Evangelism
The Expectation of Lausanne
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- Written by: Tim Collison
Advent is the only church season which looks forward: to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is somewhat difficult to quote Karl Barth these days, but he is right when he says “What other time or season can or will the Church ever have but that of Advent?[i] Advent is our perpetual season. We know Jesus has come, we know he will come again. It’s an appropriate season to reflect on my trip to the fourth Lausanne Congress (L4) in September 2024. The Lausanne Movement, beginning with the first congress in Lausanne in 1974 is around “uniting the global church around the unfinished task of the Great Commission.”[ii] Prior to L4 the Congress released the “State of the Great Commission” report, an in depth look at how the church is going on fulfilling the Great Commission. In the introduction it says “when the Great Commission is carried out with biblical faithfulness, it will lead to the worship of the King from all the nations of the world.”[iii] And is this not at the heart of living in Advent? We long both for the return of our King, and for all the world to rejoice when he comes again in power.
I attended the Congress with the two fold goal of learning as much as I could, and having a chance to reflect on how the church I am at can continue to be missional, locally, globally and regionally. The rejoicing of the 5,000 brothers and sisters from all the world together was a reminder of the joy we have in the Holy Spirit together. That God has gone to all the nations, and that there are people who worship Him “from the very ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). L4 was also a reminder that we all have much to trust in the Holy Spirit for. The report notes that “only three percent of international missionaries go to the unreached (who compose 40 percent of the global population). Thus, 97 percent of missionaries are sent to people who already have gospel access.”[iv] In Australia we are all aware of the declining number of people in most churches, and that much church growth is transfer growth.
The congress sought to recognise this and speak to this, with three key themes standing out to me:
- The need for the “whole gospel”.
- The need for repentance.
- An increased prayerful reliance on the Holy Spirit.
1. The need for the “whole gospel”.
The tagline for the entire Lausanne movement is “The Whole Church taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World.” The theme for L4 was “Let the Church declare and display Christ together.” The Lausanne Covenant which came out of the first Congress, and largely produced by John Stott separated out “Evangelism” and “Christian Social Responsibility”.[v] Even including point 5 was controversial, and continues to be controversial to some people. David Claydon writes in the Autumn/ Winter 2021 edition of Essentials this paragraph was not in the original draft, and only inserted with John Stott’s full support, after Rene Padilla and Samuel Escobar raised concerns about this, and David Claydon along with others put that wording together.
For many people this has continued this understanding has been challenging. For some it is challenging because this goes too far towards a social gospel. For others, it does not go far enough, and to say that mission consists of two things is “saying that it is possible to have evangelism without a social dimension and Christian social involvement without an evangelistic dimension.”[vi]
I note this history (hopefully briefly!) to say that at L4 most speakers leaned heavily into the idea that the Gospel & mission intertwine evangelism and social involvement. From the CEO of Lausanne, Michael Oh’s, initial address, to nearly every plenary speaker, there was an emphasis on the “Whole Gospel”. That the Gospel needs to be declared and displayed.[vii]
2. The need for repentance
This came through strongly to me in two sessions: Sarah Breul, the Brazilian Executive Director of Revive Europe’s plenary, and a presentation of the history of the Korean Church on the penultimate night.[viii] Sarah Breul spoke to the truth that only God makes revival happen, but that we can “posture ourselves for it” and pray for it in these six ways:
- Travailing prayer: Gal 4:19
- Intercession through wordless groans: Romans 8:26
- Hebrews groaned in slavery: Exodus 2:23
- Hannah weeping: 1 Sam 1:12
- Jesus in Gethsemane
- We can ask Jesus to pour out this travailing prayer in our communities
And that this removes impediments with personal and corporate repentance. She explicitly mentioned that the narrative that the missionary movement just enabled colonialism is crippling western movements. She said we need them at the table. That the Global North might be tempted to have control. And that Global South might be tempted to do things independently, but that God is building one church. We are his bride and we have been grieving him. We need to repent from corruption, from abuse and from a lack of unity.
The presentation on the history of the Korean church struck me that twice in the history of the Korean church, once before WWI and once post WWII Korean church leaders came together and repented. For various things, but especially for a lack of unity in working together for the Gospel. I know the Australian church has worked together, but have leaders ever come together to repent for our attitudes towards each other? And where our disunity has turned people away from the good news of Jesus Christ?
