How Do We Fix Our Evangelistic Apathy?

In my 20 or so years of adulthood, I have spent 8 years, give or take, on Evangelism or Home Mission Committees.  In the beginning I actively sought out to be on these committees.

Why?

Because I had a passion to reach the lost with the Gospel. And I thought this was a great way to do it.

Something’s Missing

But I admit that I’ve since lost my passion for these committees. It is more than deflating when you pour time and energy into ideas and in trying to encourage others to share gospel…and then the response is less than underwhelming.  And because not much ever seems to work very well, the committees start to spend time and energy on things that have little to do with evangelism, grasping at ideas to try and encourage their fellow believers to want to share the gospel.

Something is lacking.

Something is missing.

Something seems to be broken.

Why don’t we seem to care about evangelism?  Is it because we are too busy?  Too shy? Perhaps we don’t know how?

Maybe we really just don’t care?  Maybe we really are just more concerned about our own wants and desires and being comfortable, than on the greatest eternal needs of a lost world. But I hope that is not the case. I think we do care…don’t we? Perhaps this is actually the issue, but I am going to continue this article as if that is not the case, because I truly hope this is not the reason.

I used to think it was lack of involvement from the leadership of the church, that caused our care-less attitude. My thinking was that for the flock to evangelize they must see the leaders involved. But that is not really the case. In our small church, we have elders on the committee.

Yet…something still seems to be wrong. We are still apathetic about evangelism.

What could it be?

How do we fix our broken evangelism?

Burden of Law

In our churches, we see the mission, or the home mission, of the Church primarily as obedience to a command. Jesus commanded us to do it, so we must do it.

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.  When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.  Then Jesus came to them and 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.”

This is the great commission of the Lord Jesus. It is not an option, it is a command given to the Church, and is fulfilled in our missionary mandate. As Reformed Christians, we speak often of ” our mandate,” or “our duty.”  So when it comes to this topic of mission, we pay our tithe and give our offerings, and believe that we have done our duty in supporting the pastors and missionaries, who are mandated to fulfill this commission. Speaking like this is certainly not wrong, the church does have a mandate. Jesus told us to do it, so it is our duty, and sending the missionaries out is the official mission of the church, and giving our money to support is required…but…

Does speaking like this miss the point?

When we speak of something as a duty, it becomes a burden. Like when we tell our kids to clean up, and they groan, go to their rooms and then sit there and do everything but clean…I am sure they would love to pay someone else to do it for them!

When we say it is our duty to share the gospel, perhaps we move it from an act of joy in the gospel and make it a part of the law. Perhaps a shift in thinking is needed.

Joy of the Gospel

Though it is a command, mission in the New Testament begins with an explosion of all consuming joy.  The people whom Jesus healed and forgave did not have to be told to share the good news, they went running with joy to tell others about him. When Jesus arose from the grave and presented himself to others in fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies, people didn’t just sit there and throw a coin in the offering bag, they were filled with joy and told others about the risen Christ and of the life to be found in him!

The news that Jesus is alive is something that cannot possibly be suppressed. It must be proclaimed. Who could remain silent about it?

Yet….

Don’t many of us suppress it?

Don’t many of us remain silent about it?

Where is our joy?  Where is our passion?

Are we happy that we are saved?  Are we happy that we are a children of the Father?  Are we full of joy because of the fact that Jesus is alive?

Do we believe these words from the Heidelberg Catechsim?

I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil.

He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head;

indeed, all things must work together for my salvation.

If so, do we find joy in the truth contained in these words?

Do you?

Do I?

Though we are commanded to do it, why don’t we look at evangelism from a standpoint of joy rather than duty? Rather than saying we must do it. Say we get to. We get to proclaim the Lord.  We get to share the Good news.

Rather than thinking of evangelism as a duty, let the joy of the gospel consume you.

Maybe that shift in thinking will help our evangelistic apathy.  Maybe it wont.  But we would all do well to look at ourselves and examine ourselves as to why many of us are less than excited to share the gospel.

Today, let’s pray that the Lord would grant us the opportunity to get to share the good news with just one person.