257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105
(262) 763-3021
We have purchased land on Highways A & W and are planning to build soon!
Drive by and take a look at our future home!
Grace Church of Burlington
April 20, 2008
“Evangelism is not a program of the church; rather, it is the essential work of the Church. It is not an option for Christians but an obligation, a fundamental commission of their Christ. Mission infuses all that the Church does. No person living richly and fully in his or her faith can ignore the call to make disciples of others.” Claude Payne
Writer and pastor, Eugene Peterson, tells of winning his first “convert” to the faith. Garrison Johns was a bully who delighted in beating up on Peterson every day after school. Being raised in a Christian home with Christian values, his mother continually told him that this was the way early Christians were treated. One day, however, Eugene Peterson snapped and jumped on Garrison Johns and got the upper hand. Surprisingly, he discovered he was stronger than the bully and pounded away on him as he held him pinned to the ground with his knees. “Say Uncle,” Peterson demanded as the blows flew. Johns would not, so Peterson continued the beating. Then, as a glimpse that maybe he was born to evangelism, he said, “Say, ‘I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.’ ” Eugene Peterson writes, “And he said it…Garrison Johns was my first convert.”
There was a Peanuts cartoon a few years ago that sends the same message. Linus listened to Lucy as she boasted about her religious zeal. She said to Linus, “I could be a terrific evangelist. Do you know the kid that sits behind me in school? I convinced him that my religion is better than his religion.”
“How did you do that?” asked Linus.
“I just hit him hard with my lunch box,”
Down through the ages people have tried to force others into adopting their religion. Islam spread through the Roman world when the conquering Turks gave their defeated subjects the choice of either converting or facing a torturous death. In the Middle Ages the Spanish Inquisition was utilized by the state church to coerce “wayward souls” into subjecting themselves to being loyal to the “church.” During the Crusades thousands were marched into rivers and lakes as the Crusaders forcibly baptized whole villages.
In America we appreciate our heritage of religious liberty. Evangelism is not about who is stronger than another, or who can coerce another into believing something different. We could never “win people to Christ” by beating or defeating them. And yet, God expects us to be involved in reaching out to people with the exciting message of God’s forgiveness through His Son. So who are you reaching out to?
Recently, I read that 91% of the world’s population has heard of Coca-cola. 74% have seen Coke and 51% have tasted Coke. But only 10% of the world’s population has heard the Gospel. Are your family members, friends, co-workers and neighbors part of that 10%?
Suppose I were walking through my neighborhood and I observed smoke pouring from around the window frames of a nearby house. What would I do? Do you think it would be too embarrassing for me to ring the doorbell, or even rush into the house screaming, “Fire! Anyone in here?” Of course I would do this and you would too. There would be too much at stake to be worried about my personal embarrassment. And yet I wonder how many of us are willing to quietly allow people all around us, even those we claim to care about, to go into a Christless eternity without any kind of warning from us? Do we care enough about the people in our lives to introduce them to the only one who can give them reason for living?
Evangelism is not about forcing people to share our views. Absolutely not! But it is about loving people enough to share with them the wonderful message of Jesus Christ, His sacrifice on the Cross for our sins and the difference He has made in our lives. Will you do that? Will you this week seek to share the Gospel with someone who doesn’t know the Lord?