Evangelism: Everyday; Everywhere; Everybody!
Charles Aranyas
Oct 25, 2002
Avoiding “Structure Traps,” (Letting methodology become theology) and having a proper vision will aid in church growth. But what is the right structure and what is the right procedure to follow? That is a hard question to answer. Only you and your fellow believers can answer that for your church. However, the Bible gives us some patterns for reaching and making disciples of others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In Acts 5:12b-14 we read, “And by common consent they all met together, at the temple, in the porch or covered walk called Solomon’s. And none of those who were not of their number dared to join and associate with them, but the people held them in high regard and praised and made much of them. More and more there were being added to the Lord those who believed, that is, those who acknowledged Jesus as their Savior and devoted themselves to Him, joined and gathered with them, crowds both of men and of women.” (Amplified Bible)
As the church was very young, when this history was recorded by Luke, there were no buildings owned by the church. They utilized what was available and took advantage of Solomon’s porch where a large group could come together at one time. Here we see their creativity. They met and the apostles taught the believers. It is important that those who walked with the Lord were the teachers. That is as it should be today. As the individual believer could, he attended as many teaching sessions as possible.
Next, we see a most amazing fact. Non-believers would not meet with them as they gathered at the portico. They stayed away. So there was no evangelism taking place when the church came together. Discipleship was the order of the day.
Then the Scriptures tell us that society, in general, had admiration for the believers. That brings up a number of questions. What contact did society have with the individual Christian? What did the believers do that caused this high esteem? If the church of that day was able to make such an impact on society, why can’t today’s church do the same?
But the most amazing statement is that new believers were being added to the church at all times. If non-believers would not meet with the church at Solomon’s porch, how were people being won to the Lord? Makes you stop and think doesn’t it? Makes you wonder if our strategy of trying to get the people into a church building before they can be presented the Gospel is off base, doesn’t it? Yet, we read in Acts 2:47 that new believers were added to the church daily.
Not having buildings, the church functioned in sight of society. They took care of their own as Acts 4:34 tells us. I am convinced that the factor which made such an impact on society, of that day, was the love believers had for each other. And this love over flowed into the lives of those outside the church. Also, I am convinced that the believers homes were the settings for most of the evangelism which was not limited to one time, one person, and one place. If ever there was evangelism everyday, everywhere, and to everybody it was at this time in history. Here is the pattern we must consider. Love to one another and to the non-Christian and utilizing all we have, our time, and our creativity to share God’s love and Word to a needy world. This must become the “business” of the church.
Now, lets move on a little in time. The church in Jerusalem comes under persecution and people are forced to leave the city and travel to other locations. With this pattern in place in their lives, they take the Gospel to people in these other sites. One location where a church was established is Syrian Antioch. Let us examine their pattern of existence.
Scripture has much to say about this fantastic church. They were controlled by the Holy Spirit. Barnabas and Saul (Paul) were led by the Holy Spirit to become missionaries. Individuals can only be called out where the Holy Spirit is in control and has the freedom of calling out people for God’s purposes. This is why the teaching of the Word is so important. Being controlled by the Holy Spirit is not a mystical experience. It is by knowing Jesus Christ and the Word of God is where we learn of Him. We must be grounded in the Word and the Antioch church’s priority was teaching. They had five gifted teachers who are named in Acts 13:1. How would you like to sit under the teaching of men like Paul and Barnabas? Personal growth and evangelism are the results from the teaching of the truth by gifted men.
This church was willing to meet the needs of others. Their priorities on material goods were in proper working order.
They had a vision. They were concerned about the Gospel going into all the world. And they were willing to give up 40% of their gifted teachers to see this vision fulfilled. In this regard, they held all things loosely so when God called for anything there would be no tug-of-war trying to hold on to a useless tradition, procedure, material possessions or even a certain person. Creativity was encouraged. I believe the church at Antioch was an exciting place to be involved.
This church did encounter opposition. False teaching tried to make inroads in the church as Acts 15:1 states. The greatest danger to the church today, as it was in that time, is false teaching. And false teaching takes hold only where there is no emphasis on rightly dividing the Word of Truth. Keep in mind that a church which is doing nothing will encounter nothing. But a church that is sensitive to the leading of the Lord and seeking to save people from the consequences of perishing will reap the anger of the Enemy. However, “He who is in you is greater than he that is in the world.”
The Antioch church handed on the torch of the Gospel which we have in our hands today. Were it not for the church in Syrian Antioch, there would have been no church at Pisidian Antioch. Mediate on that for a while.
So, what is our pattern? It is one that includes: 1. Love for one another. 2. Concern for others backed up by actions. 3. Control by the Holy Spirit. 4. Priority of teaching the Truth of the Word. 5. A giving spirit. 6. A vision of others having opportunity to hear the Gospel. 7. Overcoming opposition by relying on God’s Word. 8. Keeping the flame of the Gospel glowing and handing it on to the next generation.
With this pattern, it is easy to see that our structure for our current situation can take many forms. With this pattern, the local church can make an impact on society with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And we don’t all have to look like, act like, perform like all other churches. We can be free to be the church the Lord wants us to be. With a solid theology based on the Word of God our methods can be myriad. That is exciting!
Evangelism: Everyday, Everywhere, Everybody!