Evangelism is others-focused
Evangelism is sharing the joy of a life lived in God and offering the gospel of Jesus Christ to others. The Greek term literally means “good news.” This good news, embodied in Jesus Christ, is that God’s love is stronger than death, and God wants to be in relationship with us. Episcopal evangelist Patricia Lyons describes the work of evangelism as the work of blessing. (Patricia M. Lyons, What Is Evangelism? Church Publishing, 2019)
Which brings us to an important point: evangelism, as a work of blessing, is always others-focused, and not self-focused. Evangelism, offering the gospel, is not about our own needs, including our own institutional needs, but about meeting the needs of others. We are called to make new disciples of Jesus not to increase Christianity’s market share or to fill all the leadership roles in our congregation, but because we believe in the power of God’s love to transform lives and heal our communities and our world. We are evangelists because we want to share the abundant life we’ve been given, and to draw others into the circle of amazing grace in which we are enfolded.
When I was serving as rector of a parish, I banned the word “recruit” from our discussions. We don’t recruit people into various ministries; we invite them. You recruit people into the army; you invite them to a party. You recruit people to do something that you need done; you invite people to join in something that you think they will find beneficial, worthwhile, and rewarding.
If evangelism is a work of blessing and offering and invitation (three things Jesus did quite a lot, by the way), then that is where we need to start: not with our own needs, but with the needs and desires and longings of others. Jesus says in Mark and Matthew that he came “not to be served, but to serve.” That is our mission as well.
How is your congregation practicing evangelism these days, and what is your “evangelism mindset”? Do you think of evangelism as blessing, offering, and invitation—or as recruitment? Are the evangelism efforts of your congregation others-focused, or self-focused? What would need to change for a mindset of blessing, offering, and invitation to take hold?
The Rev. Dr. Regina Walton is Editor and Content Developer for Discipleship Initiatives at Forward Movement, and a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts.