Making Evangelism A Priority: Becoming A Contagious Congregation

Before the global pandemic, many churches lost focus on the importance of evangelism for kingdom growth and in-person worship attendance. Some pastors, church leaders, and congregants took for granted that people would always attend church and stay connected because of a long tradition of church attendance. They believed those numbers would always remain static and regulated evangelism to a place of lesser importance as they focused more on worship, Christian discipleship, fellowship, and Christian ministry.

When churches were forced to close their doors to in-person worship, some scrambled to discover sustainability methods. Many church leaders and congregants had to find innovative ways to worship and fellowship collectively. The online church experience became a viable path for many churches to quickly increase evangelism efforts by utilizing various social media venues. They had to quickly transition to an online church experience that provided opportunities for worship, fellowship, Christian education, and Christian ministry in a virtual space and/or places beyond the walls of the church building.

After a season of staying connected through virtual church and other methods, churches are slowly seeing congregants return to in-person worship. Attendance numbers have yet to fully resemble pre-pandemic numbers, as confirmed in an article written by Ian M. Giatti. The article also highlighted how the pandemic worsened a pre-existing problem of decreased financial support which had already forced many churches to close or significantly change how they operated.

Even though the post-pandemic low-attendance numbers are slowly climbing, I would suggest that there is something that all pastors, church leaders, and congregants need to do to revitalize their churches. Churches need to return to the original mandate given by the Lord Jesus Christ. The church’s central mission is to share the gospel with the world (Matt. 28:19-20). Desmond Barrett says that we should “Pray Not for a Return to Normalcy, but a Return to Being a Christ-Centered Church.” Many people say they can’t wait for church to return to normal. However, the reality is that the post-pandemic church will never return to pre-pandemic normalcy. If we are honest, returning to normalcy would mean returning to church behaviors that lacked evangelistic efforts.

While the pandemic affected in-person attendance, churches still need to prioritize helping the unsaved and unchurched to hear the gospel and experience conversion. In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

In his classic text on spiritual formation, Kenneth Boa argues that evangelism is not an event but a process that covers at least four phases. Every church must understand the potential of the harvest and be prepared to make an effort to work through the process of evangelizing the unsaved and the unchurched because the Lord Jesus Christ commissions each of us to make it a priority.

Just as you would prepare the soil for seed, you must prepare the soul for receiving the gospel seed. Sowing the seed is the priority after the soul has been prepared to receive the gospel seed. The lengthiest part of the evangelistic process is cultivating. According to Boa, believers must learn to “relax in the sovereignty of God and leave the outcome in God’s hands.” Understanding this part of the process is crucial because “we are incapable of changing others,” as Boa rightly points out. Reaping the harvest is the final phase in the process.

As all believers begin to prioritize evangelism, we should never lose sight of the ultimate purpose of evangelism. In his classic text Introduction to Evangelism, Delos Miles offered the following sage insight:

Our ultimate goal is not institutional church growth, as important as that is. Our goal is not to build our kingdom or my kingdom or your kingdom. Rather, our goal is to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God through word and deed, through our lifestyles and our lips, in order that by the power of the Holy Spirit, persons and structures may be converted to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

We must prioritize sharing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with others who have not developed a relationship with the Father through His Son (John 14:6). In so doing, lives can be changed and transformed, and we will become known as a “Contagious Congregation” that positively infects the world with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.