Are the days of public evangelism past? How shall we reach the cities?

In the city of Rotterdam, one of the world's great shipping centers, is a fascinating harbor statue, erected during the Second World War. It consists of two pieces of twisted steel shaped into the form of a man. His arms are outstretched, lifted toward the sky. But as you look at the twisted metal, it becomes obvious that his heart has been blown away. This symbol of the bombing of Rotterdam during World War II communicates a powerful message. It is the message of the "city," running with arms outstretched toward the sky, yelling to the airplanes with their cargo of death, "Please stop! Our city is dying!"

Rotterdam—a dying city with its heart blown away!

The Plight of Cities

The world's cities are dying. With hands outstretched to the heavens, the cities are crying out, "Won't somebody please help us! Our hearts are blown away!" Deterioration, drugs, disaster, divorce, and death roam today's cities. Still their population is growing faster than ever before.

In Jesus' time approximately 3% of the world's population lived in cities. By the year 2000 it is estimated that over 80% of the world's population will live in cities. In today's world there are more than 400 megacities with populations of at least one million people. At least 3,500 cities have populations of 100,000 or more.

With all their problems, one thing is certain: there are people in the cities. Millions of them! To ignore the cities is to ignore the masses of humanity. We don't have to hunt for people in cities. They are there, waiting for us.

Jesus and Cities

Jesus the Master Evangelist focused His attention on the cities of Israel. His major mission field was Jerusalem, the most significant city in Palestine. Capernaum, Tiberius, and the cities of Decapolis were also special objects of His attention. The Master invites us to follow Him, promising that as we do He will make us "fishers of men" (Matt 4:19).

The ministry of Jesus reveals five dynamic principles of city evangelism. These principles provide direction for the future of Adventist evangelism in the 90s.

1A PASSION FOR THE LOST

Jesus' all-consuming passion was His mission to save lost human beings. His life was fueled by an overwhelming passion to win the lost. He understood the reason for His existence, and He would not be deterred from His purpose. His one single objective was: "The son of man is come to seek and save the lost" (Luke 19:10).

In Luke 15 He is the shepherd who untiringly seeks the one lost sheep; the sorrowful woman who relentlessly seeks her cherished coin until she finds it; the joyful father who with loving arms gladly welcomes His boy home. He seeks, He sorrows, He searches the earth until He secures and saves (see also Luke 4:43).

Jesus' passion was soulwinning. All of His priorities focused around the one central object of saving the lost. If our passion ever becomes building beautiful buildings rather than winning souls; if our passion ever becomes church elections, church politics, church business rather than winning souls; if our passion ever becomes ministerial salaries; theology for theology's sake; or if the church gets caught up in talking to itself over doctrinal non-essentials—we have missed the fundamental purpose for our existence.

The Early Church's Passion

Historian Will Durant, in describing the rapid growth of Christianity in the early centuries, insightfully observed, "Nearly every convert, with the ardor of a revolutionary, made himself an office of propaganda."

The early Christians had a tremendous concern for the lost. They really cared. Something of that intensity is shown in the early pages of Acts. The Jewish authorities tell the apostles to keep quiet, but they refuse. They are thrown in prison. God miraculously delivers them. Soon they are back at evangelism again.

In the streets, in houses, before kings and governors, even when Paul is brought before Nero himself, it is just the same—they cannot keep quiet. They urge others to that relationship with the living Christ which has changed their lives. Their all-consuming passion, their single objective, the central purpose of their lives, is soul winning. Nothing less will penetrate secular cities today.

Agony for Souls

Hudson Taylor, that great missionary to China, was once attending church in Brighton, England. He was so burdened with a passion for souls that he found the self-satisfied congregation intolerable. He wrote, "There sat pew upon pew of prosperous bearded merchants, shop keepers, beautifully dressed ladies in bonnets with their finely dressed children."

Their smug piety shocked Taylor, who couldn't stand the service any longer. He seized his hat and walked out. "Unable to stand the sight of that congregation of 1,000 or more rejoicing in their own sincerity while millions were perishing for a lack of knowledge, I wandered out on the sands alone in great spiritual agony."

The cities will never be reached unless the "burden of Christ's heart consumes our heart."

John Henry Jowett stated, "The gospel of a broken heart demands the ministry of bleeding hearts. As soon as we cease to bleed we cease to bless. ... We can never heal the needs we do not feel. Tearless hearts can never be the heralds of passion."

May our hearts bleed over the lostness of our cities!

2A PEOPLE-CENTERED MINISTRY

The second principle we observe in Jesus' ministry is His love for people. Jesus focused on people. He was concerned about their needs, listened to their longings, and identified with their heartaches. Jesus asked two men who followed Him, "What are you seeking?" (Jn 1:38). It seems to me Jesus regularly asked that question. Sir, what are you seeking? What is way down inside? What are your unspoken requests? What is missing in your life? Where are you hurting? What are your inmost needs?

Programs or People?

