Outreach vs. Evangelism: How to Tell the Difference

Outreach

Unlike evangel, the term outreach is not found in the Bible, though the idea certainly is. Outreach implies action more than message. Perhaps it is best defined as a business term: an act of reaching out, bringing an organization’s services or products out into the community. When a church engages in outreach, it is reaching out to the community in order to meet needs or to let people know of its existence.

The Salvation Army is an excellent example. When tragedy strikes, especially in the case of natural disasters, the Salvation Army is often on the scene, providing food, clothing and other necessities. My local church has some excellent and exciting outreach programs.

For example, every year our town has a festival in a park down on the shores of Lake Ontario and our church brings in a climbing wall and allows all the children to scale the wall for no cost. This is an act of love by the church and allows people to make a connection with the church a connection we hope will eventually draw them into our fellowship.

We see this as a selfless act and an act of grace as we give people something for nothing. So often people are shocked that we would do this, for we usually represent the only activity in the entire festival that costs nothing. And so we reach out to people to give them an opportunity to see Christians in action and to learn about our church.

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This is outreach. Unbelievers are given a glimpse of the love of Christ through believers. Believers take their love for the lost into the community and allow them to see changed hearts in action. There is usually nothing offensive about outreach, and it is often regarded as noble, even by those who are opposed to Christ.

The Great Commission

Jesus final words to his disciples, the foundation upon which his church would be built, were “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

This Great Commission was given by our Lord to direct the actions of his church from the moment of its birth until he comes again to bring it to Himself. Jesus words imply not outreach, but evangelism. We are to go to all nations and share this awe-inspiring message with people of every nation, race and creed. We are to share the full truth of the gospel. Needless to say, we can only share such news with our words. Our actions are important and should not be underemphasized, but people are not saved by actions they are saved by this message which holds the power to convict men’s hearts.

According to 1 Corinthians 1:21, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. This speaks both of the method, which is preaching, and the message, which is the Gospel. When we share the Gospel, then, we share a message that is offensive to the natural human mind. No human likes to be told that he has offended God and stands before him as a condemned man. No human, in and of himself, would humble himself before this God and seek repentance. It is only through the power of God through the message of the Gospel that people can be saved, for God has ordained that he will work through this message to save his people. God uses this seemingly foolish and offensive message to reach peoples hearts and turn them to him.

When we evangelize, we share this message in all its offense, for in the offense of the Gospel there is power! When we remove the offense, we remove the power.