START WITH GOOD NEWS Day 1

WHAT IS EVANGELISM?

Is evangelism primarily about conversion—trying to convince someone else that your faith is RIGHT? Doug Pagitt, author of Evangelism in the Inventive Age, argues that resonance is the better analogy for evangelism. As we share the faith, we need to do so in a way that connects to someone else’s experience. “Evangelism is talking about and demonstrating our relationship with God in such a way that it might resonate with others and draw them into their own relationship with God,” John Vest, UPS professor of evangelism. This thinking leads to a further understanding that evangelism is relational. It takes time. It’s not a transaction. It is an engagement.

WHY?

One of the best starting points is not the how of evangelism or the what of evangelism, but rather the why of evangelism. Why focuses on the beliefs and purpose of evangelism. This thinking begins to get to the answer for the question of why anyone should care about what the church is or what it does. 

Sadly, though, why is rarely the question driving a church’s ministry. What this means is that many congregations are very busy but have no real understanding of what any of it means. It becomes more a routine or even habit—this is what we do—with a disconnect—not only do outsiders have no understanding of why we are who we are, neither do we. 

What ends up happening is that we focus on building the church, adding numbers, and creating ministries without opening anyone to the heart of faith—i.e., revealing Christ and his embodied compassion. Keeping Christ at center, we meet people in compassion and openness, for that is how Christ would meet them. The more we meet them in this compassion, the more Jesus will reveal himself in our presence, our words, and our actions with another human being.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

Transforming the world as it is to become the kingdom it is to be. We have to be able to meet the world with its problems, corruption, violence, and make something new—the New Creation. We have to find a way to peace, healing, and reconciliation that begins with admitting who and what we are.

REACTIONS TO EVANGELISM

By and large, most Presbyterians have a lukewarm, at best, reaction to evangelism, mostly because of the heavy-handed stereotype of the evangelist. It is seen as judgmental, manipulative, and so on. Therefore, evangelism comes with resentment, hurt, and anger. Yet, note how different the reaction is from the actual practice of evangelism—if evangelism is primarily resonance, then rather than clashing with someone as they are, it should instead meet them, engage them, and relate to them in a positive way. John 21:1-14 begins to show a different view that brings us to that positive place. Jesus meets the disciples on the disciples’ terms. He was not intrusive. The disciples come to Jesus as opposed to the other way. There is a relaxed sense of openness in the encounter. Because Jesus simply meets the needs of the disciples, he becomes visible to them—compassion names him so he does not have to name himself. It almost becomes a passive presence, yet it is also a transformative presence.