Evangelism: Bringing Light to Life

A minister's primary work is evangelism. Jesus said, "Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men" (Luke 5:10).

Matthew, Mark, and Luke affirm the basic principle that growth of the kingdom of God is the high purpose of evangelism. How do we attain that growth?

The preacher is the basic component in the evangelistic process. "People-catching" is preacher-business, indeed the preacher's primary business. Preachers are never called to be corporate executives. Preachers are God-ordained soul winners. Anything that would immunize them from soul winning must be avoided. For 150 years now, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has emphasized the individual productivity of the pastor. The church's leadership has not failed to grasp the significance of that emphasis on evangelism.¹

From my own 56 years of ministerial experience, I am led to confess to certain constants that are significant to success in evangelism:

1. The Holy Spirit is the only true soul winner.

2. The Holy Scriptures constitute the "sword of the Spirit." 3. Consecrated Bible instructors contribute more to the success of a campaign than is usually acknowledged.

4. Enlisting the support of church members in bringing friends to the services is an absolute essential.

5. There is no substitute for an "in the flesh preacher" to reap the harvest.

6. Training, deployment, and year-round motivational supervision of lay soul winning is the "missing link" in the present evangelistic thrusts. Until this burden is assumed by church administration and actively promoted at that level, we will continue to experience spasmodic spurts of lay evangelistic activity "here a little and there a little."

Having said this, let me share some conceptual principles that have fueled my evangelistic zeal.

Expect great things

/ expect the Holy Spirit to attend my efforts. "If the fulfillment of the promise is not seen as it might be, it is because the promise is not appreciated as it should be. If all were willing, all would be filled with the Spirit." ²

In preparing for a campaign, there are certain personal things I attend to. I enter into two weeks of prayerful concentration. This is the willingness factor in the fore going statement. This involves fasting, prayer, and an honest assessment of my in adequacy to make war with demons. Without this spiritual preparation, hell it self will celebrate our feeble efforts and poor results. "The presence of the Spirit with God's workers will give the proclamation of the truth a power that not all the honor or glory of the world could give."³

I expect results large results. I always carry with me the conviction that my God-given sermon will be effective. This confidence in the spirit-filled message leads naturally into the call to discipleship. On any occasion, when the church is packed, I ask the occupants on the front row center pew to clear it for the anticipated harvest. I continue the appeal as long as repentant souls are responding. The comfort level of the saints cannot be a factor here. The "patience of the saints" must not decide the length of the appeal.

I expect numerical abundance. Some ministers are afraid of numbers, large numbers. The disciples of Christ were not. "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:41). "And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women" (5:14). "And the Word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith" (6:7). "And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily" (16:5).

Indeed, we have every reason to be expectant. Expectant faith grows with exercise. The problem lies in the minister's personal grasp of the promises of God. Personally, I clutch them to my bosom as my own. I pray for power to move men and women. This is, and has been, the supreme passion of my life from childhood.

Baptism of large numbers of well-instructed converts is no accident. Their transition and retention is a pasto-rmembership responsibility. Small baptisms have a small apostasy rate. This also means a small growth rate. It is a fact that every thing about small is small. While we must not despise the day of small things, let us not make small the ideal! The prophets have predicted large things for these latter days. Let us rise up and claim them.

Commit to total effort

"Some who engage in missionary service are weak, nerveless, spiritless, easily discouraged. They lack push. They have not those traits of character that give power to do something the spirit and energy that kindle enthusiasm. Those who would win success must be courageous and hopeful. They should cultivate not only the passive but the active virtues."⁴

Back in 1951, I was holding a meeting in Orlando, Florida. On the opening night, the auditorium was filled with one old man and 499 empty chairs. To make matters worse, the chairs were new. Bright lights shining down on gleaming empty chairs could be psychologically depressing. But I remembered Ellen White's words: "Some say strike where the iron is hot; I say make the iron hot by striking." I also operate on the theory that "to him that hath, it shall be given. To him that hath not and preacheth not with enthusiasm, even that which he hath shall be taken away." And so, that night, I gave the old man the full treatment. We were soon joined by 14 other venturesome souls. Right or wrong, those 15 attendees left the tent proclaiming, "never man spoke like this man!" They were soon joined by hundreds. The Holy Spirit honored my faith with 108 baptisms in that campaign.

My staff was expected to commit to total effort. There was no room on the staff for halfhearted timid souls. And what I expected of them, I demanded of myself. And God blessed. For it is written, "For whoso ever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matt. 16:25). I have found this to be literally true.

In one campaign, I preached 22 weeks, six nights a week, and every Sabbath for 12 weeks. It is true that God daily replenishes the energies of those who work to expand them in His cause. This is true to this day. At age 77, the "good news" still thrills my soul and others to whom I preach.

