In the early days of the city of Chicago, some bold engineers succeeded in an amazing feat. They actually reversed the flow of the Chicago River. Instead of dirty water flowing into Lake Michigan, the river was dredged and channeled to flow out of Lake Michigan to a canal that eventually connected to the river system that would flow into the Mississippi River.

A similar challenge awaits every pastor who takes the Great Commission seriously. The natural flow of most churches is not toward evangelism. The reasons are many: a culture increasingly hostile to the message of Christ, fear of rejection, an inward focus on our own needs.

Even so, some pastoral "engineers" have succeeded at reversing attitudes in their congregations and are seeing notable results. Leadership invited three such leaders to discuss the task.

Jerry Cline has served nine years as pastor of Upland Evangelical Mennonite Church in Upland, Indiana. Before that he served for eight years with Overseas Crusades, six in Indonesia.

Mark Mittelberg is executive vice president of the Willow Creek Association and co-author of Becoming a Contagious Christian, book and training course (Zondervan, 1994 & 1995). Prior to joining the staff of the Association, Mark served for seven years as the director of evangelism at Willow Creek Community Church, where he continues to be evangelism trainer and a frequent speaker at seeker-oriented events.

Mike Slaughter has, for nearly two decades, pastored Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Tipp City, Ohio. He is author of Out on the Edge (Abingdon, 1998) and Spiritual Entrepreneurs (Abingdon, 1995).

How do you shift people's attitude from "I should evangelize" to "I want to evangelize"?

Mike Slaughter: Renewal is God-breathed, not programed or planned. Pastors come to conferences wanting methodology and technology. We do media and all that, but when we started using media I began an hour to two hours of prayer every morning.

God chooses to act in certain times and places. People in that place have a passion for God and a passion for people. From the pulpit you see those people who are taking notes and nodding their heads. They exemplify fruits of openness and love. My strategy has been to get that group together. I say to these people, "Carolyn and I are starting a group in our home on Wednesday evenings. The only requirement of those who come is that in six months to a year they begin to invest in the lives of others." I call it the "sanctified Amway plan."

Mark Mittelberg: You begin with your own heart. If it's not what it ought to be, admit that to God and then to the people around you. Tell others, "I want to be a person who values lost people and reaches them for Christ more than I do now. I also want our church to do that, and I'm going to pray to that end. Hebrews 10 says we are to spur each other on to love and good deeds. Let's commit together to fulfilling the purpose Christ gave for this church."

You can then gather a team that agrees this is what their lives and ministry will be about. You instill evangelistic values into more and more people around you. What happens then is you will attract other like-minded leaders into your church and repel those who are not. Many people are looking for a church that's alive evangelistically.

Contagious churches put the work of evangelism into the hands of all their people. But pollster George Barna has shown that only one in three churches intentionally train their people in evangelism. We not only have to raise the value, model it, and teach on it, we have to get all our people through a training course where they don't just hear about evangelism but they practice it.

Friends listen to friends. If we train individuals to naturally communicate their faith, we will see people come to Christ.

Jerry Cline: If I as pastor don't say to others in the church, "Hey, there's something missing here," evangelism is probably not going to happen. I may need to say to the elder board, "I'm not seeing many conversions of late. Let's list the names of people we're rubbing shoulders with, and each time we meet, we'll pray for them."

When the church is preparing the budget, I have had to say on occasion, "There's not much money in this budget for evangelism." My leaders have always responded to that. People are looking for us to take the lead.

Last year, for example, we allocated several thousand dollars to bus unchurched kids to Chicago for ballgames as a way to build relationships with them. We're trying to break out of our standard approaches.

How does today's seeker differ from the seeker of 1975?

Mittelberg: Seekers are more skeptical now. They have less knowledge of the Bible and of what it means to be a Christian. So you have to do more ground work, showing them this is not a blind leap of faith, that the Bible is a book with credentials and that it works in our lives.

When it comes to God, people don't know who he is. If they were to believe in the possibility of a revelation from God, they wouldn't know whether it's the book of Mormon, the Koran, some New Age writing, or the Bible.

There's a lot more confusion, a lot less urgency about needing to know, yet a great emptiness. A generation ago, seekers knew what they could cling to if they were willing; now even if they're willing, they don't know which way to turn. Yet the spiritual interest is sky high.

On one hand, our culture is in a moral freefall. On the other, we're in a period of interest in "spirituality." Is evangelism getting harder or easier?

Mittelberg: It certainly takes a commitment to a long-haul approach. It is a longer process to earn the trust of secular unbelievers and teach them the content they need to believe. So evangelism is harder today.

On the other hand, with people so hungry, in many cases it's easier to get into the topic because they're looking for a credible source of information on spiritual topics.

Slaughter: One of the exciting opportunities in postmodernism is people don't want evidence; they want experience. Last Easter, instead of the Josh McDowell thing (rational evidences for Christianity), we did an X-Files thing—open to the unexplainable. We had a drama with Scully and Mulder where one was open to the unexplainable and the other wanted everything explained scientifically. Afterward I said, "You may have 99 percent doubt, but the fact that you're here says you're open to the possibility that Jesus came from the tomb. Act on the 1 percent."

