Communication: Fuel to the Fires of Evangelism

by Jim Deason
via Biblical Insights, Vol. 14 No. 8, August 2014

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:16). It is called the Great Commission, and so it is. First given to the apostles, the work of Christians everywhere is to take the gospel to the lost. The church at Thessalonica is a good example for us: “For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and in Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth...” (I Thessalonians 1:8). Our challenge is to imitate them, but how do we do it? How do we take the gospel to the world? One way is through the financial support of men who preach.

Paul argued his right to receive wages when he wrote, “So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel” (I Corinthians 9:14). In fact, he received wages from other churches while in Corinth (II Corinthians 11:8). Further, the church at Philippi supported his work in Thessalonica (Philippians 4:15-16). Therefore, it is certainly scriptural for an evangelist to receive wages and for churches to send wages to those who preach.

Seeking Outside Support

In April of 1992, I wrote an article in Searching The Scriptures entitled “Seeking Outside Support.” Designed to help preachers with this process, I offered the following practical suggestions:

• Seek support from churches you know.
• Seek support from churches that know your field of labor.
• Do not overlook smaller churches that have no “full-time” preacher.
• Make face-to-face contact with these churches where possible.
• Avoid writing form letters to churches you don’t know.
• Once you have raised your support, make regular monthly reports to those churches.
• When possible, make yearly visits to report on your work.

Sending Outside Support

I followed that article the next month with another entitled, “Sending Outside Support.” This article was directed to churches that can support men in other places. I made the following five recommendations:

• Know the men you support.
• Know something of the work where they preach.
• Provide some security for the evangelist by making a time commitment to his support.
• Keep in regular contact.
• Please ensure the treasurer is on time with the support.

Good Communication

More than twenty years later, though I would likely add to both lists, I believe they still contain solid advice. Notice, however, the thread that runs through both lists: Good communication. It is imperative to raise, maintain, and provide support to ensure effective, thorough communication flows between a preacher and his supporting church(es). Effective communication is to a relationship what blood is to the body: it gives life. Without it, relationships do not work well, and many fail altogether.

An Idea or Two

How do we fuel the fires of evangelism, especially foreign evangelism, within a local church? Good, effective communication! In our VBS this year, we developed an “Interactive Evangelism” classroom. We brought all our kids through this room to inform and explain to them the work of evangelism. We used Skype to connect with Brian Allen in South Africa, John Gentry in Moldova, Dennis Allan in Brazil, and Joel Holt in Puerto Rico. These men did an outstanding job in telling our children about their work, and the kids responded with excitement.

Another thing we do is use each fifth Sunday night as “Evangelism Report” night. One of our young men compiles the reports we have received over the past quarter and presents them to the church on the work being done. We pray for the needs of these men and their work. Because of the positive response to our VBS use of Skype, we plan to use it to deliver live reports from men we support around the world (much better than letters, which few may read). Once more, the key is effective communication. In both instances, it takes the form of presenting to the church a clear vision of what we are doing to support preachers elsewhere, with the added benefit of helping these men keep in touch with us.