Tony Payne has an interesting assessment on the role of evangelism in churches and particularly in relation to what happens on a Sunday. (HT Justin Taylor)
'Even if we acknowledge that there will be ‘gospel’ things happening all over the place in church, it is also important to say that evangelism is not the purpose of Christian assemblies. It is certainly not their focus. In the New Testament, churches are characteristically the fruit of evangelism, not its agent. Evangelism usually takes place outside the assembly—in the marketplace, the synagogue, the prison, and in daily gospel conversation.
More to the point, theologically, the Christian assembly is a fellowship of the redeemed. It is a manifestation, as well as an anticipation or foretaste, of the great assembly that Christ is building—the assembly of the firstborn in heaven that will be revealed on the last Day (Heb 12:22-24). The purpose of our earthly assemblies, therefore, is to fellowship together in what we already share—our union with Christ—as we listen to and respond to him together, and build his assembly by the words we speak.
This runs counter to the common (although often unspoken) assumption that one of the main aims of a church gathering is to be attractive to non-Christians—to draw them in, to intrigue them, and to evangelize them. Perhaps it's a legacy of the parish model, where those attending the Sunday assembly were often not Christians at all, and evangelism consisted of preaching the gospel to them. Or perhaps it is the influence of the seeker-service model, where the main aim is to attract and win over unchurched Harry. Or maybe it's a bit of both.
There is an important difference, it seems to me, between running a Christian gathering whose focus is on evangelizing the outsider, and running a Christian gathering that is welcoming and intelligible for the outsider, but where the focus is on fellowship with Christ, in speaking, hearing and responding to his word.'
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1 comment:
A recent study has shown that people go to church not to worship God (although that does play a part in their attending) but church has become part of a social activity.
I feel the real issue is that many have lost their first love, they have lost their focus, they have lost sight of the cross.
I would go as far as to say that people do not know how to worship God and have no real sense of a deep relationship with God!!!
A recent study showed that 64% of people attend church to catch up with friends that they dont see all week!
29% feel it is a good thing to attend church
7% go to praise and worship God
Back in the day, people would prepare for church the night before and would also rise early in the morning to ready their minds to worship and praise God.
If the Queen was to come to a church I am positive it would be on the lips of everyone the night before and you can be sure everyone would be up early and be prepaired to meet her, so why do they not have that zest about coming to meet with their God?
How can they expect to suddenly flick into worship mode as soon as the band starts playing because to me thats false.
A church will be attractive to non-christians by the faith of the members. The members faith is the honey, not anything else.
The welcome they get at the door
The worship of His people
The preaching of Scripture in its purest form
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