Evangelism Made Visible
by F. Joe Ellis   
fjewt@purposeinstitute.com

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, 
and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matt 5:16 KJV)

It was said of the early church that they turned their world upside down. (Acts 17:6) Do we really grasp the total scope of that statement? One thing is for certain however, as you read through the book of Acts, as well as other historical accounts of the first century church, it becomes very obvious that they did more than just grow a church numerically.

• Should the twenty-first century church be any less effective than our first century pattern? 

• Shouldn’t we expect our churches to become agents of positive change and influence within our communities as well as grow numerically?

• Is it outside the realm of faith to expect God to raise up men, women, and churches among us and divinely position them to influence not only local but world affairs? 

~ Growing a Church or Impacting a Community? ~

Dr. Dan Rheiland of Injoy ministries wrote a thought provoking article recently addressing some of these same concerns as it pertains to the church today. I have included a few segments of his article for your prayerful consideration.

The Pastor's Coach
Growing a Church or Impacting a Community?
Dan Rheiland

One thing that troubles me when I see churches become larger is that the communities in which they serve don't seem to change much. I've been asking myself why? Am I just idealistic? Perhaps even naïve? I don't think so. But if I am, I will remain that way with hopes of seeing the church truly reform the communities in which we live.

Actually I think I'm a realist, with a positive attitude. I don't think my church will change the world. But I must believe it can change my community. If God is who He says He is, and Jesus did what the Bible says He did, we can change the areas where we live! And together we can change the world.
* You grow a church with talent and leadership. You impact a community with compassion.

Churches that are blessed with talent (musical or otherwise) and great leadership are likely to grow. Most of these churches are considered good churches and in many ways they are. But that doesn't mean the community has been changed – which for me is the mark of a great church. In my thinking, it is impact that matters. This does not discount the huge significance and eternal value of growing churches that are big because of new converts. I'm talking about a kind of impact that not only wins people to Christ, but that does so with such impact that the community takes notice and is changed.

* You grow a church by offering good programs. You reach a community by offering good relationships.

When you emphasize relationships and extend yourself to the community, you have potential to change the community.

* You grow a church by investing in yourself. You invest outside yourselves to reach a community.

More and more churches in the past few years have been following God's lead to make direct expressions of compassion in their community in very tangible ways.

* You can grow a church on history and tradition. You must become relevant to impact a community. ("This article is used by permission from Dr. Dan Reiland's free monthly e-newsletter 'The Pastor's Coach' and is available in it’s entirety at www.INJOY.com.")

~ An Ideal or the Bible? ~

While it may seem unreasonable and far too idealistic to expect our churches to have so much influence, I would suggest that to expect anything less removes the church from its true purpose for existence. Is it possible to turn on light in a dark room without dramatically affecting the darkness? Of course not! Then why should we expect the true apostolic church to be released into a community without dramatically affecting that community? 

The church (local or collective) has not been called to be hidden but to be visible! Jesus himself said…

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matt 5:14-16 KJV)

Peter reminded the church…

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light (1 Peter 2:9 KJV)

God so designed the birth of HIS church that it was given center stage at one of the most celebrated of all Jewish feasts. It resulted in three thousand new converts added to the already 120 faithful disciples that had been in prayer for seven strait days waiting for the promise of the Holy Ghost! God wanted to parade HIS church and HIS glory on display for the world to see. 

The church was never meant to go into hiding. It was never HIS will for the church to be confined behind four walls hidden from the view of the people and the communities in which they were called to serve. It has often been said that the apostolic church is the best kept secret in the world! Quite honestly I have cringed every time I have heard that said. I, for one, am ready to do everything in my power to give that statement a permanent burial! Hey… will you join me?

The type of influence that I am suggesting, and that Dr. Rheiland has written about, should not be the exception for the apostolic church, but the norm. It is the very thing Jesus told his disciples to expect to happen. We must not be afraid to step out of our box of traditional thinking. We need to take some bold steps toward evangelizing our communities and our world. Are their any volunteers? 

~ A Strategy for Community Evangelism ~

In our next article, we are going to offer a very practical but powerful three phase approach to Community Evangelism for your prayerful consideration. 

Phase One: Community Exposure 
• “Connecting With Our Community”

Phase Two: Relationship Building
• “Connecting With People”

Phase Three: Planting and Harvesting
• “Connecting People to Jesus”

To be continued…