When I started in the ministry, evangelism was the only thing that mattered to most local Baptist churches. Every sermon, regardless of where it started, ended up getting back to John 3:16 and every service ended with an extended invitation. We were trained in how to use the “The Four Spiritual Laws” and if we were gifted “soul winners,” we could take any conversation and turn it into an opportunity for spiritual conviction. Now, in our defense, we have to remember we were living in the height of the cold war. We were reminded every day that the world could end at any time with a single rocket launch that would land in our nation with many times the explosive power that leveled Nagasaki and Hiroshima. A lot of people lived with anxiety caused by the constant worry of our world coming to an end.
The natural conclusion of that existential anxiety was to make sure everyone we knew was ready to go to heaven. This emphasis on evangelism soon went too far. We abandoned every other aspect of the church’s mission to make sure everyone heard the gospel. We didn’t pay attention to the other needs of the person. We only wanted to make sure they answered that they had accepted Christ and then, they were baptized at the earliest opportunity. After that, we put them in the “saved” column and went on to the next person. We didn’t notice if they were hungry or needed a job. We didn’t ask if they were cold or lonely. We just knew they were going to heaven now and that was enough for us.
Of course, it wasn’t long before the world began to push back against such a shallow understanding of salvation and the fullness of life in Christ. One of the reasons the church is in the state it’s currently in is the total neglect of discipleship for decades. In some southern cities, every Baptist church had a Tuesday night visitation. Most of the town would learn to eat out and not be home every Tuesday night. I’m not exaggerating. I know for a fact this happened.
The church ended up neglecting most of what we call compassionate ministries. Prison ministries were done only for evangelism. Discipleship, job training and life skill development were totally neglected. Mental health issues were never talked about. Hunger and homelessness were dismissed as being social gospel issues. The world rightly began to criticize the church for “being so heavenly minded the church is no earthly good.”
Gratefully, we’re beginning to see a rebalancing of this hyper-evangelism with a more balanced understanding of the gospel. One part of this rebalancing is an understanding that God cares for the whole person – mind, body and soul. The good news of the gospel is meant for every aspect of our lives. Our self-identity isn’t up for public discussion. Who we are was determined in our creation and then, redeemed in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our purpose in life isn’t determined by our own passions, but by the redemptive work of God’s coming kingdom. The church is beginning to understand the mission of Christ is to redeem the whole person and that requires the preaching and teaching of the whole gospel.
The other part of this needed correction is understanding that evangelism can start from any aspect of the human experience. Sometimes, a loving gesture, the cup of water extended to a thirsty stranger, can begin the gospel conversation. Working in an adoption support center can start a conversation that ends with a conversion. Because God loves the whole person, He brings us a whole gospel for the whole person.