Mittelberg: Many people don't lead with the same questions they used to—"Give me evidence"—yet in the process of their spiritual journey, the same questions tend to come up. People want to know, Is this a faith built on facts, or are you taking me toward a blind leap of faith? I see the need for apologetics going up, not down.

When are we guilty of trying to do the Holy Spirit's job in evangelism, and when are we expecting the Holy Spirit to do our job?

Cline: In part we have failed to pray, "Lord, I know if the Spirit doesn't do it, it's not going to happen."

Slaughter: We have to step out of the boat. Faith is risking before you see results. It wasn't Peter who failed when he stepped out of the boat and began to sink. It was the eleven who waited to see what would happen to Peter.

Mittelberg: Sometimes we try to assume the Holy Spirit's role, but the much greater problem is our hoping the Holy Spirit will do our job for us. One popular version of evangelism says, "If I just live as a consistent Christian, people will see it, figure it out, and come to Christ." But that approach isn't biblical, and it doesn't work.

In Romans 10:14 Paul said we have to go and give people the message. We have to initiate conversations and trust the Holy Spirit will work as we bring the message to them.

Another temptation is to ride on the positive experience people have when they come to a church program and think they will be interested enough in what they've seen to figure it all out on their own.

Years ago a girl I knew from high school started coming to a Bible study I was leading. She learned the songs and started talking like us and hanging out with us. One day I said to her, "I'm glad you're part of our group."

"I love it," she said.

"I'm just wondering, have you ever come to the point of committing your life to Christ so you know you're forgiven of your sins?"

"No, I've never done that," she said, "and no one ever told me I needed to."

I learned we have to keep spelling out the basics. Draw the bridge illustration or follow whatever approach you use. When I did that, she made a commitment right away.

Why do some churches with godly leaders who teach the truth see few people, if any, come to the Lord?

Mittelberg: Christians can be hindered by traditional ideas of what evangelism looks like. A pastor thinks, It means having revival meetings. But I tried that, and it didn't work. The average Christian thinks, It means going out and knocking on doors. I don't know if I can do that.

We would like to reach lost people, but doing so doesn't feel like us.

In our training we're helping people realize evangelism takes many forms. In the New Testament, Peter was confrontational, while Paul took an intellectual approach. The blind man in John 9 took a testimonial approach, and the woman at the well, an invitational approach. So let's free ourselves up. Let's not lay guilt trips on people by acting as though if they really loved Jesus they would do it just like us.

Let's find approaches that fit the personalities God gave each of us. Then when we say, "Let's raise the priority of reaching lost people," our people realize it doesn't necessarily mean they go door to door. It may mean they need to play tennis with people they're trying to reach.

Sometimes the problem is churches aren't willing to try new things. If we've been doing evangelism the same way for 20 years and people aren't coming to Christ, why do we keep beating our heads against the wall?

Other times, churches teach the Word but they do not put a priority on reaching lost people. Evangelism naturally tends to slip more than any other biblical value. It is what I call the law of evangelistic entropy. Believers get caught up with what they need. If you're the pastor of 500 people, all of whom want to know what you're going to do for them, there's a natural pull to focus inward. Leaders have to make an against-gravity decision to say we're not going to spend all our energy on ourselves.

Slaughter: If we really believe the unchurched are important, do we focus on them? Doing that will cost us at times. When I first came to the church, we had 90 people; we switched our worship service to what I call a soft contemporary style, and we lost 30. Three years ago when we had 1,200 people, we shifted to a heavier use of media and a style more on the edge, and we lost 200 people. Now we have over 3,000 people.

Two years ago 48 percent of those coming through our membership classes had been unchurched; last year it was 50 percent.

In many churches we can't do things that will make a difference in unchurched people's lives because that is against our traditions. Jesus had a marketplace theology. He didn't play well in the temple because there were too many restrictions. Paul had to find Jesus on the Damascus Road, Bartimaeus on the Jericho Road, the Ethiopian eunuch on the Gaza Road.

I try to demonstrate being with unchurched people, even if it means missing church meetings. I coached my son's baseball team for nine years. On Sunday nights our church had a praise style meeting for the people who wanted a worship experience that did not relate to unchurched people. I didn't attend that meeting because that was the night the baseball coaches hung out and shot pool.

Does God grant different gifts to churches just as he does to individuals? Do some churches evangelize and others teach?

Mittelberg: God gifts leaders and churches to specialize in various ministries, but Jesus spelled out the purpose for the church in the Great Commission. That obviously includes teaching and edification and worship, but if a church says we're just going to be a teaching church and not evangelize, they're running counter to the purpose statement Jesus gave to the church.

Cline: The important thing is balance. Our church is in a small town, and our population is stable. One of our strengths is we're a sanctuary. Hurting pastors and missionaries come and kind of hide here for a while to get restored. We need to be doing more evangelism, but I would not say that has to be our number one priority.

How often should you give some form of a specific "altar call"?