3. An increased prayerful reliance on the Holy Spirit
This stood out in many of the talks and sessions, but especially in the Rev Dr Femi B Adeleye, the Director of Langham Preaching Africa’s plenary. Acts was the book the morning plenary speakers spoke from, so it was an appropriate theme. As Dr Adeleye reminded us that Acts is not just about the doings of the Apostles, but about the Holy Spirit. That revivals began with prayer, and waitingon the Holy Spirit. He listed a number of Biblical and historical revival examples. He especially challenged “Those of us who believe in the work of the Holy Spirit but tend to sideline him by a mindset that depends primarily on modern management techniques, abundant finances, sufficient HR, statistics as measure of growth and impact, and the like, need to repent and depend on the Holy Spirit.”[ix]
There is much that I could write on, that I do not have space for. That there continue to be challenges for the global church in working together missionally, especially amongst evangelicals, and Pentecostals, was also clear at the Congress. Many were upset that the Statement for this Conference was released completed, with no opportunity for feedback.
In the Korean protestors outside who felt that the Lausanne movement is too inclusive of different churches, and that its perspective on homosexuality too liberal, demonstrating that even amongst Christians who are orthodox on the issue of marriage (as Lausanne is) find doctrinal issues that make it hard to work together. In the public apology the Congress sent out for Ruth Padilla DeBorst’s talk where she (very mildly) critiqued dispensationalist theology and expressed support for those suffering in Gaza, and then subsequent sending out of an open letter from her.[x]
The ecumenical attitude of the bishops at Lambeth in 1968 expresses the hope many evangelicals have: “that whatever can be done together should be done together.”[xi]
L4 demonstrated that we are still struggling, even where there is much doctrinal and cultural alignment, to work out what we can actually do together. It is not that insightful to observe that this will continue to be a significant challenge, even in Australia.
I found attending the L4 congress a blessing. I’m thankful for the invitation, and those who supported me financially to attend. I do feel that those three themes are significant and worth reflecting on for us here in Australia.
Tim Collison is the Assistant Minister at St Mark’s Camberwell, and the Secretary of EFAC Australia. He's passionate about people understanding how God is already working in their lives. In his spare time he enjoys reading and digesting trivial facts.
[i] Dogmatics (IV/3.1).
[ii] Lausanne.org/our-history, accessed 23/10/2024
[iii] State of the Great Commission, p.6. The Introduction also notes, rightly, that it is only the last 150 years or so that the Great Commission has been considered missional, rather than ecclesiological.
[iv] State of the Great Commission, p.15
[v] Points 4 & 5 respectively of the covenant. , accessed 23/10/2024
[vi] Bosch, Transforming Mission, p.405. This comes from a specific critique in the book of the Lausanne Covenant.
[vii] For obvious reasons (Dr Porter gave me a word limit), I cannot mention every speaker who said this. But you can watch many of the plenary sessions by going to Lausanne.org/accelerate or if reading is more your speed you can access all 20,000~ words of my notes at https://bruderreden.substack.com/p/lausanne-congress-day-7. No need to subscribe to my substack, just scroll to the bottom of my post and you’ll see a link to download my full notes.
[viii] The presentation “The Twelve Stones of the Korean Church” can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5yzpFbWgeI
[ix] From my notes. Cf footnote vii
[x] Gordon Preece has a more comprehensive article on this at ethos. http://www.ethos.org.au/online-resources/Engage-Mail/israel-palestine-and-lausanne-iv
[xi] Hocking, A Handbook of Parish Work, p.127
How to prepare for an outreach event
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- Written by: Sarah Seabrook
Event evangelism. Has it had its day? Not if you look at what is still happening in our churches in the School Holidays, at Easter and around Christmas. We still like to invite friends, family, neighbours, and colleagues to a gathering that isn’t church but where the hope is they might hear something of the gospel or even perhaps a very clear gospel presentation and a call to respond. Getting it right for everyone is pretty tricky. How do we make it outsider friendly? When will the talk be and for how long? What ought to happen around the talk time?
We often put a lot of effort into the event we are holding and possibly not as much effort and time into preparing ourselves beforehand. So, if you do go to an event as a believer, what should your attitude and actions be?
There are 3 things that need to inform our attitude.
1. Be convinced that God will work because Christ came to save sinners and God desires that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4). He will work through the message of the gospel in power and the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 5:1, 2:13) and in you ‘to fulfil every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power’ (2 Thess. 1:11-12).
2. Be assured that the message is relevant because the gospel is the means of salvation for every single person and ‘God commands all people everywhere to repent’ (Acts 17:30-31).
3. Be aware that you have a role to play because the message is always delivered in a context. The relationship between the people who are listening is significant. In a very encouraging article about how sceptics have come to Christ, the number one influence was having a close relationship with a Christian who was patient and open with them (J. Harmon, worldviewbulletin.substack.com/p/what-ilearned- from-100-atheists) The New Testament exhorts Christians to live a life/walk in a manner worthy of the gospel (eg: 1 Thess. 2:11, Titus 2:11- 14, Eph. 4:1) speaking and walking in love (Eph. 4:15, 5:2), being wise (Eph. 5:10), pleasing to God and bearing fruit (Col. 1:10). Our friends and family see how we live, and they will have questions for us. It is up to us to be ready to answer them.