Find satisfaction in sharing

Being a Seventh-day Adventist preacher is earth's highest privilege. I say this 56 years into the experience. In reading this article, you are privy to the thoughts of a satisfied minister. It has nothing to do with promotions received or denied. Compliments and criticisms have neither inflated nor deflated my attitude toward ministry. It is the minister's solemn duty to safeguard the inner sanctum of the soul against corruption. If the pastor is successful in this, "duty will be privilege and service a pleasure." Master this principle, and like the Duracell battery, you will go on and on and on.

When I finished Oakwood College, I did not receive any district appointments in the organized ministry. But I did not succumb to self-pity. Knowing myself to be called to the gospel ministry, I knew my destiny. And so, like Paul, I obtained jobs but lost them for my Sabbath keeping. This went on for a year, even as I waited anxiously for that phone call inviting me to the ministry. One year later it came. Having learned to endure hardness like a good soldier through self-supporting ministry, I was overjoyed at receiving the good news that as of June 1, 1942, I was a part of the Seventh-day Adventist clergy worldwide.

Sharing with others that which benefits oneself gives preaching an added dimension and the preacher a sense of mission. Communicating to needy humanity that which enriches and lengthens life here, and guarantees life hereafter, is the essence of gospel ministry. The very idea engenders enthusiasm. The results and the process yield ultimate satisfaction.

But it is not the end product that matters most. The obvious changes seen in the lives of those to whom we minister is reward enough. New hope sparkles in the eyes of the new believer. Radically changed habit patterns tell their own story. The population of the kingdom of God is the supreme purpose of preaching. This alone satiates the ministerial hunger. The hunter stalks the quarry in the dense thickets, takes dead aim, fires, and the hunted becomes the treasured prize of the hunter. The Christian minister is God's hunter. The Bible is the rifle. The pastor stalks human game, firing repeatedly sin, killing ammunition into the soul until that soul becomes a treasured trophy of the King of kings. This is ultimate satisfaction.

This concept leads naturally into making appeals. An appeal is a specific call for response. Many ministers, masters of persuasion, are reluctant to call for visible evidence that souls are converted during or prior to the sermon presentation. This is unfortunate. Unknown converts are deprived of the necessary follow-up that renders them effective in worship and service. The minister who fails to appeal for discipleship may become an accomplished pulpiteer but will be lacking in the area most needed; namely, souls added to the church daily. The population of the kingdom of God is the legitimate end product of preaching. Sermons that leave conviction short of conversion fall short of the end objective of this heaven-ordained exercise.

Let God make the appeal

The sermon appeal expresses three profound facts: God is willing; God is able, and God is available.

Golgotha demonstrates the willingness of God to save the sinner. That the God who created the human would go to the cross to accomplish His redemptive purposes is love unutterable. It is the supreme expression of divine concern for the sinner's salvation.

That Christ would "empty Himself" for the sinner's redemption is itself persuasive. "That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ" (Eph. 2:12). This assurance must be preached to sinners or their hearts will remain unbroken.

Listeners must also hear of a God who is infinitely capable. Listeners know their weakness. They need to know that God can break every habit and forgive any sin; that "earth hath no sorrow that heaven cannot heal"; that the power of God can deliver from the "lowest hell"; that "the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear" (Isa. 59:1); and that "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). Such a message builds confidence and encourages listeners to cast themselves upon the mercy of God.

Listeners must also know of the avail ability of God. "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.... Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jer. 29:11-13). This statement of divine availability is conclusive. We need only to preach it, and the hearts of men and women who are starving for this word will be moved.

But some ministers fear this moment of truth. This fear can only be overcome by making appeals. Proficiency is developed by the doing. It also helps if ministers have faith in the substance and power of their message. The God who empowers the messenger will empower the appeal. Of course there are times when no one responds. This should cause no embarrassment, since the preacher does not represent himself. He speaks for Another.

The appeal for discipleship may ad dress three classes of listeners: (1) an appeal to those who were once faithful Christians but who have fallen away; (2) Christians who believe what you teach but have not yet made the decision to join; and (3) non- Christians who for the first time hear the good news of the gospel. Each one of these classes presents a wealth of potential response, waiting to be invited.

Continue to obey the call

God-called preachers will evangelize to their utmost potential. Denominations may hire, but God alone calls. God's call comes in three ways: original conviction, association, and direct confrontation. Samuel is an example of the first, Elisha is an example of the second, and Paul is an example of the third.

Each of these three men came to ministry by a different route. But all had a common anchor. The call of God dominated the landscape of their minds, eclipsing all competing professions, and they bowed readily to the yoke of the Almighty and went henceforth to the task assigned, that of catching people and enlarging the kingdom of God.