As I read your editorial on evangelism in the March 22 issue, I commend you for calling our attention to the task of evangelism which is ours. We have certainly ceased doing a very good job with evangelism in our wider world. While we may not believe as strongly as we ought in the lostness of people, I see another development from my almost 35 years of full-time pastorates. It is much more insidious.
The key to evangelism in the 21st century, I am convinced, will be relational. If we are going to reach people, it will be through our relationships with them. I agree that knowing how is not nearly the problem it once was. Many of us have been trained in Lay Evangelism Schools, Continuing Witness Training, Evangelism Explosion, One-Day Soul-Winning Workshops, and a half dozen other methods. Most of these presume the ability to knock on doors cold and to gain a hearing for the gospel presentation. Homes for lots of people are no longer welcoming settings (as we witness the absence of front porches which have been replaced by fenced backyard decks, pools, and spas). Some folks won't even open the door unless you have made an appointment ahead of time, much less let you in their home. If we do not have relationships with people ahead of time, we are not likely to reach out to them at all.
Our churches have become culturally insular as well. We retreat from a hostile world into our churches rather than seeing our churches as a launching pad into the world. We have church activities for our own growth, entertainment and pleasure many different nights each week. The schedule at some churches requires a computer program just for building-use scheduling. We have become so involved in our churches and in the associations we have with like-minded folks that we are not forming relationships with those who are on the outside.
We pass strangers in the grocery and in other realms. We sit with friends from church at community and school functions, and we continue to glorify a cultural retreat into a Christian ghetto to the point that we have lost contact with the world. We are so busy separating from an evil world that we are losing contact with those who form our best opportunities for evangelism. We aren't associating with Joe who has a three-beer-a-day habit; Madge who is in her fourth marriage and has a questionable past; Jim, whose teenage son who is known for going to wild parties; or Angie who had a child at age 15. Until we do, we won't reach our Commonwealth or the world.
David E. Roberts, Emporia