Motivating the Church for Evangelism
Harney states his mission succinctly: To reach the lost and to teach the found how to reach the lost. He’s noticed, however, that sometimes the “found” can be resistant to outreach efforts if they disrupt the comfort of the church. In his book Organic Outreach for Churches, he writes:
Every so often someone would come to me and say, “Pastor, I am all for this reaching out stuff, but be sure you don’t forget us!” They still had this strange idea that if the church was reaching out to the community and focused on loving lost people, they might not get all of their needs met.
This led to some fascinating conversations about what believers have and what lost people do not have.
When people would come to me and complain about our outreach efforts, about the financial costs or the changes we were making at the church, I would ask them, “As followers of Jesus, what do we have that can never be taken away?” Sometimes the person would stare at me with a confused look. So I would clarify what I was asking until they understood. They would often begin to list elements of their heavenly inheritance.
“We have heaven as our home.”
“We have the family of God, the church.”
“We have the love and grace of Jesus, the fruits of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, cleansing from our sins. …”
Once they got rolling, they would end up with a great list of the heavenly storehouse of blessings followers of Jesus have. After a time of conversing about all of that, I would ask them another question, “What do lost people have that will last forever?”
This would lead to an entirely different conversation. Very quickly most of these people would end up saying, “Nothing.” Or they would say “Eternal separation from God.” Most of the time, this would become a sacred and sober moment, sometimes accompanied by tears. We would talk about how people without Jesus, no matter what they might have in this world, really have nothing of eternal value.
From this point of biblical understanding we could begin to have a meaningful discussion about how the church should use its time, resources and influence to reach those who are spiritually poor.
Clear Theology and a Heart for Outreach
It is such “aha” moments that lead people to greater clarity in their theology, which galvanizes their evangelistic efforts. The reverse can be true, as well. Harney notes that in the 1970s, at the same time the social gospel grew in popularity, so did the ideas of pluralism and universalism. “People started asking, ‘Do people really need Jesus?’” he says.
One reason evangelism has disappeared from some churches’ outreaches, Harney believes, is that “there are churches and denominations and individuals who have wandered away from the theological core of the Bible and the gospel, and [they] don’t think people need Jesus to be saved.” For them, doing nice things and helping individuals and the community is enough.
But Harney points to four biblical concepts he finds are essential to a clear theology and a thriving evangelistic purpose: that God’s love is shown to us through Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross; people are eternally lost without Jesus; salvation is found in Jesus alone; and heaven and hell are real places where people will spend eternity.
“I have consistently found that the ‘mushier’ the theology, the less passionate the outreach,” he observes in Organic Outreach for Churches. “Yet the opposite is also true. The clearer the theology and the more directly it aligns with … God’s Word, the more likely that church is to be committed to evangelism and outreach.”
Leaders Hungry for Organic Outreach
Harney acknowledges that there are many churches that engage in socially merciful acts but “forget to talk about Jesus.” At the same time, he says, “I am flooded with high-level leaders coming to me and saying, ‘We don’t want to be that way anymore. We want people to meet Jesus, and if you teach us how to do this, we’ll teach it and pass it on.’”
The Shoreline pastor sees the desire for a higher evangelistic temperature across denominations, countries and organizations. Alongside the annual Organic Outreach Conference, Harney leads a small group of leaders through an intensive course, which he follows up with personal one-on-one coaching for the following year. Last year, Harney hosted 40 leaders in this intensive, including a team of pastors from New Zealand, an Anglican bishop, a denominational leader who influences over 1,500 churches, the head of a major evangelistic training center and lead pastors from a broad range of church traditions. This year, involvement has continued to build.
“Leaders are coming out of the woodwork,” he says. “When leaders hear that there are great, tangible ways to mobilize their churches to bring the gospel, they are longing for that.”
“Leaders are saying, ‘I don’t want another program; I want something enduring and not just a three-week outreach emphasis. I want a philosophy and a heartbeat that reflects the heart of Jesus,’” says Harney. “That’s what people are hungry for.”
Kevin Harney, an Outreach magazine online contributing editor, serves as lead pastor of Shoreline Community Church in Monterey, California. He speaks internationally on outreach, leadership, small groups and other topics. He is the author of several books including Reckless Faith and Organic Outreach for Ordinary People. For more information: KevingHarney.com »
