Theology of Evangelism - “The World is Our Parish"
Matthew 28:18-19

by Pastor Eldon Reich

Living what we believe – a practical theology

Today were looking at the Theology of Evangelism

What is the Theology of Evangelism?

How can we apply it to our lives?

What difference will it make?

A Baptist preacher had the habit of going down

 to the train station every single day to watch the Sunset Limited go by.

There was no chore he wouldn’t interrupt

to carry out this daily ritual.

Members of his church thought he was a bit nuts

and they asked him give up this daily habit.

He said, “No, I won’t give it up.”

He said, “I preach your sermons, teach Sunday School, teach Bible studies,

perform your weddings and funerals, run your charities, chair committees for you, etc.

I won’t give up seeing that Southern Pacific train every. I love it!

IT’S THE ONLY THING AROUND HERE THAT I DON’T HAVE TO PUSH!”

I want to “Push” you today to begin a ministry of invitation and Evangelism

I want to introduce you to “FRAN”.

You all know FRAN

FRAN works with you or lives next to you.

FRAN is at times lonely, needy, looking for guidance,  

FRAN can be the quite type or the party animal.

Most time

FRAN just shares the neighborhood,

Or your weekend activities at games and social functions.

FRAN is the acronym for

F-friends,

R-relatives,

A-associates at work and

N-neighbors.

Jesus came to die for FRAN,

And FRAN is the reason the church exists.

This morning I want to push you to reach out to FRAN.

I want to push you today to write down the names of four people

A Friend, Relative, Associate, or Neighbor

Who needs to know Jesus. 

I am going to ask God as I preach to give you those names.

Jesus said: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:18-20

I. WHAT IS THE THEOLOGY OF EVANGELISM?

In the Greek Evangelism means: zealous preaching and advocacy of the gospel

Definition of Evangelism is the ability to share the gospel with unbelievers in such a way that men and women find forgiveness of sins and become Jesus' disciples and responsible members of the body of Christ.

Acts 8:5-6 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said:  With shrieks, evil spirits came out of men, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that city.

Evangelism is ---a heart and mind that desires others to find Jesus

as we ourselves have found him.

Finding people and pointing them to Christ

who can save them from their sins.

II. HOW CAN WE APPLY THE THEOLOGY OF EVANGELISM TO OUR LIVES?

Acts 8:4 “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.”

In other words they shared their experience with Christ in every situation they encountered. That’s advertising and advertising always pays.

1-      We must think and pray

Matthew 9: 37-38 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

We must think about it to pray about it.

Brennon Manning said in the “Ragamuffin Gospel” Evangelism is to say to a man or woman, you too are loved by God in the Lord Jesus. And not only to say it but to really think it, and relate it to that man or woman so they can sense it.

We must use our minds, as well as our spirit.

In my teenage days all I thought about was basketball.

I loved the game and played all winter.

Pick up games at school.

Then I got involved in learning to play the Ukulele.

I strummed and played,

sung and dreamed music.

I drove my dad nuts. 

So then I picked up my sister Saxophone

She wasn’t playing it.

So I learned how to play it.

I like that better then my trumpet.

I always wondered why my father spent so much time out in the garage.

Last week I woke at 4:30 in the morning.

I was THINKING about this message,

Thinking about what to say, what to pray.

I finally got up and went out and wrote down my thoughts.

What we think about is what we will do

and what we will become!

Consequently, we need to start thinking about FRAN

our Family, Relatives, Associates and our Neighbor.

The four people that God is giving you to write down this year.

If we don’t spend time in reflection and meditation

We won’t know how much God loves us.

We won’t understand what the suffering and cross was all about.

We won’t think about it.

And we won’t do anything about it.

We must think and pray.

2-      We must speak and bring

I Pet. 3:15 “In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

For some reason Jesus didn’t take a lot of stock in reaching the world through print.

Or maybe he would have established a tract society or print company.

Howard Hendricks said, “In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering.” But we don’t stutter when it comes to most things that we believe in: sports, politics, grandchildren, etc.

Jesus didn’t have much faith in outreach programs.

Or he would have established a recreational center

He really didn’t really like the food for evangelism ministry.

Or he would have set up food pantries

He only fed the multitude twice in 30 years of his life.

But he sent you and me to go into all the world.

To become an ambassador for Christ.

My emissary for Salvation.

Jesus put a lot of stock in word of mouth, one on one ministry.

Japan manufactured a pen called the “Pentel,”

and imported it to the US and  flooded the market.

The sales of Pentel pens climbed to 1.8 million and continued to grow.

And all this without heavy promotion!

How did they do it?

People just used the pen liked it and told others about it.

“Word-of-mouth advertising.”

When people are sold on something they usually talk it up.

Are you sold on Christ, Christianity and the church?

You may be as excited about everything in the church as you could be,

but there should be something you can talk about to your friends and neighbors.