As for our actions, there are 6 ‘P’ things to do – two before the event and four at the event.
Before:
1. Pray. We know it is a spiritual act to be reconciled to God, to no longer be alienated and hostile to Him (Col 1: 21-22), and to be brought out from the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19-20). Not many come to Christ in one hearing of the gospel. God often draws people to himself over a long time. This event may be one of many things God is using to awaken people. We need to remember it is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict of sin (John 16:8) and that God will open hearts for people to pay attention and believe (as happened to Lydia in Acts 16) so we ask God to do just that.
2. Practice gospel speech. At the event the speaker is going to assume that believers will continue talking about the gospel issues, but often our church people are not ready or keen to do that! A bit of forethought and training does not go astray. A church which has learnt to love and speak gospel truths to one another is going to find it a lot easier to include the outsider in that sort of conversation. We have found it particularly effective at our church to model and expect that parishioners will talk about the sermon after the service and enquire after each other’s spiritual well-being. We also have open mic times of praise for answered prayer. Peter tells us to be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have (1Peter 3:14-15) so we need to practice. To that end, running a course or including role playing (maybe during Bible Study) where the congregants are engaged in turning conversations to Jesus is very effective. There are a variety of courses around and you can visit the Evangelism and New Churches website to find out more. (encministries.org.au)
At the event:
1. Pay attention to what is said. For a lot of us we can tune out when we listen to a talk at an event, or we tune in to the illustration and miss the point. Try putting yourself in the shoes of the outsider. Listen so that you are internally asking questions of what is said and make a mental note of something that would be a good springboard for conversation.
2. Politely engage in conversation. We are not there to verbally pound people into submission. We want to be respectful and loving, having our conversation full of grace, seasoned with salt so that we can discern how to answer people when they have questions (Col 4: 5-6).
3. Prompt conversation by asking good questions! If you look at how Jesus engaged with people, he spent a lot of time asking them questions. Questions show that you are interested in others. They also allow people to gather their thoughts and provide the space to deal with spiritual things. After all, those invited guests know they’ve come to a Christian event. They know these kinds of topics are on the table. If you apply the above you can ask: ‘I thought it was interesting how the speaker said that the world’s complexity points to God, what were your thoughts on that?’
4. And lastly, prove that what was said out the front is true in your experience. Your ‘story’ is powerful. You are living proof that what the speaker said is true. Find ways to declare God’s excellencies to those around you (1 Peter 2:9-12) so that they know the gospel is transformational knowledge. I find that people gifted in evangelism have no trouble with this part (or any of the others actually!). They delight in telling others about how God has worked in their life. However, for your ‘average’ (especially Anglo) Christian speaking up about the goodness of God to them in salvation does not come as easily. This is where ‘God talk’ is good to model and teach (see point 2 Practice Gospel Speech) so that we are ready to be engaged in it with outsiders.
Sarah Seabrook is a Trainer and Evangelist at Evangelism and New Churches (ENC) in Sydney.
Reflections on the Evangelistic Opportunities of a School Chaplain
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- Written by: Louise Davies
I have been a School Chaplain for almost 9 years and am currently working at the New England Girls’ School (NEGS) in Armidale NSW. NEGS is both a day and boarding school, so the evangelistic opportunities I have do not end when the bell rings at the end of the day. They continue as I support and cheer on students at their weekend sporting events, taking students to Youth Group on a Friday night, or simply walking around the school grounds after school with my 2 dogs beside me allowing boarders to love them as they miss their own dogs back home. The role of a chaplain is wide and varied, and the evangelistic opportunities are endless.
I work in both the Junior and Senior School (Pre-K – Year 12) alongside staff, students, and families from a range of backgrounds and religions. Each week I teach Christian Studies to every student from Pre-K to Year 10, run independent chapel services and lunchtime groups for both the junior and senior students, and provide pastoral care to students, staff, and families.
I thought the best way to provide a glimpse into the daily opportunities I have is to detail for you two examples of interactions I have had.
Example 1
Emma* is a year 7 student who showed enthusiasm and a keenness to learn from day 1. Emma: I believe in God, and I believe that Jesus is God, but how can He be both God’s son and God at the same time?
Me: What a brilliant question! Everyone grab a Bible from the shelf. I want this side of the room to read this passage from Genesis 1, and this side of the room to read this passage from John 1.
(What followed was a discussion where the students were able to compare the passages and see how the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were there at the beginning of the world, and how the Word that John speaks about is actually Jesus.)
Kirrily*: I think my scripture teacher showed me a diagram for this. Can I draw it on the board? (Student then draws a diagram which gives the students a visual prompt as they begin to understand the complexities of the trinity.)
