Reimagining Evangelism: A Call to Action for Churches
Many churches today are being urged to rethink their focus and allocate more resources to evangelism, according to evangelist Canon J John. He emphasized the need for churches to not only concentrate on worship and member wellbeing but also to actively engage in spreading their faith to non-Christians.
During his address at the Church Resources Exhibition (CRE), Canon J John, the founder of the Philo Trust, highlighted a concerning trend where churches dedicate most of their time and resources to worship, leaving evangelism on the back burner.
Citing past research conducted by the Philo Trust, he revealed that out of 1,000 evangelical churches surveyed, only a small fraction had provided evangelism training in the last decade.
Canon J John urged church leaders to integrate evangelism training into their regular activities, stating, “Research indicates that we spend over 95 per cent of all of our time, energy, money, resources and manpower on worship and wellbeing. We spend less than 5 per cent on witness. Do you not agree there’s a slight imbalance there?”
He proposed a more balanced distribution of resources and emphasized the need for practical training, saying, “We’ve got to equip people. We’ve got to help people.”
Encouraging churches to consider annual evangelism training courses, he stressed the importance of reaching out to those on the fringes of church life and others with no prior connection to Christianity. “I want you to lead the church as if you were an evangelist,” he advised. “In other words, it’s a mindset that you’re not just thinking about the flock, but you’re thinking about the fringe and you’re thinking about beyond the fringe.”
Other speakers at the exhibition also highlighted the importance of outreach and disciple-making, particularly among younger generations who may never attend traditional services. Phil Stokes, founder director of REACH, challenged churches to focus on creating disciples capable of making disciples themselves.
Stokes shared his experience of forming a microchurch with millennials, aiming to cultivate disciples who could then establish similar communities. This approach, he noted, has led to multiplication rather than mere growth. He observed, “So we haven’t grown much, but we have multiplied.”
He also noted a rising spiritual hunger among younger people, saying, “We need a set of values that are attractive to the next generation. We need to be able to express and to live and to inhabit something which makes them say: we want that. And they do want it. The next generation wants something of what we’ve got.”
Bejoy Pal, CEO of the Ascension Trust, echoed the call to engage with young people where they are. Drawing from his experience as a street pastor in Croydon, he described how late-night interactions with teenagers revealed their need for connection and understanding.
“But Street Pastors isn’t the only way to do it. We just need to ask ourselves: where are the spaces that these people are in? And then be intentional about going to those places,” Pal stated.
He emphasized the importance of understanding young people’s perspectives and engaging with them on challenging issues, saying, “Young people feel that they need to be seen and heard.”
Andy Flannagan, director of Christians in Politics, highlighted the significance of building relationships over online confrontations. He noted, “It’s very hard to challenge something online because people double down and get very defensive. Public shaming is not a good strategy, but it’s amazing how many successes we get when we lift the phone and call somebody.”
This article was originally written by www.christiantoday.com