For Jesus, people are more important than programs. The church is often great at running programs, but wins few people. Programs are instruments of service. They enable us to minister to human needs, answer questions, impart information, and contact people. But if all of our time and energy goes into advertising, organizing, preparing for and conducting programs, leaving little time to minister to the people who have come to these programs, all of our activities will be counter-productive. They will inhibit our mission rather than accomplish it.

Two Attitudes

Jesus focused on people, with two basic attitudes toward them.

Jesus saw people as winnable. He believed they had fundamental, basic needs that only He could fill. He saw Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus, the thief on the cross, the demoniacs, the Roman centurion as winnable; Jesus even saw cities as winnable!

How many people are in your city—a million? How many of them are winnable? How many of them right now might possibly be interested in our message? Fifty percent? Twenty-five percent? Ten percent? No. Probably only two or three percent. But what is three percent of one million? Why, it's thirty thousand!

Too often our problem is that we see only those who are not interested, and we overlook the multitudes who would respond if approached in the right way.

Jesus saw the unlimited potential in each individual. He saw Peter, a loud-mouthed, smelly fisherman, as the mighty Spirit-filled preacher of Pentecost. He saw Matthew, an exacting, penny-pinching tax collector, as a faithful, accurate chronicler of the gospel, meticulously recording His sermons. He saw John not as an impetuous, uncontrolled zealot wanting first place in the kingdom, but as a young man with boundless, exhaustless energy, a large heart, and incredible devotion.

Jesus saw in every human being what that person might become, refined and ennobled by His grace. Jesus focused upon neither programs nor numbers, but upon people. One of the greatest dangers to genuine, people-centered evangelism is a proliferation of programs that may actually deter us from emphasis upon people and their needs. Another danger is an emphasis on statistics that can actually divert us from a people-centered mission.

Bridge Building

The purpose of our programs is to build bridges to people. Those lines penned years ago by Evangelist Sam Shoemaker are to the point.

"So I stand by the door. You can go in too deeply and stay in too long, and forget the people outside the door. As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place, near enough to God to hear Him and know He is there, but not so far from men, as not to hear them, and remember they are there too. Where? Outside the door. Thousands of them, millions of them. But more important for me, one of them, two of them, ten of them, whose hands I intend to put upon the latch.

"So I shall stand by the door and wait for those who seek it. 'I would rather be a door-keeper...' So I stand by the door."

Cities are more than concrete and steel, more than brick and mortar, more than glittering lights and neon signs, more than traffic noise and crowded streets. Cities are people, people looking for the door. Cities will not be won by a church focusing on programs to the exclusion of people. They will be won by a church focusing on ministries to reach people.

3A WHOLISTIC MINISTRY

Jesus' ministry was wholistic. He cared about the whole person—physical, mental, and spiritual. Jesus' healing the demoniac demonstrates His philosophy of ministry. Notice the results: "Then they went out to see what was done and came to Jesus, and found the man out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus clothed and in His right mind" (Luke 8:35). Here is wholeness—physical, mental, and spiritual healing. The demons are cast out (spiritual healing), the man is in his right mind (mental healing) and clothed (physiologically whole).

Ellen White put it well: "Christ's method alone will bring true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, 'Follow me'" (The Ministry of Healing, p. 143).

Notice these five steps. Compelled with a loving devotion to lost humanity, Jesus

Mingled with men as one who desired their good (a people focus).

Showed sympathy for them (concerned about them as people).

Ministered to their needs (met felt needs).

Won their confidence (established friendships).

Then bade them, "Follow Me" (invited them to discipleship).

No Failure

Jesus' methods never fail. As a church becomes a redemptive center of love, reaching out to the community through a variety of ministries, it can reach hundreds for the Master. I am convinced that the principle of multi-faceted, diversified, wholistic ministry, lovingly meeting the needs of others, is God's method of breaking down prejudice, establishing friendships and ultimately winning people to Jesus Christ.

For six years in the city of Chicago, from 1979 to 1985, we conducted multi-faceted, varied wholistic outreaches, including stop-smoking plans, cooking schools, stress control and total health programs, Daniel Seminars and Revelation Seminars, and home fellowship groups. Almost 20,000 people attended, with 800-1000 baptized and three new churches raised up.

In 1986 we worked for five months in Munich, Germany. Our church membership there had dropped from 900 to 700 in ten years, a loss of almost 20%. But in one and a half years of ongoing systematic multifaceted evangelism, reaching out wholistically to the community, over 75 were baptized.

In Hungary the secular press compared our work to that of Billy Graham, but noted a difference. "The Seventh-day Adventists are interested in the whole person. They really care about the physical and mental needs as well as the spiritual needs." Throughout the socialist countries thousands have responded to this approach.

If the church is going to make an impact upon secular society, it must lovingly meet the needs of men and women within that fractured society. In America the divorce rate is soaring. Stress-related disorders take the lives of thousands. Anxiety is high. Tension is running rampant. Heart disease, cancer and diabetes are national epidemics, alcohol and drug abuse commonplace. Depression, discouragement, and despair have a stranglehold upon this generation. There is lack of fulfillment, lack of a sense of purpose and meaning in life.

