Should evangelism be a part of the life of the Church?Is that something we should be doing in a particular way?Learn more about Jonathan Leeman’s article:
Is evangelism an individual or collective sport? As a matter of fact, both of you.
- Think about fishing.
- There are times when you can walk alone down the pier.
- Sit with your feet on your arms and throw a line.
- But ask the men of a trawler in the ocean what it takes to get a ton of sardines to twist out of the water.
- They desperately need each other.
The analogy of fishing does not say everything we want to say about the relationship between evangelism and the local church, but it is biblical and it is a beginning Jesus told the disciples to follow him and make them fishermen of men, and he sent them. in pairs to preach that people repent (Mark 1. 17; 6. 7, 13). As fishermen in a trawr, we need the church to do an evangelistic job.
However, there is a broader plan that we must observe when it comes to evangelization and the church. Think of the first chapters of Acts, where the Apostles proclaimed the Resurrection, and behind them was the church, living together and having everything in common, “Praising God and trusting in the sympathy of all the people?(2. 47; also 5. 13). Somehow, the life of the church sitting there as a backdrop for the proclamation of the gospel served as a testimony of the gospel. This caused many in Jerusalem to look at the Saints sympathetically, which seemed to lead to more conversions.
Were these days in Jerusalem that Peter had in mind when he later described the church as a people, a priesthood, and a nation?To proclaim the virtues of the one who called you darkness, living a life so exemplary that the heathen. would you see his good deed and glorify God (1 Peter 2. 9, 12)?
In the first chapters of Acts and 1 Peter 2, one has the feeling of seeing the church as a hive, a buzzing ball and the sweetness of making honey, bubbling with the entry and exit of busy worker bees. The hive is essential to the individual’s work of the bee and is part of collective work. What can all this say about the relationship between evangelism and a church?
No analogy goes far enough and captures everything. Let’s see if we can summarize the relationship between church and evangelism in the Bible in four systematic statements, and then wonder what practical lessons apply to churches.
See what statements and practical lessons are in the full article
This article is part of the September-October 2013 release of the 9Marks Journal.
Translation: Alan Cristie Review: Renata do Esperito Santo?© Faithful Ministry. All rights reserved. Website: www. MinisterioFiel. com. br Original: Linking the Church and Evangelism Correctly
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