The Institute of Evangelism

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Reimagining Children in Worship

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The cost of COVID-19 has been horrifying on every level. So many lives have been lost or forever altered. Businesses and charitable organizations alike have been hit hard, and churches are no exception. But I wonder if the pandemic has also offered at least one gift to the Church: an unveiling, not of a brilliant new strategy to come, but of the reality that was.

Since the closing of our buildings, many churches have experienced serious financial strain. Some will have a hard time recovering. What does this say about the Church as the People of God? Haven’t we always told people “The church is not the building”? And yet, it appears it was more about the building than we thought.

And what does this crisis say about our structures and our goals? Were they helping us make disciples who make disciples? In many cases, it seems they were not. Perhaps during this time, when “what is normal” has changed overnight, we can begin to dream some new (and ancient) dreams for the Church.

Let’s think about this in terms of children and worship, for instance. In many churches, kids are largely absent from the main worship service. This is no doubt due to the twin desires to teach them at a level appropriate for their various ages, and allow the adults to worship in peace. But at what cost did we embrace this model of age-specific segregation in worship?

Sunday Schools were at their heyday in the 50s and early 60s, but many of those kids are the very adults who are now absent from the community of faith. In short, the Sunday School model did not serve the Church very well. We discovered that children who are rarely in worship don’t suddenly flock to it once they ‘graduate’ from specialized kids’ programs. Perhaps what we’ve really been teaching them all these years is that worship is for someone else.

But back to our original question. How might we dream something different for children when it comes to worship? There are many creative ideas out there. But here are three things I think the Church can do better.

 

Make Space for Them in the Main Worship Space.

Make space for babies. Yes, in the primary worship space. Ask some of the young parents what would be most helpful. Any of the following might be on their list: a sectioned-off area where people will be less likely to (a) be bothered by the noise or (b) want to hold the baby; some comfortable chairs in which parents can feed their babies; a change table nearby; a glassed-in room to take a fussy baby to while still feeling part of the worship service. They’ll let you know.

Make space for toddlers. Yes, in the primary worship space. Create some enclosed areas that will allow parents to be with their toddlers in worship but also allow toddlers to move around a bit. Include some quiet toys and toddler-size chairs and tables. Carpeting this area will reduce noise for those around them. Soon children will learn that this space is for quiet activities, all the while exposing them to the rhythms of worship.

Make space for early readers and young school-aged kids. Have some tables to one side equipped with simple bible story books and colouring supplies. Have a volunteer oversee this area and have planned times in the service when the children can move to this spot. I have heard of one church that has the children produce a banner related to one of the Scripture readings in the service. They create this during the sermon. This work of art is then brought up to the front during the offering and attached to the altar, after which the kids return to sitting with the rest of the congregation.

Make space for teenagers. Some teens like to sit with other kids their age during worship. Some prefer to sit with their family. Make both options normative. Above all, get teenagers involved in leading worship whenever possible, as part of the worship team or choir, reading the Scriptures, helping people find a seat, or composing congregational prayers.

 

Include Them at Their Level.

There are many ways in which children can be included in worship, while still being allowed to be kids. Have a box of simple musical triangles, tambourines, and shakers that younger kids can use during the singing. Offer simple activity kits containing bible story colouring pages and crayons that kids can work on if they’re too young to grasp the sermon. Invite the kids to write down some things they’d like the church to pray for and have these collected for use on subsequent Sundays. Include older children on your list of people who read the Scriptures, lead the prayers, greet people, or take up the offering. Invite kids that are musical to use those gifts in worship.

 

Expect Them to Participate Meaningfully.

In order to really shift worship towards full inclusion of kids, perhaps we need to first ask this simple question: do we expect children to be worshipping the Living God here, or have we come to think of worship as something that only adults do? How you answer that question will determine whether or not you will include children meaningfully, or continue, as the Church has often done in the past, to bring them into worship to either perform or to observe.

We include adults in worship of God by using a language they understand, by engaging them in rituals that become sacraments, and by accepting the many gifts they bring as part of the worshipping community. Let’s do the same with children.

Let’s ask kids to share about a time they have felt God’s presence, comfort or power. Let’s ask them what they would like to thank God for or ask God for. Let’s ask children to offer themselves to God as his children, making it clear that their worship too is a much-valued part of the Church’s common life. Let’s make sure that as the pandemic comes under control we don’t just re-open the church building to children. Let’s make sure we open up the Church’s worship to them too.

Being Christian, Being Neighborly

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When you grow up in Texas, you grow up with a strong sense of pride in the land. If you travel elsewhere, any Texan that you meet will give you a knowing smile when you ask them where they are from. No matter where you are in the world, you can find a Texan just by calling out, “The stars at night are big and bright…” Texan highways are filled with rest stops that sell any and all objects in the shape of the state. Would you like a Texas-shaped branding iron to mark your steak? Or how about tortilla chips shaped like the Lone Star State? If you want to spend a bit more money, you can hire one of the several companies that specializes in swimming pools that look like Texas.

