Tenth Evangelism
While reading the March/April edition of Modern Reformation, I came across this brief response by Phil to the question of "How We Do It," i.e. evangelism:
Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelpia does not have a ministry of evangelism, per se. Rather, all of our ministries proclaim the work of God, and therefore we consider all of them to have an evangelistic aspect. Our worship is evangelistic: we preach the gopsel in all of our public services, with the prayer that God will bring people to faith in Jesus Christ. Our Sunday school is evangelistic: as we teach the Bible to children and adults, we call them to trust in Christ for their salvation. Our missionary work is evangelistic: we send missionaries to places far and near with the purpose of sharing the gospel. Our church planting is evangelistic: as we plant new churches in and around Philadelphia, our goal is to bring new people into the church, and not simply to move Christians from one church to another. Our mercy ministry is evangelistic: as we show the love of Christ through feeding the homeless, visiting prisoners, tutoring city children, and caring for people who are separated or divorced, we always combine deeds of mercy with words of gospel truth. Possible the only ministry in the church dedicated exclusively to evangelism is a small prayer group that meets in my study during lunchtime on Friday afternoons. The sole focus of our intercession is to pray by name for people who do not have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Often we find ourselves praying for people whom we have met through one of the ministries of the church.
Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelpia does not have a ministry of evangelism, per se. Rather, all of our ministries proclaim the work of God, and therefore we consider all of them to have an evangelistic aspect. Our worship is evangelistic: we preach the gopsel in all of our public services, with the prayer that God will bring people to faith in Jesus Christ. Our Sunday school is evangelistic: as we teach the Bible to children and adults, we call them to trust in Christ for their salvation. Our missionary work is evangelistic: we send missionaries to places far and near with the purpose of sharing the gospel. Our church planting is evangelistic: as we plant new churches in and around Philadelphia, our goal is to bring new people into the church, and not simply to move Christians from one church to another. Our mercy ministry is evangelistic: as we show the love of Christ through feeding the homeless, visiting prisoners, tutoring city children, and caring for people who are separated or divorced, we always combine deeds of mercy with words of gospel truth. Possible the only ministry in the church dedicated exclusively to evangelism is a small prayer group that meets in my study during lunchtime on Friday afternoons. The sole focus of our intercession is to pray by name for people who do not have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Often we find ourselves praying for people whom we have met through one of the ministries of the church.
posted by M Clark at 7/18/2005 04:39:00 PM
2 Comments:
That is good news, may you continue sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ crucified.
I love this.
This is why I love 10th; we are more interested in being the living vessels that God has called into His service than we are in pushing people into a "Christian" life. And I think God uses that calling because Tenth, as a church, focuses on glorifying and worshipping and drawing near to God and learning about His might, power, holiness, and glory. He uses that focus on Him to shine brighter and stronger in the weak clay that He so carefully selected for His service.
Man, this church is cool.
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