My son loves to remind me of an incident once at the end of a family holiday. We had been staying at my sister’s home. We were late packing up and she was due back any moment. I was vacuuming and the bag suddenly exploded.

In my frustration I shouted, ‘Kids come here now and pick up the dust!’

As we look at the thousands outside the church we are hardly reaching the numbers promised to Abraham. It’s like picking up dust or sand from the seashore. It is wonderful in theory and even to sing about, but when we look outside at the millions of unreached, especially those from backgrounds so different to our own — well, they’re so lost.

Where to start?

I sit on my church steps and see thousands pass. People on their way to the post office to pick up their disability cheques and pensions, the accused, solicitors and magistrates from the courts, refugees, shoppers, policemen — and, at night, thousands moving from bars to nightclubs. Of the thousands that come past, very few show interest. Of those few, many leave as soon as they find out what we believe.

Reaching the vast majority of people, especially the so-called ‘working class’, seems hopeless or at best seems to need some new or clever initiative.

So what is God’s answer? The Bible is clear. He has set up an organisation to be a light in this dark world. He tells us how each organisation is to be set up and led and how it is to conduct itself practically (1 Timothy 3). It is described as the ‘pillar and ground of truth’ in a world of lies.

The organisation God has given for reaching the world is the church of the living God. Yes, that group you gather with on Sundays. He has gathered just the right people for the job. Hand picked by God before the foundation of the world to meet the exact needs of your locality right now.

When Paul wanted to reach the nations, he planted churches with all kinds of people from different backgrounds in them. Their weakness is their strength. I’m not to look for more than the people God the Father chose, Jesus redeemed and the Spirit lives in. The God who knows everything says this is the way.

My God is their God, his people are my people. By criticising our church and others we are destroying God’s method.

We are not allowed to say anything bad about conventions or Christian organisations, as helpful as they may be, but I have lost count of the times in these events when cheap shots are taken against Christ’s churches. This is just the devil’s way of disheartening us from doing the good works God has called us to do and only sows disunity. Someone said in an advert recently for a Christian event: ‘Church doesn’t scratch where I itch’. He needs to check out his rash and stop scratching!

There needs to be a radical shift away from thinking that we need gimmicks and organisations, while by reaching one group we exclude everyone else — a concept God hates. He wants all kinds of people to reflect the gospel.

People are dead in trespasses and sins. At best we are shaking corpses and at worst we are simply appeasing our desire to ‘do evangelism’. Only God raises the dead and he has set up one organisation for doing it — your church.

Motive

Our God is so great everyone should praise him. The whole Bible teaches this. Paul in Romans 15.4-13 quotes the law (Deuteronomy 32.43) the prophets (2 Samuel 22.50 and Isaiah 11.1&10) and the Psalms (Psalm 117.1) so that everyone might know that the whole Bible says God should be praised throughout the nations.

We need to remind ourselves that God is great. This is the motive that drives evangelism. We don’t just do evangelism. When we worship and praise God, evangelism is the inevitable consequence. The greatest way of praising God is telling someone who does not know him how great he is.

Paul sets the agenda. Let all the nations praise him. He is worth stopping someone in the street and telling how great he really is. He is worth knocking on a door for — or whatever it takes. He is worth looking a fool for.

Unity

Have a Christ-centred church, a church where people encourage each other and hate division, a church where people see that coming as a sinner to Jesus is the only way to belong.

Before Paul gets to the great climax of quoting Scripture in Romans 15, he says unity is the way we get there. We must learn to accept one anther so that we might bring praise to God (Romans 15.7). We must contend as one man (Philippians 1.27). No obedient Christ-ian is an embarrassment to evangelism. Unity is because of Christ. He has broken down division. Don’t build it back up. How many Bible passages emphasise this truth? We must not have events which are elitist and emphasise differences.

The Bible has vast amounts on how we should be helping and not excluding those in financial need who are part of our churches. People coming in should not see those inside excluded or treated as second class because they are not from the same financial background.

Many Christian organisations patronise the poor and often send out letters and emails that would make a Pharisee blush saying how great their good works are (Matthew 6.1-4). If we are to help needy people in our churches, and we must, it must be done in secret. We mustn’t encourage the concept that we are better people because we are helping poorer people. The good works we show are being ‘poor in spirit’ — it doesn’t matter what your financial state is, you still have nothing. It is by being ‘meek’ and ‘hungry’ that we can be salt and light in this dark world.

Method

Preach the message as God proclaims it. Christians need to preach life, hope, removal of God’s wrath and the only place that is found is in Jesus. We must preach the Christ of the Bible, who went through God’s wrath and rose to heaven, the Christ who brings all kinds of men, women, boys and girls to God.

Make Christ and his word central to church life. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

So often when people see us gathering and ask what we are doing, Jesus is not in the answer. If someone came in, would they see we are the church of the living God or do they see dead religion? In the preaching, singing, communion, the way decisions are made, is the living Christ central and seen to be central?

We must reform and ever be reforming. Smash down the idols if you want to reach people, whatever those idols are.

How to get over prejudice

Stuart Olyott told me once of a man from Kenya who had only ever met people from his locality until he was 19. One day, without warning, he stumbled across a white man and he was so shocked it made him physically sick.

When we meet people from different social or racial backgrounds, how do we start?

Remember that every individual is made by Jesus for Jesus to look like Jesus. He says they are all worth more than the world. Each individual is fallen and in sin. There is no difference. The gospel offer is for them and they can become members of our church if they call on the name of the Lord. There is no difference (Romans 10.10-12).

Practical tips

There is little in the Bible on exact methods, but in our church we just tell people. In fact, we try and tell everyone we can.

Therefore, we do what we can. Our church hands out invitations outside the church in the day, and in the night when the clubs are open, knocks on doors offering Bible notes, and is planting a church in an area of Swansea where people wouldn’t normally hear the gospel. If you have a burden for God’s glory and a love for souls, you’ll find a way.

Be welcoming

Practice hospitality. Are dry biscuits a reflection of the hospitality God commands? Are we really showing people we are glad to see them?

Pray

Pray that we as churches would overflow (Romans 15.13).

God has been gracious and has saved all kinds of sinners in the last few years. He really can gather the most unlikely people. Every one of them amazes me. But it is not because of anything we do, it is all because of kindness we do not deserve. We simply try to obey him and cry out for grace.

I thank God for everyone he has saved in our church. I am overwhelmed that we are part of his great purpose. Every one of them has shown that God really has set the exact times and places of their life and he is not far from any of them (Acts 17). Reaching everyone is not so impossible.

We need to wake up and see what a glorious opportunity the living God has given us in our churches.

If you want to reach the so-called ‘working class’ or any other group, throw yourself into your church. Pray the prayers the Bible has given you to pray for it, give to it, serve in it. It is the pillar and ground of truth in a world of lies.

Steve Levy,
pastor, Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, Swansea