Evangelism isn’t about growing churches. Why not?
“We are truly in the End Times,” the man said laughing as he opened his front door to find me standing there in my black clergy and white collar. I was out knocking on doors in Kingsland some years ago as I often did in Lent and Advent, when the man who answered explained that he was a Church of God pastor, and if the world has come to the point that an Episcopal priest is knocking on his door, Jesus must be coming back any moment. I wonder what that pastor would have thought of the Evangelism Matters Conference the Episcopal Church held last week which brought together more than 400 attendees from more than 80 dioceses across our church. Together with Betsey Bell a member of the host church St. Paul’s in Cleveland Heights, I co-convened the Planning Team for the conference.
One of the recurring themes in presentations and in the sermon by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry was evangelism is not about growing the church. Some in attendance and others engaging on social media found this idea troubling. “What’s wrong with growing the church?” they asked. “Won’t our churches die if they don’t grow?” Presiding Bishop Michael Curry is pictured preaching at the Evangelism Matters Conference.
Getting the right order and motivation are central to how we go about this effort. If we make evangelism about the church, we will lose both the church and the life transformation we long for others to experience. I agree that I want to see our churches thriving and new parishioners are wonderful. Yet, the principal undergirding the emphasis of presenters, including myself, that this is not about growing the church. If we share the Good News of Jesus for the purpose of growing our churches, that motivation changes everything in a negative way. Then we have a measure of success or, heaven forbid failure, as we measure the body count, how many people did we gain in worship. That goal changes how we go about sharing our faith.
Evangelism is about being transformed by Jesus and we trust that when that happens, those faithful followers will transform our churches. So if we focus solely on faithfully sharing our faith when the Holy Spirit gives us opportunity, usually with those we already know well, then faithfulness is the goal, not a given outcome. This acknowledges that bringing someone to faith is God’s job, not yours and mine. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. This image is from a graphic recording of the closing plenary
And we need to make room for the person who needs changing is me and you. Evangelism begins with listening. Listening is essential. We start with the other person and their needs, move to really listening, and then continue with being changed by what matters to the person we are encountering. That is a way of sharing the liberating joy of Jesus that when it speaks, speaks very differently from evangelism that is about growing the church, the institution. Evangelism culminates in telling Good News and that will be different each time it is shared for both the bearer and the hearer of the Good News will need to hear about Jesus Christ in a unique way.
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Want to find out more? The Presiding Bishop’s Sermon and 22 other presentations are available online at www.evangelismmatters.org. I will share here a short video with highlights of Bishop Curry’s sermon.
Peace,
Frank
The Rev. Canon Frank Logue, Canon to the Ordinary
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