I want to integrate evangelism into every hour of the week, so that Christ is carried into people’s lives, into our work, play, and socializing.
—Myron Augsburger
Evangelism is everything we do to make faith in Christ an option. It includes sharing the good word and doing the good deed. But sometimes our words and deeds do not touch the hearts of those we seek to reach. Sometimes obstacles we don’t understand hinder our evangelistic efforts.
Some time ago we invited a couple to our home for dinner. He’s a member of our church; she isn’t. They accepted, but she was so anxious about coming to our home, both because we were white (and they were black) and because we were “religious,” that she called several times to change the arrangements. Finally she phoned the afternoon of our engagement and told my wife, Esther, “Don’t have a dinner, just a snack. We’ll have eaten.” So Esther complied and prepared finger food.
They arrived together, but he had come straight from work; he did not know his wife had made the change, and had not eaten dinner. Naturally, he finished several plates of finger food and dessert. Nonetheless, we enjoyed a pleasant evening together. As they were leaving, this woman turned to Esther and said, “Next time we’ll come for dinner. I won’t be afraid.”
Differences in race, culture, education, habits, and social customs had become obstacles between us. That evening, we cleared away a few.
Many things hinder evangelism. Often, our secular, materialistic, individualistic culture gets in the way. Sometimes it’s our own insensitivity to other people and subcultures that obstructs the Good News. Fortunately, some Christians are doing brilliant cultural analysis to alert us to such hindrances and suggest how we might overcome them.
Yet there are other obstacles still, stumbling blocks more subtle that we often miss. In my ministry, I’ve run into them, as have most pastors. Below are listed a few our congregation has had to address. For each obstacle, let me explain how we try to make straight and smooth the way for evangelism.
Obstacle 1: Lack of Trust
Esther and I live in the inner city of Washington, D.C., on the border of a poor neighborhood. Many people here are trapped. Seldom do people leave the ghetto to shop, play, or do business. Consequently, they don’t believe that suburbanites, who commute each day into the city but then leave in the evening, understand them. Nor would they trust anyone who would try to minister to them who didn’t share their life.
Consequently, when we came to the inner city, we decided to live in a row house in the neighborhood where the church building stands. We relate to our neighbors daily. I’m known as “Rev” in my community, and whether people are churchgoers or not, I spend time with them—sometimes by simply passing the time of day.
A while back, one of my neighbors died while I was out of town. The family of the deceased asked if I would conduct the funeral. Even though I wasn’t going to be back for five days, they chose to wait for my return. Why? Because I lived in the neighborhood and they knew me. In the family’s words, I was “the only pastor that Dad knew.”
Trust, of course, is not just an inner-city issue. Regardless of location, if we want to reach people, we need to build rapport and establish trust, which usually means we must live in the community to which we will minister, whether that means the country or suburbia.
Building trust takes time. Many of my neighbors have lived in the same community all of their lives. Leaving a congregation without reasonable cause suggests to them that our desire to serve may be less than authentic. After eight years of ministry here, I’ve learned that maintaining a steady presence among people demonstrates genuine care and commitment. After I had ministered several years in the community, one man said to me, “Myron, I’ve watched you long enough. I’ve learned I can trust you. I’d like to join your church.”
Obstacle 2: Compartmental Evangelism
Some people assume that evangelism is a church-sponsored program that prescribes particular verbal formulas to be delivered at certain times. Inadvertently, perhaps, they compartmentalize life into times of evangelism—one or two hours on a weekday evening—and times for other things.
I am not suggesting that such evangelism is wrong or does not bear fruit. But my experience has taught me not to think of evangelism as a special program. Instead, I want to integrate evangelism into every hour of the week so that Christ is carried into people’s lives, into our work, play, and socializing. Even people’s finances become our concern.
The poor in the inner city often lack credit references. Most of them, in fact, do not have bank accounts. Cash and food stamps are a way of life for many. Unfortunately, some unscrupulous businesses feed upon this ignorance. Individuals, for instance, may purchase a television set on credit and end up paying for it three times before their payments end.
Our church wanted to deal creatively with this problem. So, with a local credit union, we arranged a way to assist low-income families. Now when people come to the church asking for financial help (to prevent being evicted, for example) we confidentially help them secure a loan with the credit union. This has taught people how to manage money better and helped them establish credit ratings. And as we meet a concrete need, the love of Christ is being shared.
Integrating evangelism with the rest of life causes people to notice the church. Many new Christians in our congregation have told me their interest in becoming a Christian stemmed from their relationship with church members. These were relationships developed outside of regular church-sponsored activities. One young lady said she had been away from the church since her youth. But as she saw the joy of our congregation, she was prompted to visit and discover its source.
This in no way minimizes the need to tell others about sin, forgiveness, and salvation. The deed of love is not enough to express fully the gospel of Christ. But neither is a verbal expression of the gospel effective without the demonstration of love. Evangelism is not a sudden foray into the world with the aim of winning someone, only to retreat just as quickly to a safe haven. It must involve authentic, ongoing relationships with people. It must be integrated with their lives.
Obstacle 3: We’ll Do It Our Way
Sometimes a church will discover a particular way to share the love of Christ effectively, and stick with it over the years, even when they could try other things profitably. We ought to be zealous for Christ as we minister in particular ways, through a church food pantry or learning center, for example. These days, I believe, a church mustn’t limit itself to one or two expressions of service to the community. Effective outreach to every generation and each subculture demands unique approaches. Christ’s love takes a variety of forms, some unexpected.