  

Pride In Our Neighborhoods

 While most places don’t take it to such (possibly idolatrous) extremes, it seems there is something inherently human about loving one’s home. Homeowners and condo boards allow us to channel our pride for the places we live and say “This is where I live. These are my neighbors. This is where I belong, and I take pride in being a part of this community.”

 Humans are drawn to community and take pride in the neighborhoods of which they are a part. Dallas, like Toronto and so many other large cities, is a “city of neighborhoods.” If you were to ask someone, “Where are you from?” they would be as likely to tell you which neighborhood they live in as they would be to simply state the name of their city. This pride does not just exist in large cities. I grew up in a small town and I will defend my little hamlet to the death from the ruffians and uncultured citizens of the identical town on the other side of the river.

However, there is something fundamentally wrong with my pride in my home if it is limited to place. I love all the quirks and intricacies of my town, but I do not truly know my city. Even if I can tell you its history, order from the secret menu at the cafe, and avoid its speed traps, I cannot truly know or love a place until I know and love its people, the coworkers, families, and neighbors. Until then, I just love a facade shaped like a city.

 

Love For Our Neighbors

The Gospel calls us to love our neighbors. In our highly transient world, where it is hard to put down roots, we have taught ourselves that our neighbors are those whom we interact with regularly: our coworkers, classmates, and acquaintances. Our sense of ‘neighbor’ has also shifted to the virtual world. Our neighbors are on our Facebook walls and Twitter feeds. We have substituted the people next door for the people who exist 18 inches from our faces. How can we claim to love our neighbors if we do not know the people who live closest to us?

I was highly suspicious when our pastor told us that we were going to be reclaiming the word “neighbor”. The goal was to return the word to its original meaning. Our neighbors would be those who lived around us. Our actual neighbors. We were not going to go “convert” them or paint our garages with warnings about hell. We were also not going to half-heartedly invite them to some program at church—all the great programs we had run were going on hiatus, so that we could “be a part of our communities”. Instead, we were going to take on the much harder task of simply being neighborly.

This meant that I could not be my normal curmudgeonly self. I was going to have to invite people to my home. Even worse, I was going to have to go to other people’s homes. How could I hide my disgust if they had weird pets like snakes or tarantulas? Would it be worth it to “love” my community? Couldn’t I just post support for the football team online? Surely there was a way that I could love my neighbors without having to know them.

 

People Worthy Of Being Loved

 There was not much fanfare for our first neighborhood event; it was just a few friends from church and some coworkers who happened to live nearby. Our only mission was to “reclaim the front yard” for neighborliness. All too often we had hidden in the back yard behind privacy fences and hedges that protected us from others. Not anymore. We were going to be out front for all the world to see—friends and neighbors sharing a Saturday morning breakfast.

A small sign on the porch advertised free pancakes to passersby. There was no way to know if anyone would show up, but as the morning went on, a parade of people stopped by. Folks on their way to the park and families trekking to soccer games stopped by the front yard to get their fill of pancakes. As they waited around the griddle for a fresh stack of flapjacks, we got to know them and listened to their stories, hopes, and concerns. They got to know us and they got to know why we were doing this.

Our neighbors learned that we wanted to get to know and show love to the community—and not just because we were immeasurably proud of the place itself (although we were). We were opening our yard, our Saturday, and our lives, because we felt that our neighbors were people worthy of being loved. Not only did we love them, but Jesus loved them as well.

The afternoon after the breakfast, the emails and text messages came rolling in. “That was so much fun.” “Are y’all going to do that again?” “Can I bring something next time?” People who had never met before began bonding with each other. They wanted to look past the facade of the community. They wanted to love their neighbors. More importantly than that, they wanted to know where the love we displayed had come from.

Not Our House, But God’s

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In children’s ministry over the years, I have often pulled out the guitar and sung the famous line from Richard Avery: “The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is a people!” While the affirmation that the church is not a physical building made of human hands is wonderful to sing, Covid-19 has put that truth claim to the test. Tim Soerens writes in his latest book, Everywhere You Look that as a parent he decided, to avoid using the phrase “we are going to church,” instead opting for expressions like “we are going to a church building or a church gathering.” His purpose was to avoid confusing his children regarding Christian identity versus participation.[1] The church is not the building. We’ve been saying it for years, but how has Covid-19 tested that sentiment for your congregation, and what implications might it have for our evangelistic witness?

 

What is “the Church”?

As a missiologist, I approach ecclesiology from a particular perspective. The church is not a fraternal organization, country club or social service agency. At its core, the church is not a building for religious services or yard sales, or a rental space for choirs or yoga groups. Instead, “the church is missionary by its very nature,”[2] and that nature impacts any expression of a Christian community that is gathered and sent. The church is missionary by nature since, as it defines itself as the body of Christ, it is consistent with the nature of God, and as such, “mission is not primarily an activity of the church, but an attribute of God.”[3] The church is the sign, instrument and foretaste of the Kingdom,[4] a place where we discern Father, Son and Holy Spirit at work in our local context, and become witnesses famously summarized as “the congregation is the hermeneutic of the gospel.”[5]

It is important for us to note that “Church”, Ekklesia in the Greek, is mentioned 114 times in the New Testament and never once does it mean “building”. Ekklesia means “the called-out people”, folks who are summoned out, an invited concourse of people, an assembly. It doesn’t matter where they gather, but who is gathered and why—they are God’s gathered, equipped and sent people, participating in God’s reconciling mission made known to us in Jesus and continued even now by the Holy Spirit.

 

The post-Covid church

In some ways this Covid-19 disruption feels a little bit like the dilemma faced by the Jewish people after the destruction of the Temple by the Roman forces in 70 CE, following yet another failed rebellion.[6] The result was a shift of worship and the centre of religious/relational life from the temple to the synagogue network in Israel, and throughout the Empire in the Jewish diaspora. In this sense, because of the closure of our church buildings due to Covid-19, we were forced to expand our understanding of ecclesiology from seeing church buildings to seeing our homes as our worship centres. But shouldn’t they have been all along? Our house has become God’s house!

The post-Covid church has an opportunity to help make the home and neighbourhood (what missiologist David Fitch would call the dotted and half circle[7]) a more fulsome place for discerning the presence of Jesus in everyday life. Darrell Guder has suggested that witness moves beyond the traditional understanding of evangelism as a speech act of sharing the gospel. Instead, Guder argues that we are called to be “be, do and say” witnesses in a more holistic way. How has this time of being “deployed at home” for Jesus shaped the way that your being (character) is an evangelistic witness? How have you enacted signs of mercy, justice and healing in partnership with the Triune God (doing) through evangelistic witness? How have your conversations been shaped and blessed (saying) with an evangelistic witness?

 

Being, Doing, Saying

For the two years before Covid-19, I served as the Interim Moderator of a faithful, small Presbyterian church in the most violent and troubled neighbourhood in Surrey, BC. The church had vibrant outreach ministries and faithful leadership, and just a few months before Covid-19 they welcomed a new pastor. I checked in a few weeks after the start of pandemic restrictions to see how the congregation was doing. I was delighted to hear that instead of retreating online to focus solely on their “member’s needs,” the church wanted to continue serving their homeless neighbours, with whom they had built such good relationships over the years.

By the time the local newspaper rolled around in June for an article, they were packing their 10,000th bagged lunch of the pandemic, feeding their neighbours both on the steps of the church and through their local partner, Surrey Urban Mission. Their longtime loving relationship with neighbours (being-character) encouraged them to show Christ’s love through daily meals (doing-action), and when asked by the media and others why they were doing such a thing during a pandemic, the leadership (in true 1 Peter 3:15 style) had a testimony to share about the saving power of Jesus (say-speech act).

 

How have you been engaged in the being, doing and saying of evangelistic witness with your local church in these Covid-19 times? What might you try at this time to demonstrate that the church is not the building, but the redeemed people of God in Jesus Christ? How might you look back years from now and celebrate the risk and reward of evangelistic witness to a sin-sick, anxious and watching world?

 

[1] Tim Soerens, Everywhere You Look: Discovering the Church Right Where You Are, (Downers Grove: IVP, 2020), 17.

[2] Darrell Guder, “From Mission and Theology to Missional Theology,” Princeton Seminary Bulletin 24, no. 1 (2003): 47.

[3] David Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1991), 389-393.

[4] Newbigin, The Open Secret: An introduction to the theology of mission, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 110.

[5] Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, (Grand Rapids: Eerdman, 1989), 227.

[6] The destruction of the temple also had a tremendous impact on Jewish Christians who were people of the Way.

[7] David Fitch, Faithful Presence: Seven disciplines that have shaped the Church for Mission, (Downers Grove: IVP, 2016), 40. Fitch argues that Christians attend to the presence of the risen Christ in the close circle of Christian worship where Christ is host, in the dotted circle of our homes where we host others, and in the half circle of the community around us where we are guests.

Still Living in a Shutdown World: Has the Church Gone AWOL?

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We often hear that the life of a Christian is meant to be incarnational. As followers of Jesus, we are meant to be in the world, influencing others and making a difference, living a life modeled after Christ, doing our best to reflect Jesus to those around us.

 Imagine a world in which we were forced to put this to the test, pushed away from everything that is comfortable and safe; imagine a world in which Sunday worship and small groups were off-limits. At one time this sounded unimaginable, but because of COVID-19 we have been invited to fully live out our incarnational faith.

 

Across Canada and beyond, church leaders began to scramble at the start of the pandemic. Our buildings were closed and empty, but quickly we were learning how to do YouTube and Zoom gatherings, trying to recreate the Sunday morning gathering—desperate to maintain normalcy. Yet it was evident that ‘normal’ was not going to be our reality, at least not in the foreseeable future. For this reason, many of us began to focus on survival, and we forgot our primary mandate as Christians.

 

The ‘new normal’ fuels its problems

 Driving through our deserted streets, seeing building after building closed, I began to wonder if anyone outside our own membership had noticed that we were closed. As well as our in-person gatherings, many of our outreach ministries had been put on hold. How would we care for our neighbours in the midst of a pandemic? We began to see significant needs in our communities. Isolation and loneliness, which used to be hidden, became apparent—possibly because our extroverts were now forced to stay home as well. The fire of addiction was fueled by all this added time “to kill,” with sales of alcohol and other substances showing record highs, and with significant line-ups on display during the operating hours of these stores. But this is to say nothing of other more hidden addictions that operate primarily online, such as gambling and pornography.

As Christians, we shared memes that said, “The church is not closed, it is deployed.” Was this our way of allowing ourselves to be comfortable with this reality? We shared many platitudes, like “these are unprecedented times,” or “there is no guidebook for this,” both of which are true. When I read through Scripture and about moments in history, I wonder if Christians living in other eras felt the same way. Were they as tempted as we are to retreat to some semblance of normalcy?

 

God’s shalom for us

In the time leading up to the crucifixion, Jesus prepared the disciples for what was to come. Like us, when life became chaotic and confusing they returned to what was normal and what they understood. For them this meant fishing, whereas for us this meant replicating our Sunday gatherings. I believe the same words that Jesus spoke to the disciples are being spoken to us during these days—“Peace to you!” (Luke 24:36b)

In the midst of the chaos, confusion, frustration, and uncertainty, those words of shalom still have the power to bring life. Wholeness and tranquility from the One who breathed life into each of us continues to be extended in these days, just as it was to the disciples in those dark hours.

What is interesting is that as the Church, we are often not able to receive that word of peace because we haven’t been formed to receive it. Just as it is to our broader culture, that shalom is countercultural to what we understand. However, as agents of God’s Kingdom and bearers of Good News, it is our call to also be bearers of this shalom, and to be deeply formed by it ourselves.

 

And for others

Our challenge, now more than ever, is to communicate and impart that Good News and shalom to a world that has become indifferent. How many of our church leaders were asked to comment on where God is in the midst of this pandemic? N.T. Wright has written a wonderful commentary on that question, but was anyone outside our tents, outside our Christian circles, asking that question?

We are told that, statistically, a significant number of people still have belief in God, in some supreme being, or more commonly in a greater energy force outside of themselves. But those people take that question no further. Their lack of deeper seeking may suggest that they are comfortable knowing that something created them, but they believe that the Creator has since lost interest, and is simply relaxing on some cosmic beach. Welcome to deism, 2021.

As I walk through my neighbourhood, how do I share this Good News that I have received and the Hope that I have experienced? I believe now more than ever, we need to be equipping and empowering our people to be able to live as people of hope, to be able to tell our story, and share why we do what we do. It is not enough to simply be good people and hope that somehow people stumble upon the Gospel. We don’t need street-corner preachers. We need everyday people empowered to share their stories and to impact their neighbourhoods and communities.

 

Time to stand and move

I believe we have been given a freedom. Yes, the Church has been deployed. Are we willing to go? Or has the Church gone AWOL[1]? Our deployment means wrestling with how we bless and care for our neighbourhood. That will look different for every congregation and person, because our resources and skills are different, but it is time for all Christians to stand and move.

Let’s begin by asking God to open our eyes to see where people are living in isolation—let’s check in on them. Call or email them to make sure they are being cared for. Kids are now back in school amidst increased layoffs—do they have the school supplies or food for lunches they need? In some communities, our buildings served as safe spaces for people to meet and eat. How can we, safely, continue to provide this? Let us challenge ourselves to be creative and find ways to safely offer necessary help to our communities.

We go because we are sent. We go, with word and deed, because people are searching for hope and connection. As people of Hope, let’s give it away. To a world that is still in the midst of chaos, confusion and uncertainty, let us be bearers of God’s shalom.

[1] Absent without leave, or, more formally, absent without official leave.

‘Good News for Today’ in a time of pandemic . . . and beyond

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When you are simply trying to be faithful, putting one foot in front of the other, the Spirit often provides a spark that ignites more of a fire than you ever anticipated. In March, at the beginning of this pandemic, while feeling hemmed in by shelter-in-place orders, we wondered how to help people stay connected with one another and engaged with the Gospel. One unexpected answer would emerge.

Early on in March, I felt I needed to send a personal video message to the congregation, with a Gospel focus, some words of encouragement and a call to prayer. I chose the Gospel from the daily office lectionary. There was no plan beyond that. For all I knew, it was a one-off.

 

Sharing ‘Good News for Today’

That evening, my wife and I thought it would be good to invite our Family Ministry Pastor to do a video, too. Of course, he agreed. The next day, it was Mona’s turn—my wife is our honorary assistant. But why stop at just the clergy team? Let’s see if the lay leaders of worship might join in; three of them have been studying theology. Three more videos followed. One full week of daily Gospel messages already! We left Sunday for worship to do its own work.

There was a good response to the videos and we were enjoying making them. Why not invite the other two lay leaders and a few others to contribute? Within three weeks, we had 20 people (including some couples) on a 15-day cycle, sharing Good News for Today. The Good News arrives in your inbox every morning at 9 a.m.; each day it features a different voice, a different face, on a two-and-a-half-week rotation. Some participants have prepared eleven or twelve Good News videos since March.

From the responses of the congregation and the participants, we believe this should continue and grow beyond the pandemic. Many members (between 50-80) of the congregation watch the videos each day and they often share them with friends and on Facebook.

 

“God writes straight with crooked lines”

Our people are digging into the Bible and into their own relationship with God in Christ. They are reading, raising questions, pondering together and seeking to allow the Good News to speak into this time of uncertainty and crisis.

Wycliffe College’s Christian Foundations book may have given us a head start with this. We used the book last year in a variety of ways. Sometimes, we used it to start a conversation in a parish team or committee meeting. Other groups gathered intentionally around its themes for an hour or two. Gradually people got more comfortable talking about their faith.

An old Iberian proverb (maybe from Teresa of Avila) says: “God writes straight with crooked lines.” You cannot know what the outcomes of new ventures will be.

Now, no straight line leads from our parish’s engagement with Christian Foundations directly to a daily Good News ministry in our congregation. Nor is it clear how sharing Good News videos in the pandemic with fellow parishioners will help our church to move into the future as a strong, vital, evangelistic church. Each occurrence is simply one step on our community’s unfolding journey on the Way of Jesus.

 

The way forward

The way forward disappears from view around the next curve. But allow me to hazard a few hunches about what it may be like:

  • God works with those who step out faithfully, allowing the Spirit to lead even when it feels safer to remain as they are. If, by stepping out, we make mistakes, God can definitely work with those. The ancient stories reflect this at every turn; God’s call is to follow, often with destination unknown.
  • Unlike the Cheshire Cat’s philosophy in Alice in Wonderland, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any path will get you there.” This stepping out is not about blundering along, but it is about wondering openly, then moving forward decisively, at each step. It is about being attentive to the Spirit and allowing yourself to respond, ready to say ‘Let’s go this way!’ without second-guessing yourself too much before you do.
  • Learning to be natural and confident about sharing Good News begins with encouraging one another to be open to our own and others’ questions, and moving beyond the need to always have the ‘right answers.’
  • Clergy who are nurturing Good News ministries will learn to not be hyper-vigilant about people’s theological (shall we say) inconsistencies, but, rather, to step together with them into the questions they raise.
  • A crisis like Covid-19 disrupts our need for safety so much that it may, ironically, open us up to risk and adventure in our spiritual lives. . . . Or maybe we just have more time to wonder about where God fits in a world that has been thrown into confusion?
  • Theologically, this is a very fertile time. Clichéd ways of thinking about our relationship with God are being disrupted. God is full of surprises—and just realizing that may itself disrupt our theological worldview.
  • Those who felt secure in their theological foundations are now called to re-think foundational questions. And these are the kinds of questions people ask once they begin to dig into the Word: What is God up to? How does Christ overcome the power of death? Where is the Spirit calling me/us to? What is Church for? What is mission now? Has ministry changed? Whom have we neglected pastorally (elders, or the vulnerable)? How will we worship in community now? What is our vision of the Kingdom of God?

 

The winding road beckons

 The next step for our church is to wonder and listen for where the Spirit is nudging us now. This ministry is not just for the pandemic, so it will continue, but how? Will we begin to share these reflections beyond our church? People are finding courage to speak to one another about their faith. How will the same people now find courage to invite others—those in their circles of acquaintance, their friends and families—into the same conversations?

The winding (if not exactly ‘crooked’) road beckons. I am excited to see where God will take us.

Is There Good News beyond Toilet Paper and Hand Sanitizer?

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“I’m sorry, sir,” the drugstore cashier in New Jersey said politely, “we’re all out of hand sanitizer and the toilet paper is going really fast too.” It was the first week of March and I was on a break from my research and writing in the Princeton Theology Seminary Library. When I had left Vancouver a few days earlier, there was growing concern in the media regarding the virus spreading around the world, but life appeared normal. By the time I got back to Vancouver a few days later, everything was shutting down and we were living fully into the Covid-19 reality that has defined the rest of 2020.

 

Church-focused adaptive leadership solutions

In the blink of an eye, church leadership has shifted congregations from a known form of leadership to a dizzying array of adaptive leadership solutions. Who could have ever guessed at the beginning of 2020 that so many churches would become little television studios and that we would be experiencing Bible studies, pastoral care and even Communion online? While churches and their leaders have been working hard to care for church members, isolated and anxious during this pandemic, we must also ask how this has impacted our ministries of evangelism – of helping people take steps towards faith in Jesus. Many pastoral leaders are delighted that their online worship attendance has increased compared to what they might see in the pews.

Could this be an evangelistic outreach opportunity? Is it a chance for people to move beyond what Don Everts and others call the first threshold of evangelism, “trust”? Or is it simply a “recycling of the saints,” as believers hop from one online church service to another? And then there is the research from Barna Group suggesting that up to 1/3 of regular worshippers have given up on connecting with their congregation online during the pandemic. Australian missiologist Mike Frost pushes this further by wondering if the online buffet of worship services might set back the gains of the missional church movement and return us to an attractional model of church, whereby people are encouraged to be consumers of religion looking for the best “worship production.”

 

Evangelism and a community of affable agnostics

 But do you notice how all of these questions are still church-focused, and not directed towards the world around us that Jesus died to save? While some in the church have assumed that a global pandemic would bring people flooding back to church for answers and assurance, for those of us who live in highly secularized places like Vancouver there’s no such thing as “returning” to church. So, what might evangelism look like to a community of affable agnostics in a pandemic who, while fearful and anxious, have never turned to God before in their lives?

Of course, a pre-Covid church too often assumed that our secular neighbour was really just an anonymous Christian, to borrow Karl Rahner’s language. In other words, the church assumed that in a time of crisis, people would naturally turn towards God like Daniel did in the lion’s den or Meshach, Shadrack and Abednego did in the fiery furnace. But stop and think: in those cases, their faith in God got them into trouble. Instead, this is a good time to check our assumptions from a pre-Covid church about what our secular friends think they really need.

With Boomers and Gen Xers, the line was what? “When they have children of their own, they’ll come back to church.” For Millennials we said, “They’re spiritual but not religious.” In other words, don’t worry, their vague spiritual references are really just an underdeveloped Christianity. As Jen Twenge’s book iGen demonstrates through solid research, the next cohort – Generation Z – is now often neither spiritual nor religious. We are fully secularized as a society, living into what Charles Taylor would call secularity 3.

 

Jesus at work in our relationships close to home

But what if God was giving our churches the opportunity to learn more about our actual neighbours, secular or otherwise, in this time of disruption? What if, like Jay Pathak and Dave Ruyon’s book The Art of Neighboring, we were to pay (pray?) attention more closely to sharing life and attending to the presence of Jesus at work in our relationships close to home, including those that we see more often now since so many are working from home? What if, instead of an evangelism program, we challenged our church members to see themselves as evangelists, or perhaps first and foremost what Alan Roxburgh calls “detectives of divinity”, wherever God places them?

Could we make room in our online worship not just to comfort the faithful but to have “God sightings” that allow us to share where we have seen the Triune God at work? Could we have prayer requests for specific neighbours and friends whom we long to see in a relationship with Jesus? Could the Word preached and the bread broken focus on equipping us as missionary disciples, saved to be sent into a world that is fearful, anxious and ready for redemption? What if this time of isolation was understood as a time reminiscent of Luke 10, where we have been sent on a mission to the places we call home in order to testify to the saving work of the Triune God in our midst?

Will Jesus rejoice when we return together in the church building after all of this is done, like the disciples regrouping at the end of Luke 10, or will we look back and discover, as the servant did in Matthew 25, that the talent we were given has been buried just when it was needed most by the world?

Preaching on Evangelism: Three Key New Testament Passages

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When I was a newly ordained preacher, my hope was that once I preached on evangelism, my congregants would go out and share the good news with others, and that church membership would grow steadily from that point on. After many years of ministry, that hope has been disappointed time and again. As preachers, we might want to blame this state of affairs on parishioners, reasoning that they are slow to accept and listen, or that they are too unenthusiastic to act. Yet we all know that laying blame on others without exploring the root cause of the issue is futile. So how can we, as preachers, best encourage our people to share their faith with the many people whose lives intersect with their own?

After doing much listening, I came to discover the following three reasons for my congregants’ lack of passion for evangelism, and three passages of Scripture that, when preached well, could help address these challenges.

 

Not that excited about their belief or their community of faith.

“John 15:1 -17, “I am the Vine, you are the branches”, is a great place to start to counteract a lack of passion for the faith. It’s pointless to preach on evangelism if our church community lacks a deep connection with Jesus and with one another. If a newcomer walks into a church and finds it to be cold and unfriendly, it is very unlikely this person will return. Hence we must first work on building a loving community before asking our members to reach out to others.

Jesus asked us to abide in him as he abides in us (John 15:4). If we depart from him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). Jesus’ commandment was ”Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). We must encourage church members to love one another by caring, listening, supporting, and praying for each other. With permission, we can give real-life examples in our sermons to congratulate some of their good works. I have found that when positive energy is instilled in the community from the pulpit, members feel acknowledged and recognize that their pastors appreciate their ministries. It is then more likely that they will do more and also feel great about their church.

Everyone needs encouragement and appreciation, and the Church is a good place for us to practice love. Building up a Christlike and loving community within our church is a key first step in encouraging evangelism. People in the world long to belong to this kind of community, and Christians who feel positive about their church are naturally inclined to invite people to ‘come and see’ for themselves.

 

No idea how to start off a conversation about their faith or what to say.

John 4:7-26, 26-42, “The Woman by the Well”. Jesus often spoke to strangers. He started a conversation with a stranger by asking for something, for a drink of water. He did not tell her that she needed to confess her sins and repent. Instead, Jesus asked her for something that he did not have.

If in trying to share our faith we try to sell something, or if our talk makes people feel bad about themselves, our dialogue will go nowhere. Asking for help is a way to empower others to trust us. It is often a good way to start a conversation. When the woman was curious about a Jew speaking to her, Jesus then invited her to ask him for living water. This time she was really interested in getting the living water, which would quench her thirst forever.

From verses 9-15, we notice how Jesus’ conversation was creating interest and finding common ground. Likewise, in our conversations with others we should create curiosity and find shared ground. Ultimately, we hope our conversation will lead to Jesus, the Messiah (John 4:26). The Samaritan woman, stigmatized by having been with so many different husbands, was changed from being isolated and ashamed to courageously telling others about Jesus and about her past (John 4:39). It was meeting Jesus that brought about this dramatic change. The rest of the encounter was the work of the Holy Spirit.

Hence, our preaching on this passage should remind our people that conversations should always ultimately point people to Jesus. When others meet Jesus, the Holy Spirit leads them into relationship with God.

 

Don’t know enough about the Bible to tell others about Jesus.

The irony here is that no one in the Bible knows the whole of Scripture. What made people become evangelists was not how much they knew, but rather how much they trusted the Holy Spirit. Hence, a third key text for preaching on evangelism is Acts 8:26-40, “Philip and the Ethiopian Official”.

Philip already had a successful ministry in Samaria (Acts 8:5-8) where crowds listened to his preaching, he cast out many evil spirits, and healed the sick. Nevertheless, the angel of the Lord sent him to minister to one man, an Ethiopian eunuch, on a road in the wilderness. A lot of the time we do not understand God’s will and direction to us as Christians. The key, however, is to trust in and submit to the Lord. We are God’s servants and we are Jesus’ witnesses. We should be ready to follow his lead, even if it is to talk to just one person in the wilderness. When the Spirit calls, we should be ready to follow, even when we are in the prime of our ministry.

Philip realized that he was part of Jesus’ sent community. Ministry is not about our success, but it is about the Missio Dei, the mission of God. When the Spirit sent Philip to the wilderness, he went. When the Spirit urged him to go over to the Ethiopian’s chariot, he did. He was no doubt surprised that an Ethiopian official was reading a passage about the suffering Messiah from the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 53). We have no idea why this Ethiopian was reading the book of Isaiah or why he became interested in the Saviour. We only know that the Holy Spirit worked beyond anything we could have imagined. This remains true today.

James Hunter would describe Philip’s action as “Faithful Presence.”[1] It means that our presence with others represents God’s presence among us. We only need to be faithful to the Spirit. The Holy Spirit will show us what to do and what to say. As God is faithful to us, we are to be faithful to others too. Evangelism is not simply about telling others to believe in Jesus; it is about God’s Spirit working in us.

 

Take heart, preachers!

God has given us the privilege of growing the people of God in the faith so that they can faithfully share what they’ve come to know with the people all around them. May your preaching of these three texts, and many others, encourage the faithful witness of Christians in all our churches and right across our land.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] James Davison Hunter, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World (New York: Oxford UP, 2010), 244.

Doing Evangelism in ‘the New Normal’: Stories from around the World

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According to two recent studies, Canadians are more anxious, depressed and lonely in light of “the new normal” that the COVID-19 pandemic has thrust upon us since March 2020.[1] In one study, nearly 25% of respondents said that they were drinking more alcohol in response to these mental health struggles.[2] In more encouraging news, data from 95 countries has shown that Google searches related to prayer are at an all-time high, as much as 50% greater than before the COVID-19 pandemic. [3] Furthermore, Bible apps are being downloaded at unprecedented rates and people seem more spiritually hungry than at any time in recent memory.[4]

 

Learning from others

How can we as the Canadian church meet anxious, spiritually hungry people and share the good news of Jesus with them while being vigilant regarding COVID-19 health protocols? As North American church leaders, we can often tend to feel isolated, forgetting that our South American, African, European, Asian and Australasian brothers and sisters in Christ are facing similar challenges related to sharing the Gospel during the pandemic. How have individuals, churches and ministries in these settings been sharing the Gospel in their unique contexts, and what can we learn from them?

 

In Togo

In the small West African country of Togo, the government put measures in place preventing gatherings of 100 people or more, closing borders and calling recent travellers to self-isolate. While respecting these restrictions, some missionaries in Togo have been able to share the good news through their “End Bible Poverty Now” ministry. Cameroonian missionary Moise Ndjomou (serving with the organisation Youth With a Mission or YWAM) and his co-workers have distributed over one thousand memory sticks containing audio Bibles to nominal Christians and non-believers. Many of these people are coming to faith in Christ or seeking greater discipleship as a result of hearing Scripture in their mother tongue for the first time. Despite the difficulties of conditions due to the pandemic, Ndjomou is determined to continue in this ministry, saying that “everyone has the right to listen to the word of God in their mother language.” Is there any way that we as Canadians can share Scripture with people who have never had the opportunity to engage with it?

 

In Singapore

In the Southeast Asian city-state of Singapore, strict COVID-19 related restrictions were put in place, resulting in the majority of the population being homebound (except for essential errands and medical appointments) between April 7th and June 20th.[5] In light of this, Pentecostal pastor Daniel Joseph (a Singaporean now living in Canada) of Outreach Revival Ministries constructed an evangelism course with the goal of equipping Singaporean young people to share the good news of Christ over social media. The fifteen participants then put their recent training into practice by hosting several evangelistic events over Zoom that were centred on basic apologetic questions about the Christian faith. Joseph is pleased with how these young people are now excited to share the Gospel and how seeds of hope are being planted online: “My firm conviction is that every challenge is an opportunity for the Gospel to spread.” How can we as the Canadian church equip people to share the Gospel online? How can we use technology to share the good news of Christ with people?

 

In Portugal

Saulo Porto, a Brazilian missionary in Portugal (also with YWAM), is using Instagram and art to undertake this task. Although not usually very active on social media, Porto was encouraged by friends to become more engaged in light of the pandemic. Since May 12th he has been painting a watercolour picture every day and posting it to Instagram alongside reassuring words that encourage people to seek an active relationship with God. Porto says, “My goal is to give hope and disciple people in a very simple way.” Since this time he has seen the number of his Instagram followers nearly double (to around 3500) and his beautiful art has been published on various Christian and non-Christian websites and is sparking conversations around the world. You can check out his work @sauloportomme on Instagram.

 

In South Africa

South Africa has had one of the strictest COVID-19 lockdowns in the world, with residents being confined to their homes (except for grocery shopping and medical appointments) from March 26th—May 1st.[6] Regardless of this, Phinius and Katlyn Sebatsane, a South-African/American missionary couple serving with YWAM in Cape Town, have continued their ministry to the homeless. They share the Gospel and provide trauma counselling, job training, and opportunities for discipleship to destitute people in the beach suburb of Muizenberg. Because of the government-imposed ban on the sale of alcohol and tobacco products, many people the Sebatsanes serve have experienced forced abstinence from alcohol and drugs and have a renewed desire for sobriety and rehabilitation. Describing their ministry, Phinius Sebatsane says, “These people are not our projects, but our family…we seek to give them a hand up, not a handout.” Who are the most vulnerable in our own Canadian communities and how can the Church meet their holistic needs during these difficult times?

 

In the UK

Despite COVID-19 restrictions in the United Kingdom, Ackroydon Community Church (Church of England) in South West London is attempting their best to do just that. Community outreach pastor James Holloway says, “Right now we have the opportunity to show those in need the love that Christ has lavished upon us – it’s time we start loving our neighbours in practical ways.” The church has been doing this by visiting government housing in their area, knocking on every apartment and ensuring that people in need are connected to charities that provide food and children’s educational activities. This has also led to non-Christians joining online evangelistic programs such as Alpha and greater discipleship for those who are already believers.

 

In the face of these dark times confronting our world, may we be encouraged that our Father is drawing many people to himself from every nation. And may Canadian believers, pastors, and churches across our land be similarly encouraged to follow the lead of the Spirit of Christ who continues to be at work and present in his international and diverse body.

[1] https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/anxiety-and-depression-have-spiked-among-canadians-survey-1.4919741 and https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/camh-mental-health-canadians-1.5614447 .

[2] https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/camh-mental-health-canadians-1.5614447

[3] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/climate-and-people/pandemic-prompts-surge-interest-prayer-google-data-show/

[4] https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/religion/2020/04/how-coronavirus-leading-religious-revival

[5] https://www.gov.sg/article/circuit-breaker-extension-and-tighter-measures-what-you-need-to-know

[6] https://coronavirus.westerncape.gov.za/frequently-asked-questions/about-lockdown/frequently-asked-questions-about-lockdown-alert-level-5

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