Evangelism and the Local Church
Dear Christian friends,
One of the most difficult issues I face as an evangelist is how to relate properly to the local church. A Christian who is involved in evangelism will receive a lot of rejection from unbelievers who do not want to follow Jesus. However, the rejection we receive from other Christians who do not understand or appreciate our ministry is much more painful. The apostle Paul suffered a great deal of persecution as he preached the gospel, being beaten and imprisoned many times. But his greatest pain was finding that as he was in prison, Christians would be spreading rumors that he was not a true apostle and was in jail for his own wrongdoing.
At the end of Paul’s ministry, he wrote these sad words from prison, “Demas, because he has loved the world, has deserted me…Only Luke is with me…Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm…At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me” (2 Tim. 4:10-16). Paul was tempted to get bitter, but he resisted that temptation and trusted in God’s faithfulness: “But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength.”
Often, an evangelist will find that his gift is not wanted or appreciated in the church. The evangelist who wants to encourage church members to get involved in outreaches may find himself at odds with church leaders who want those members to be more active in church functions. Very few churches have a full-time minister of evangelism. A large church may support many full-time pastors, administrators, secretaries, and janitors but not a single evangelist. As a result, it is very difficult for an evangelist, especially one who must support a family, to be involved in full-time ministry.
As an evangelist, I have my faults and the local church has its faults, but we must work together. I need the fellowship of other believers. I need to be encouraged in my Christian walk. I need to join together with other believers in worshipping God. One of my main functions as an evangelist is to equip believers in evangelism (Eph. 4: 12). And those I lead to Christ must have a church home if they are to be discipled.
The Church of Jesus Christ has been given three main tasks: to love God, to love one another, and to love the lost–worship, fellowship and evangelism. Like a tripod, a church needs three “legs” of equal length to stand. A church that neglects evangelism will become a self-centered “bless me club.” It will die of stagnation. I personally cannot understand how it is possible for a person to be a Christian, believe in the Bible and what it says about eternal hell, and not have a burden for souls. However, the fact is that most Christians do not have this burden. The evangelist is needed to stir up this burden within the believer and facilitate his involvement in evangelism.
A church needs variety in its evangelism. All Christians are not evangelists but all Christians are called to witness for Jesus. Most people come to Christ through the personal witness of a friend, co-worker, or family member. We need to be witnessing to people in our everyday lives. Yet, some people will not be reached through “friendship evangelism.” Many are saved by being invited to church meetings or evangelistic crusades. But many people will not attend such meetings. We need to go into the “highways and hedges” and compel people to come to the marriage supper of the Lamb (Luke 14:23). I believe that every local church should have its own outreaches–ministry to nursing homes and prisons, door-to-door witnessing, street witnessing, etc.
Some Christians are critical of “parachurch” ministries, i.e., ministries that are not part of a single fellowship or denomination. But some ministries must by their nature be interdenominational or “parachurch.” For example, much of the success of Billy Graham’s crusades comes from bringing together Christians from many different denominations. In John 17:21, Jesus prayed, “that they also may be one in us, that the world may know that you have sent me.”
Many unbelievers are stumbled by the divisions they see in the church. If they see an outreach organized by a single church fellowship or denomination, they may think that “they are just trying to promote their church.” If they see an outreach organized by Christians of different denominations, they will see a tangible demonstration of the unity Jesus prayed for in John 17:21.
SOS Ministries was established to bring together Christians from different denominations to reach the people of San Francisco and the Bay Area for Jesus. We believe in the local church and we want to serve local church fellowships. During the past few months, I have been working with the leadership of two local churches to help them establish evangelism outreaches. We require that all the members of our ministry house be part of a local church. We refer new believers to local churches for follow-up and discipleship. And we provide a means through which local churches can join together as a united witness for Jesus Christ.
Outreach Reports
December brought a record-setting cold wave to San Francisco. But the cold weather didn’t deter the Christmas shoppers nor did it deter us. On Friday night December 21, as the temperature dropped below freezing, Randy Schillaci played guitar at Union Square and we sang Christmas carols and witnessed to the shoppers. On Saturday, the Russian Gospel Temple sang beautiful carols and worship songs. On Sunday, the Vineyard Christian Fellowship worship group led us in a special Christmas music program. Despite the bitterly-cold weather, thousands of people walked by, heard the gospel, and were reminded of the real reason for Christmas.
The weather has warmed a bit in January. On January 5, many people gathered to listen to worship led by Forever Grateful. We prayed with several people for salvation and other needs. I spoke with a man who was dying of AIDS and attending a “gay” church. Pray that he will get his life right with God. Also, please continue to pray for Tim Charles and Forever Grateful that they would resume the monthly outreaches with us, which have been effective in reaching so many people. One of our house members, George Nakayama, has been feeding the homeless in San Francisco. He shares the gospel with people as he gives out food. Several other Christians have helped him in this ministry.
Ministry News
This past month, we have received responses from hundreds of you indicating you want to continue getting our newsletter. This really encourages me. Some of you wrote notes about how this newsletter or ministry has helped you. A brother from Puerto Rico wrote this letter: “I’m writing to send this small offering and to share that I have plans (Lord willing) to visit your group this coming year. It’s something I’ve had in mind since I got back to Puerto Rico after backsliding in 1979-80 and living in San Francisco for a year. As I have written before, SOS encouraged me to put my life together for the Lord…I wish I could meet those who talked to me on the streets there while living away from God….I’ll try to be there on the week of the SOS outreach.”
We also received a call and letter recently from Eric, who was saved last summer and is living in Teen Challenge in Watsonville. It is a real encouragement to see his zeal for God and that he is continuing to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
We still need a good, reliable copy machine for the ministry. We have two broken machines that we’ve been told aren’t worth fixing. Also, we need some new evangelism signs. Let us know if you could help us make some nice-looking signs. We still need more workers to join us on the streets on Friday nights and especially on Saturday afternoons.
SOS-San Francisco, June 28-July 6, is earlier this year so we are already beginning to prepare for it. We have already gotten outreach permits (Hallelujah!) and are putting together our poster and other literature. Please pray that God will guide us in planning the outreach, that He will draw many workers, and that He will provide for all our needs.
Some Final Thoughts
By the time you receive this newsletter, our nation could be at war. It is sad to see the world once again involved in war, but we know that the only lasting peace will come when our Lord returns. Also, this conflict, bringing the armies of the world into the Middle East in a war that would certainly involve Israel, is in line with Bible prophesy. The United States needs to be shaken from its complacency. Perhaps this war and our economic problems will lead to a much-needed revival in our nation. Perhaps God will even use it to open the Muslim nations to the gospel. Also, it is really exciting to see the new freedom in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to preach the gospel. God has answered our prayers for these nations, and we must take full advantage of this freedom, which may not last long.
Don’t forget to join us on Saturday March 2 for the Chinese New Year Parade Outreach. We meet at 3 PM at the Powell St. BART station. Forever Grateful will lead worship, followed by witnessing at the parade. Let your church know about this outreach and invite some friends to join you.
Our Tape of the Month is “Street Ministry through the Local Church” by Mel Rolls. Mel is Director of Rescue Atlanta, an evangelism ministry to inner-city Atlanta. He also sends teams to do outreaches at major events around the country. Mel was formerly the youth pastor for a large Assembly of God church, so he can discuss this issue as both pastor and evangelist. By the way, if you have received any tapes from us that are defective, please let us know and we will replace them or refund your money.
God bless you all. Remember to pray for us. I hope to see you at the Chinese New Year Parade Outreach.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