Encouraging the church to keep expanding its service is no easy challenge. But in addition to encouraging teamwork and mutual respect among our people, we affirm each individual’s gifts and calling, especially as we grow and change.
For example, a church member serving on our church’s stewardship commission was recruited to help a family in our neighborhood find housing. He had been offering his talents in finance and accounting to the congregation. But he discovered that he also could help people find housing. Suddenly, his faith was being expressed in another manner, and he was bringing the love of Christ to needy people.
At the close of worship, we frequently provide “windows of service” when people active in various ministries can share and appeal for help. This not only urges people to find opportunities to express the love of Christ in the community, it also reminds them that there are many ways of doing so.
Obstacle 4: The Anonymous Pastor
Many times, I’ve deliberately hidden my profession behind other roles. I don’t let people know I am a pastor; some people are guarded when around a minister. On some occasions, then, I believe I can better evangelize if people don’t know that.
However, in other settings, I take a different stance. I also know that, according to Scripture, Christians are to view themselves as confident ambassadors for Christ. Ambassadors publicly represent their sovereign wherever they live.
An ambassador doesn’t enter a community and anonymously reach down the social scale. Nor does he sneak around incognito. Rather, when he enters the country to which he’s sent, he offers his credentials to the highest authority present. From that vantage he moves about, working with a variety of people.
When I moved to Washington, D.C., I wanted first to discover and meet respected leaders in the community. I “presented my credentials” to other key pastors and community officials. I told them the purpose of our church’s ministry. I also began meeting regularly with an individual who worked for the mayor. I wanted to be sure I came face to face with the leadership of the community—with those who make things happen. Then, whenever people would ask one of these leaders, “What’s going on in that church over there?” he could answer. We didn’t have to justify our existence or blow our own horn; other people spoke for us.
An additional benefit of meeting these leaders is the insight we gain into the community. For example, early on I said to two black leaders, “Look, I’ll make plenty of mistakes, but you can help me avoid a lot of them if you’ll let me see the city through your eyes.” Among other things, they told me to discover and meet people’s actual needs. We should serve people where they need to be served, they said, and not where we prefer to serve. That is wisdom I still try to heed.
Obstacle 5: Denominational Distinctives
I am deeply committed to the Mennonite Anabaptist tradition. However, when my wife and I came to Washington, D.C., although we wanted our congregation to be affiliated with the Mennonite Church, we also wanted it to be multi-denominational in character. The aim of our church, then, is to incorporate individuals from various backgrounds and to sustain their distinct identities within our church body.
This approach seems essential in today’s world, whether ministry is in an urban, suburban, or rural context. It is unreasonable to expect every individual to change his denominational theology because he wants to participate in a neighborhood church and join an authentic Christian community.
Consequently, our church has adopted a ten-point membership covenant, which is the basis of our life together. The covenant holds us in unity and gives members freedom to practice their faith with diversity.
Take, for example, baptism. We believe the mode of baptism is only a symbol of the reality of one’s commitment to Christ. If one person wishes to be baptized by immersion, we perform it that way. If another wants to be baptized by pouring, we baptize him by pouring.
Another example: liturgies for infants. As an Anabaptist congregation, we dedicate infants. But we honor people who believe their child should be baptized. On one occasion, a couple committed to covenant theology wanted their infant baptized. They volunteered to have the sacrament performed elsewhere, knowing infant baptism was not part of the Anabaptist tradition. But the congregation began raising questions. This couple was part of our fellowship, after all. We wanted to surround this couple with Christian love at this important moment in their lives.
After deliberation, we resolved the dilemma by inviting a neighboring Presbyterian minister to baptize the infant at the conclusion of a service. The congregation affirmed its support for this couple as they began the process of raising their child in the knowledge of Christ.
In our multi-denominational congregation, we have members who join to become Mennonites, but we also have Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, and Evangelical Free, among others, who will remain loyal to their denominational heritage even after they join our church.
When the Obstacles Are Down
Poverty—the kind typically connected with the inner city—was the only condition one family in Washington, D.C., had known. They lived in a basement. They used two couches for beds. A hose, which supplied bathroom water, dangled through a window. An old washtub was placed near a wall as a sink. They had no income.
A church member noticed their plight and told us about them. The mother was willing to work, but had trouble finding employment. Our church tried to address both forms of poverty—the physical and the spiritual. My wife began by finding the mother a job cleaning houses and helping the children find yard work.
After six years of encouragement, friendship, and sharing the gospel, we rejoice in how that family situation has changed. They now live in a rented house that our congregation located for them. One of the children is a senior in a Christian high school, and another now a freshman. The mother continues with her house cleaning and through her earnings is able to provide for the family’s physical necessities. (Unfortunately, the father continues to be unproductive and is a continuing concern to us.) In addition, the mother and children play a significant role in the life of our congregation. In this case, distrust has melted as love was expressed.
Evangelism for us isn’t relegated to a time slot, nor to one or two types of activities. In short, evangelism is practiced as a way of life. It’s not surprising, then, that barriers come down, and that people hear and believe the good news of the gospel. As Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35, kjv).
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