This interaction was in just my second lesson with them, and each lesson since has been an absolute joy. They do not all believe in God, however they are all respectful, inquisitive and are keen to ask the questions they have and discover the answers.
Example 2
The second example I will give is an interaction between myself and a Kindergarten class.
Context: In the junior school chapel we had been working through ‘The King, The Snake and The Promise’ where we see the big picture of the Bible.
Me: This story is all about what God did to fix the problem of sin. Let’s see if we can remember what we’ve been looking at in chapel, so we know where we are up to in God’s story. What is the first picture we looked at?
A range of students: from there the class then retell the story from creation to exile prompting each other as they went. They remembered every picture and used them to recall the story. I barely had to say a word to help them.
Their teacher and I looked at each other in disbelief because they had remembered so many details!
I have given you an example from both the Junior and Senior School. I did this intentionally. One of the most amazing things as a school chaplain at a Pre-K – 12 school is that there are students who remain at the same school for up to 14 years. So, they are being taught from God’s Word regularly and the chaplains can get to know them and their families.
When you see students in your class regularly each week, in chapel services, at sporting events, youth group etc., you don’t have to rush to get the message of Jesus out there thinking you will never see them again like other areas of ministry. There is time. I am a big believer in taking time to build up a positive rapport with the entire school community. This can happen over a number of years due to the nature of a school. I worked at my previous school for 8 years and was able to walk alongside families during their best days and their worst. I have rejoiced with them at the birth of a new child and mourned with them and helped with funeral arrangements at the death of a loved one. When you ‘do life’ together, the evangelistic opportunities come naturally. As a chaplain, the school community obviously know I am a Christian, they know I am there to teach students about Jesus, but I also hope they see my role as more than that. I am there to love and support staff, families and students day to day. Whether that is assisting a teacher for an hour or two if their class is unsettled, going to the Junior School Disco dressed up as a Disco Pelican (true story) to be an extra set of eyes for supervision, or cheering on students at the weekend sports. It is through these everyday things that the school gets to know me, and I them. When that evangelistic opportunity comes, either formally in a chapel service or informally during a discussion at recess, they tend to listen because they know there is trust there, not judgment. There is a relationship that has been built to support what can sometimes be a hard thing to hear.
I could write forever about all the joys as a chaplain, but there are of course challenges too. Students who have no interest in what I’m teaching, the emotional toll of often discussing hard topics and being asked the big questions, seeing students finish school without putting their trust in Jesus. However, the one thing that keeps me going (besides the support of many teachers and families) is knowing this isn’t my work, but God’s. I’m simply the vessel. I do not know what God has planned for the students in my care, but my prayer that I often pray at the beginning of each day on my way to school, is this:
Lord God,
I pray that on that final day when You return or call us home, many of my students, staff, and families, both past and present, will be rejoicing with me together in heaven. And may my work be done for Your glory.
Amen
*Names have been changed for confidentiality.
Lou Davies is the Chaplain of New England Girls’ School (NEGS) in Armidale NSW.
Training in Evangelism Today
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- Written by: Gavin Perkins
How do we best train people in personal evangelism today?
In a recent survey of our church it emerged that the vast majority saw personal evangelism as their individual responsibility (83%). It seems that very few had bought the line that evangelism was only for the specialists or the especially gifted. The average parishioner knew it was at least partly their job. Yet, in the same survey it also emerged that at least half that number had virtually no spiritual conversations with non-Christians in the previous year. Not unexpectedly such a situation leads to an ongoing and constant low-level sense of failure and frustration: “I want to share Christ, I know I ought to share Christ, and yet I rarely do it”. In the same survey most (84%) felt comfortable to clearly explain the gospel, and whether we agree with this assessment matters little in regards to a conclusion that a sense of inability to share the gospel does not represent a primary barrier to speaking.
How Are We Going with Evangelism?
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- Written by: Julie-Anne Laird
Recently, in my role as Chair of Lausanne Australia, we gathered 330 key leaders around Australia and I asked people to vote on how we're going with evangelism? In each State, the agreed amount was either 2/10 or 3/10. People really feel like we are failing in evangelism. In my other role as the Specialist Consultant for Evangelism and Mission for City to City Australia, I've been going around to Churches and helping them try and turn around with evangelism. This has been so good! But similarly, people really feel like we are not doing well with evangelism. Here's a few things that I've observed...
1. We Need To Pray
The thing to note is that Christians have a real heart for their non-Christian friends and would love them to know Jesus, but they feel inadequate to speak and they have lost the burden to pray. I often say, it's like we've given up on God, that he could possibly draw our friend or family member to Himself. All revivals start with prayer, and I feel like things are shifting in Australia. We know we are not doing that well now, which is a good posture to have because we know we need God. Really, this should have always been our posture but somehow, we think we can do it without God if we are not praying.