The music, the fellowship, the friendliness, the messages, the people.

If you can’t talk about Jesus, then talk about Jesus love for people

Talk about what you like about his church.

Start your own advertising campaign!

Four elderly ranches were discussing everything

 from cattle, horses, and weather,

and how things used to be in the "good old days."
Eventually the conversation moved on to their spouses.

One gentleman turned and said,

 "Roy, aren’t you and your bride celebrating your

fiftieth wedding anniversary soon?"

"Yup, we sure are," Roy replied.
"Well, are you gonna do anything special to celebrate?"
The old gentleman pondered this for a moment, then replied,

"For our twenty-fifth anniversary, I took Bea to Tucson.

Maybe for our fiftieth, I’ll go down there and get her."

We must speak and bring.

3- We must listen and invite.

John 1:40-42 “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said (about Jesus)and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.”

Andrew found Jesus,

Then he did something about it.

He found his brother Simon and brought him to Jesus.

And Simon Peter found Jesus.

And Simon Peter told 3000 at Pentecost about Jesus

And they too were added to the church.

It’s really that simple.

Invite people to church.

Bring them and then don’t forget them.

The evangelism committee has made “contact cards” for us.

Cards to give to FRAN.

Friends

Associates

Relatives

Neighbors.

If as the Psalmist says that

Ps. 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”

That means you believe you have found that which has brought light to your darkness,

And it can do the same for your friends and family.

Evangelism means taking that light to them.

Or bringing them to church so someone else can show them the light.

Evangelism involves at least 5 levels of development.

         a) The initial contact// getting acquainted

         b) Being a servant, friend in the relationship

         c) Living your faith in loving witness

         d) Sharing the gospel

         e) Giving the Invitation

We must listen and invite.

4. We must welcome and include

There is a movie called, “How to lose a guy in 10 days.”

It’s a cute, funny, romantic comedy

With Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson.

He tries to win her and she tries to lose him.

And it turns out, of course, that they fall in love.

I love it when people fall in love!

Sometimes I think churches are in the business of losing people

rather than winning them.

And often, it doesn’t take 10 days.

Sometimes it only takes 10 minutes

On Sunday morning during our coffee time.

In that window of opportunity when someone has come

We join our little cliques

And they are ignored in the fellowship time.

They drink their coffee standing off alone.

No one talks with them.

The door is closed forever.

We have missed the opportunity for Evangelism.

III. WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF EVANGELISM?

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Matthew 28:18-20

a. Win people for Jesus Christ

What are we trying to do anyway?

Win people to Christ or impress them with who we are and what we have?

“It is said that 33% of the unchurched are open to attending church.

The most likely thing to attract them is the invitation of a friend.

When they do come, we need to have a strategy to get them to stick.

The Rev. John Hunt said: We need to become a Velcro church rather than a Teflon church.

b. Give people a family to belong to

Colin Powell tell of an American reporter from a television network interviewing a young American soldier in a tank platoon on the eve of battle in Operation Desert Storm.

"How do you think the battle will go?" the newsman asked. "Are you afraid?"
"We’ll do okay. We’re well trained. And I’m not afraid," answered the GI.

Then he gestured in the direction of his buddies in uniform

"I’m not afraid because I’m with my family."
"Tell him again," the soldiers shouted. "He didn’t hear you."

So the young man repeated, "This is my family, and we’ll take care of each other."

People aren’t interested in finding a friendly church,

But in finding friendly people, a friendly family that they can share with.

Not long ago a person said to me.

"My small group is like my family.

They’re there with comfort and support when I need them – including 4am at the hospital."

 Another said, “Our Small Group is so special that I know

if any one of us called and said, ’I need your help,’

we would hang up the phone and go there without asking why.”

We give them a family to belong too.

C. GIVE PEOPLE A CONVICTION TO HOLD ON TO.

We all need a hero someone or something to hold on to.

Bob Dylan in 1994 was doing a rock concert in Toronto, Canada. In the middle of the show he looked at his audience and said; “Everyone in life has a hero, someone to hold on to.  Maybe an athlete, philosopher, a singer. I am going to sing about my hero and Bob Dylan proceeded to give a stirring rendition of “In the Garden.”

Who’s your hero.

If your sold on Jesus like you should be.

This should motivate you to live the Christian life

And love others into finding Jesus as well.

It’s like the guy who said in regard to the church.

We must “wake up, sing up, preach up, pray up, stay up, pay up,

but never give up, let up, back up or shut up

until the cause of Christ in this church and in the world is built up.”

FRAN IS OUT THERE WAITING FOR YOUR INVITATION

Those four people you wrote on your list.

Are counting on you.

WILL YOU LET GOD USE YOU IN A VERY SIMPLE WAY.

As we close I want you to listen to the power of this invitation.