Mittelberg: We weave the gospel into everything we do but not in an explicit form where we ask people to commit to Christ every week. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:22-23, "I have become all things to all men … for the sake of the gospel." We need to know the people we're trying to reach, and we need to ask what is the most effective way to winsomely help them see Christ is real and the Bible, true; how can we keep them in the process so they'll soon make a commitment to Christ?

If we thought hitting them hard every week was the best way, we would do it. But people today are farther away from believing what we believe. If we called for a commitment every week, people would say, "Look, I wasn't ready last week or the week before. I'm not ready this week—and I'm not coming back next week!"

We have to build a relationship with people and earn their trust and respect. We do that by teaching the whole counsel of God without compromise and by interspersing at regular intervals a call for people to come to Christ. Besides, we train our people to press appropriately for a commitment from the people they bring to services. Many conversions happen in one-on-one conversations outside of our services.

When should we tell people the price of Christian commitment? Bonhoeffer says when Jesus calls a man, he bids him come and die. That's a tough sale.

Mittelberg: There's a rumor that if you want to attract unchurched people, you've got to tell them what they want to hear. We've found just the opposite. People are looking for leaders who have the guts to tell them the truth. Being seeker sensitive means learning to speak the language of the people you want to reach so you can give them the message full strength.

When a church's valiant evangelism attempts haven't met with much success, how do you keep up morale?

Cline: Our responsibility is to sow the seed. We want to see results, but we must remember the parable of the sower. There is something to be said for those times when not much is happening. We are to do what we can to move people along the scale, point by point, from minus ten to plus ten.

For a number of months, I carried in my Bible an undated resignation letter ready to turn in because I felt unable to inspire people. I never turned it in. I continue to try to be faithful, do the best I can, be creative, and leave the results to God.

Mittelberg: Avoid comparisons with Ginghamsburg or Saddleback or Willow Creek. Decide you're going to be who God called you to be, and keep doing your best to raise the value of evangelism.

In your efforts to lead others in evangelism, what has surprised you?

Slaughter: When we started to see unchurched people come, the selfish, territorial attitudes of church people surprised me. But you have to decide what God has called you to do, not what the people want you to do.

When I went to Ginghamsburg, I said, "I'm not a pastoral caregiver. I'm a teacher, leader, catalyst. You don't want me doing what God hasn't gifted me to do."

One time early on, I went to a nursing home. I laid my hands on one of the godmothers of our church to pray for her. She died right there. When the people heard about it, they said, "He's right. He doesn't have the gift. He'd better not do this."

Mittelberg: I've been negatively surprised by how rapidly this value slips, even in people who are fired up to share their faith. A year passes, and they've slipped into comfortable Christianity. Denominations that started with evangelism as a priority can quickly become institutionalized. Evangelism is too often relegated to a statement on the front of a bulletin instead of a value by which we live.

The positive surprise: when you help people discover an approach to evangelism that fits the personality God has given them, many step up to the plate.

One man named Fred was invited by a leader in our church to come to our Contagious Christian course, and Fred laughed at him. Fred was kind of a wild guy, a recovering alcoholic who had come to Christ through our church. He came to the training initially because he felt like the church leader made him come, but he soon discovered he could communicate his faith while being himself.

He got the practical tools he needed to build relationships, raise spiritual conversations, share his story in plain English, illustrate the gospel, deal with friends' questions, and actually lead them to Christ. He soon began to look for opportunities, especially in Alcoholics Anonymous. Since then he has led many to Christ.

At the other end of the personality spectrum is Julie, a shy person who in one year led 14 people to Christ in her quiet, introverted way.

How is evangelism different in the small town?

Slaughter: It's not that different in a small town. It's the global village now. We watch the same television shows they watch in Chicago or LA. We listen to the same music, surf the same 'Net. There are different political mindsets, but basic socialization is much the same.

Cline: In central Indiana the unsaved person has community but is looking for deeper community. He or she is looking for more substance.

Do you ever feel you overemphasize evangelism?

Mittelberg: We want to avoid being a unidimensional church, emphasizing only evangelism. But many churches abdicate this area of outreach and are content to say, "We have 300 people; if we keep them growing, that's okay."

I want to push back and say, "For the sake of lost people, for the sake of obeying Christ, we've got to get the evangelism element back into the mix."

That's not to the exclusion of worship or discipleship, but it takes more effort to get a church moving toward outreach. It takes radical commitment. It has budget and calendar implications. Leaders must "declare war" against business-as-usual and take churches from nice, friendly places to churches that are reaching lost people.

Evangelistic entropy begins in my own heart. My natural inclination is to care only about what my family and I need. I have to remind myself I'm here for a purpose beyond my own little circle.

I'm part of a church known for evangelism, but we have to fight the battle month after month to keep up the evangelistic temperature. This is not about getting our church to a certain size; our job is not done until all the people in our community have come to Christ.

Originally published in Leadership journal, July 1, 1998.

Copyright © 1998 by the author or Christianity Today International/Leadership Journal.
For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or e-mail ljeditor@leadershipjournal.net.
Summer 1998, Vol.XIX, No. 3, Page 22

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