easily become ends in themselves instead of tools or means of evangelism.

Total and unconditional dependence on God. To me, there has always been a wondrous mystery to the preaching of the gospel. We are commanded to be faithful in proclaiming the Word—and yet, at the same time, every success, every advance, no matter how slight, is possible only because God has been at work by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives us the message, leads us to those he has prepared, and brings conviction of sin and new life.

When we understand that truth, it frees us from the temptation to use manipulation or pressure. It also should free us from pride and boasting, because we know that God alone must receive the credit for whatever is accomplished.

When we understand that truth, we also will realize the urgency of prayer in evangelism. My own ministry, I am convinced, has only been possible because of the countless men and women who have prayed. I never stand before an audience without sensing those prayers and sensing also my own dependence on God the Holy Spirit to accomplish his work. The words from Zechariah should be written indelibly on our hearts and minds: " 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty" (Zech. 4:6).

GOD'S WORD
FOR THE THIRD MILLENNIUM
As we stand on the threshold of a new century—and a new millennium—what is God saying to us?

If we are among those who have been indifferent to God, his message is clear: Come to me while there is still time. I made you; I love you; I have provided the way for you to come to know me personally by faith in Christ.

To his people, however, God is telling us to be faithful to Christ, to be faithful to his calling to point others to Christ by our words and by our deeds. Will the twenty-first century mark the greatest advance the Christian church has ever known—or the greatest defeat?

Archbishop George Carey's words from his enthronement in April 1991 bear repeating: "It will be woe to us if we preach religion instead of the gospel . …Woe to us if we preach a message that looks only towards inner piety and does not relate our faith to the world around. … And woe to us if we fail to hand on to future generations the unsearchable riches of Christ which are the very heartbeat of the Church and its mission."

That is our challenge as we stand at the threshold of the third millennium.

Billy Graham, an evangelist, is the founder of this magazine. This article is abridged from a chapter in The Future Agenda, a festschrift published in honor of Sir John Templeton.

Copyright © 1997 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christianity Today magazine. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or e-mail cteditor@christianitytoday.com.

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December 8 1997, Vol. 41, No. 14