We need to be like farmers

Elim’s project lead for church growth seeks to navigate an age-old tension in church growth

Fifty years ago, one of the most significant Christian meetings in recent history was held in Lausanne, Switzerland, writes Mark Ryan.

Some 2,700 leaders from 150 countries gathered to plan the mission of taking the gospel to everyone on earth. The Lausanne Covenant was birthed, which challenged Christians of all persuasions to make Jesus known throughout the whole world.

The two leaders of this movement were Billy Graham and John Stott. When Billy Graham conducted a mission in Cambridge he and Stott became lifelong friends, and they longed for all people on Earth to have the opportunity to hear the gospel – and see the gospel demonstrated to them through the local church.

This September thousands gathered in Seoul, Korea, for the Lausanne Congress to further the work started by these two pioneers who have since passed into glory.

In the original conference there emerged a tension between the two men that still exists in most local churches today. John Stott wanted to make sure the original covenant included that the church should demonstrate the love of God and gain credibility to its message through social action and good works. He argued that we must be the hands and feet of Jesus to our communities and demonstrate loving actions. Billy Graham was concerned that churches would find great kudos in serving but become silent at actually proclaiming the good news. He wanted to make sure that preaching of the gospel was not lost.

Today, we find the church at the centre of helping and blessing their communities, and quite rightly the accusation that Christians are all religious talk and no action is falling away. We gather lots of goodwill for the amazing community work we do, but when we proclaim the gospel we are not so applauded. As Billy Graham warned, it often takes extra effort for us to maintain a clear voice for the gospel.

The truth is that we need both proclamation and demonstration when it comes to amplifying our message. When these are backed up by the Holy Spirit’s empowering, then we will have a credible witness in the community.

We need actions that show we love the lost. Jesus tells a parable that shakes us to the core when he says that he doesn’t know the ones who failed to feed the hungry or give water to the thirsty or clothe those who were naked, (see Matthew 25). At the same time, however, Paul asks in Romans 10:14 how people can hear the gospel without someone preaching to them? Clearly, we need both. But we do need to heed the warning of Billy Graham. Our natural tendency is to shy away from proclamation because we get more push back from it – we don’t get recognition from the community when we share a clear gospel message. It is more comfortable to be admired for the works we do, but how will people be saved unless they hear the gospel?

We cannot preach in a vacuum without taking people on a journey and introducing them to Jesus. And we cannot proclaim without wrapping our message up in practical care. We must be wise – but we must also plan to systematically proclaim the gospel to everyone in our communities.

So what is the answer? We need to become like farmers, who plan for seasons of sowing so that our proclamation can be heard. Let’s engage in seasons of demonstration, but always with a clear signpost to Christ. Then be intentional in moving towards a clear season of preaching what our message is.

Could you plan what your next season of activity will be, and the season after that? As you plan your seasons that include clear messages along the way you will resolve the tension between demonstrating social action, and simply sharing words.

What will be the next season in your life?

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

Enjoy this article? Don't forget to share