By Craig Carr

You can tell a great deal about a church from the responses you get when you ask about their evangelism. When a church member says, “Oh yes, we do evangelism; I think we had some meetings a couple of years ago,” we learn that their attitude toward evangelism is that it is an event to be done occasionally. When another church member responds, “Oh yes, we are evangelistic; we have community-friendly events that members invite their friends and neighbors to, we have small groups, we have Bible studies going on throughout the week,” we learn that their attitude toward evangelism is that it is a process and a culture.

While traditional evangelistic events create a classroom in which the gospel can be presented through verbal, visual and, predominantly intellectual means, this leaves churches vulnerable to missed opportunities to serve our communities in loving service. It’s not “either/or,” but “both/and” when it comes to evangelistic proclamation and serving our communities.

Even worse than the either/or-both/and scenario is the “evangelistic hook” used in many community outreach programs—the attitude that we are responsible for “fixing” people. Whatever happened to doing good and kind deeds simply from a heart of loving service? Our acts of “doing” evangelism and outreach are outward expressions of our “being” Christ-filled, Christ-centered, and sharing God’s heart for lost people. It’s not what we “do,” or even who we “are,” but who we are in Christ, the hope of glory.

The apostle Peter preached one of his most memorable sermons in Acts 10 in which he proclaimed that Jesus went about preaching the gospel of the kingdom in combination with doing good deeds among the people. While we often see the Spirit’s anointing power in preaching, Peter claimed that, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, [and He] went about doing good and heal- ing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38). He brought together the roles of being both a bearer of good news and a doer of good simply be- cause the One Whom we follow is good. This sentiment is likely what St. Francis of Assisi had in mind when he penned, “Preach the gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.”

Let’s be honest, it’s much easier to have one or two people (often the pastor or guest speaker) perform a series of meetings in which the participation of others is measured by simply showing up. Is that the biblical model of fellow disciples of Jesus Christ (aka church members)? Everyone can get involved in finding meaningful ways to serve our communities in loving ways, whether through volunteer service or being so bold as to pray with our neighbor and to share Christ with others. The church is portrayed as the “body of Christ,” because its “members” have a diversity of God-given talents to contribute to the work of ministry. It is this collaboration of involvement in ministry that brings Christian unity “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).

When Jesus and his disciples met the demon-possessed men on the shores of Gadarenes, the demonic voices pleaded, “What have we to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” (Mark 5:7). Jesus did not preach a truth- filled sermon there on the beach, but gave true and lasting peace to these men as the unclean spirits departed into a herd of swine and stampeded down the embankment (see Mark 5:13). But Jesus did not permit these men to come with Him. Rather, he put them to work by commanding, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you” (Mark 5:19). For these men, it was a simple message of deliverance, a witness of Christ’s power to save, a personal message of how Jesus had revolutionized their lives! Their experience of Christ’s compassion became their calling in service as they evangelized their community.

We know we’ve made the switch from “doing” to “being” when activities of evangelism and outreach flow naturally from a personal and collective experience with Christ. Work- ing with Jesus in this way comes from being daily “fed” not from being filled with “dread.” In its purest form, witnessing is like telling someone about your best Friend in Whom you have a secure joy of living and hope for the future.

Imagine with me how the following activities are the natural outflow of a vibrant relationship with Jesus:

Marriage and family seminars and depression recovery and support groups mirror the compassion of Jesus;

Cooking schools, community gardens, and health programs take on a holistic focus on people’s well-being;

Housing the homeless, feeding the poor, and stuffing backpacks with school supplies are extensions of the helping hands of Jesus.

It is my hope that the numerous evangelistic and outreach events continue to gain momentum across Rocky Mountain Conference. My earnest prayer is that congregations would sense a deeper longing for Jesus to transform them that transcends events and programs, that a culture of evangelism would stem from “who we are in Christ,” not simply “what we do.” As Paul wrote to Philemon, “I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus” (Philemon 1:4-6).

Craig Carr is RMC ministerial director.