I grew up in a home that ate, drank, and breathed “evangelism.” It was important to us because evangelism introduced the Gospel to my family which completely changed the trajectory of our lives for the better. It was from this experience of the Gospel finding us through evangelism that our burden for evangelism was born.
My father and mother worked in evangelism for more than 50 years and have participated in close to 230 evangelistic events. I also now have the privilege of working in evangelism. Because of this, I have heard a lot of ideas, thoughts, opinions and criticisms on evangelism over the years. I, myself, have wrestled with some of the realities of change and cultural shifts and whether the way we are doing evangelism is the most effective way. I’ve often felt like someone without a tribe when it comes to evangelism. Because on one hand, I am passionate about it. I believe in it. But I do see the need for modification, innovation, etc. and I could be viewed as being anti-evangelism.
However, on the other extreme, there are those who love throwing the baby out with the bathwater. They want to downplay/discredit all public evangelism and group anyone who preaches prophecy or Revelation as being old-fashioned and non-relevant. I do find it interesting that many of the greatest critics of evangelism have engaged in very little of it. Look, there are evangelists that have done an incredible disservice to “evangelism”. I have heard too many “Christless” prophecy seminars (which is a bit odd seeing that Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy, and that Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ). So, in the rest of the article, I would like to explore what evangelism is, what works, what needs to change, and where we go from here.
First, what is evangelism? This word has been used so much, especially in Adventism, that it’s become a bit of a non-word. Everybody has different ideas. It conjures up different images for everyone. So, I do believe it’s important to at least establish what I view as evangelism as it sets the context for the rest of this article. We do not have time to create an exhaustive definition but will do our best to give something we can work from.
We get the word evangelism from the Greek word for gospel, “evangelion”. So first and foremost, evangelism is about sharing the Gospel (good news). Which is another one of those phrases that can mean very different things for different people. For some, Gospel means telling people they better get their life together so that when Jesus returns, they’re ready. However, the Gospel and Scripture are not telling us that Jesus is coming, but that Jesus has come. The kingdom of God has arrived in the person of Jesus Christ. Now there is certainly a second coming component to the Gospel, a very important component. But Jesus’ second coming means nothing were it not for His first coming.
Matthew 4:23 – He went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
Mark 16:15 (ESV) – And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation…”
εὐαγγελίζω ‘to tell the good news’, ‘for I am not ashamed of the gospel’ Romans 1:16. In several languages, the expression ‘the Gospel’ or ‘the good news’ must be rendered by a phrase, for example, ‘news that makes one happy’ or ‘information that causes one joy’ or ‘words that bring smiles’ or ‘a message that causes the heart to be sweet.’[1]
So, without spending all our time here, let’s embrace evangelism as the intentional act/process of proclaiming, publicly and personally, the arrival of the Kingdom of God, Christ Jesus, His plan of salvation, transformation, and His second coming and restoration in such a way that gives people hope, assurance, an accurate portrayal of God’s love.
This brings us to our second point. This type of evangelism works. John 12:32 (NLT) “And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” When Jesus is lifted up, that’s when everyone starts to show up. The principle of public evangelism– lifting up the healing and hope found in Christ–changes lives. People are thirsting for a liberating Gospel. Something radically different than the “strings-attached” world that we live in.
Evangelism works when it is relevant to everyday life. It speaks to the hopes, fears, and dreams of seekers. Connecting the Gospel to relevant subjects that are in the news, and on the minds of people, is where transformation happens. It must meet real needs. It does not matter how informative your 2300 Days prophecy sermon is if it does not meet the needs of people. When our evangelism does not confront, confirm, and give hope to people in their daily walk, it never becomes personal.
Does your evangelism give hope to married couples, singles, young people, seniors? Start speaking the everlasting Gospel to the job losses and the divorces, to the frustrations, doubts and depressions of people, and see the eyes of your congregation begin to light up. Share a gospel that never changes to the people and predicaments that are constantly changing. Evangelism that works is not about information; it’s about transformation. If it is going to be powerful, it must be personal and practical. When I do evangelism, whether it be personal or public, I imagine I am trying to reach 200 Richies (me). I know if it reaches my heart, chances are it’s going to reach the hearts of others. People want to know that, although at times their situations seem hopeless, there is a power greater than themselves that thrives in hopeless cases, empty tombs and rugged crosses. He called disciples who had problems with ego, cussed like sailors, and had terrible tempers. If God could transform them, He can transform me. Good evangelism is not about information; it is about transformation, which comes through the Incarnation–the Gospel must become flesh and blood in our evangelism. It is touching people where they are yet challenging them to give a greater piece of their heart to Jesus, “the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)
So, what needs to change? Any evangelism that puts all the emphasis on me, instead of on God, falls short, because we all fall short. We need greater gospel clarity. The Bible is not a set of rules about how people can find God.
The Bible is a story of how God found us. The Gospel is NOT about how we can work our way up to heaven, but how heaven worked its way down to us. I hear too many Christ-less evangelistic messages. It’s all about what we must do in order to be saved, instead about what Jesus did in order to save us.
The greatest evangelism ever done was from Calvary and the central claim was not “do, do, do,” but “done, done, done!” If the liberating gospel of Jesus Christ is not the beginning, and indeed, everything in between, of your evangelism, do everybody a favor and stop it. The Gospel is NOT “you are saved by grace through faith plus plus, plus.” It is, “you’ve been saved by grace through faith, PERIOD. Is this the Good News in your evangelism? Is it, “follow all the right rules or follow the right Person? I don’t know how people can make good news sound like bad news, but I’ve met some Seventh-day Adventists who can. We have such a beautiful, holistic, message. The question is, “Is it coming through your evangelism?”
Another very important thing that must change with our evangelism is making serving the community and building relationship an integral part of it. There was a time when most Americans identified as Christian, when just “having the truth” was enough. But people need more than that today. They need to see the truth in you. Theodore Roosevelt was one of the people who said, “People don’t care how much we know until they know how much we care.” Just hearing the truth wasn’t enough for Thomas. He needed to experience it. Studies show that people aren’t coming to the church for information—they’ve got all the information they could ever want at their fingertips.
According to Barna Research, “People are coming to the church for two things: experience and connection”. Like Thomas, people need to touch, see, feel Jesus in us before they’ll ever come to our church, or an evangelistic event. Who knows, maybe we had to stop going to church (during COVID) so that we could finally start becoming the church.
John 20:25 – Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. What’s amazing about this is although Thomas’s request seems unrealistic, Jesus still gives it to him. Because that’s what Thomas needed. When we start giving people what they need, some of our greatest skeptics, like Thomas, can become some of our greatest advocates. What’s interesting about Thomas–doubting Thomas–is that he makes the biggest profession of faith out of everyone in John 20:28 after he touched Jesus: “My Lord and my God!”
Where do we go from here? It’s not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. There are some evangelists that place too much emphasis on the beasts of Revelation and not enough on the Lamb. There have been a lot of evangelistic meetings that I left feeling like I would never ever measure up. That evangelism needs to stop. People should leave our presence, and our preaching, feeling better than when they showed up. There are organizations and individuals out there that seem to preach and promote an evangelism that is missing the most vital component–Jesus.
However, just because some evangelism does not work does not mean we should abandon evangelism altogether. In Twelve Step recovery, people often say. “The program works when you work it.” The same goes for evangelism. Evangelism works when we work it the right way. The right way is keeping Christ at the center, meeting needs, speaking to the hopes and dreams of people, and building community. We cannot get ready for heaven while watching our community go to hell. Love must be the center of everything we do.
The apostle Paul, formally Saul, is proof that you can follow the right rules and still be lost, but you can never follow the right Person without being led into New Life. Let’s make the Gospel great again. I’m not suggesting that we disregard or not deliver our doctrines. On the contrary, we need to, but let’s make it beautiful and only share it through the lens of the Gospel.
Our evangelism should paint a picture of beauty that creates hope and yearning, not a picture of destruction that creates fear and loathing. The Gospel isn’t bad news; it is good news. Let’s keep it that way.
Richie Halversen is director of church growth & revitalization, Southern Union of Seventh-day Adventists. Email him at: [email protected]
[1] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 412). New York: United Bible Societies.