Common Concerns

As society becomes increasingly secular it becomes more difficult to draw crowds with distinctly religious approaches. Many are more concerned about the torment and agony they experience in their homes than they are with the hereafter. They are so concerned about their marriages, how to cope after divorce, their grief over the death of a lover, the potential of triple bypass heart surgery, the fear of cancer, lack of fulfillment on the job, a sudden heart attack, and how to reduce stress and how to live a happy, productive life here, that they think very little about the hereafter.

I have a dream—that every Adventist member discover his or her spiritual gifts, receive training for service, and participate in some ministry to win souls for Jesus Christ. I have a dream that every Seventh-day Adventist church become a caring center of redemptive love, driven by a passionate, all-consuming desire to win lost men and women for Jesus Christ, reaching out wholistically, touching lives, sharing burdens, meeting needs, helping, assisting, caring, sharing, all for Jesus' sake.

Some say, "We have had a stop-smoking plan, many stop-smoking plans. Nothing happened! The health programs are just good P. R., and that's all." But I am talking about a philosophy of church, an ongoing, systematic approach to community in which week after week, year after year, local congregations reach out in loving ministry to their communities. Love wins. Love softens hearts—even secular hearts!

4A SHARED MINISTRY

Jesus gave His ministry away, multiplying His effectiveness by training His disciples. Remarkable as it might seem, Jesus' method of evangelism was to enlist men and women who could bear witness to His life and carry on His work after He returned to the Father. The church is the body of Christ, composed of members with varying spiritual gifts. By discovering those gifts, understanding how to use them, and dedicating them to service, they can reach the world for Christ. The church is God's people equipped to serve, meeting needs in Jesus' name.

Jesus believed that ministry was the role of every Christian. Soulwinning is not the work of a chosen few; evangelism is not the work of a few specialists. Ellen White stated it beautifully: "The church is God's appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world" (The Acts of the Apostles, p. 9).

God's Plan

Here is God's plan for His church: "The monotony of our service for God needs to be broken up. Every church member should be engaged in some line of service for the Master. ... Every church should be a training school for Christian service" (The Ministry of Healing, p. 149).

God views the church as a mini-seminary, with each member a minister with Spirit-imparted gifts. Secular cities cannot possibly be reached by one or two specialists in major public halls. But they can be reached by a unified, concentrated effort of pastors and hundreds of lay people co-operating together.

In the mid-1960s the Latin American Mission organization studied the fastest growing movements in select countries throughout South America. Three movements were growing rapidly at that time. They were the communists, the Pentecostals, and the Jehovah's Witnesses. Analysis of these three groups revealed quite different ideologies, but there was one striking similarity. The report stated, "The growth of any movement is in direct proportion to its ability to mobilize its entire membership for continuous evangelistic action."

There is something for everyone to do. The entire church is called to service. All are gifted by God to participate in the work of redemption.

Unity Essential

The secular cities can only be won as all the forces of the church unite. For a task this big, we are all needed. Reaching all humanity takes all of us. Here is a mission on which we must unite. It will require us all: young and old, men and women, black, white, Asian, Hispanic, educated, uneducated, doctors, lawyers, nurses, mechanics, artists, musicians, teachers, preachers, literature evangelists—all of us.

It is no secret that there are forces attempting to tear this church apart. But here is a task which can unite us, a mission which can capture the imagination of our brightest minds.

But there are many issues in Scripture or in theology on which we do not have such broad agreement. To press these upon one another, and to make them test matters, will keep us from uniting in the work that God has for us now.

It is highest treason against God to debate among ourselves when the world is lost, to kick theological footballs back and forth between opposing sides to the cheers of the grandstand, while mankind is lost. Considering the dire conditions of the world, the time we live in earth's history, the millions of lost humanity, how can we possibly argue among ourselves and leave the world to die?

5SUPERNATURAL POWER

The greatest need of the church today is for an outpouring of the Spirit's power, enabling us to reach lost men and women. Jesus drew on this power. "Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works" (Jn 14:10). Here is Jesus' secret. The Father's power was abundantly poured out through Him. He did not depend upon human wisdom, trust human genius, nor rely on human power. Rather, the power of the living God flowed through Him.

Jesus continued, "Verily, verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father" (Jn 14:12).

How can this possibly be true? How can we do greater works than Jesus did? But He said we would! And He gives the reason why: "And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever" (Jn 14:16).

Jesus will pour out His Spirit upon His earthly church. Hindrances to the advancement of the gospel will be removed. Obstacles will be swept away. Habakkuk predicted, "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Hab 2:14). Zechariah admonishes us, "Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain" (Zech 10:1).

Belief in the Rain

In the drought-stricken region of the Sahel, Africa, a vast 4,000 mile stretch of desert, it rains only during four months of the year, from May to August. These months of planting and harvesting are a critical time. Food supplies from the previous harvest have run out. April is the month you hear the babies crying in the twilight. Parents go to the back country where they can scrape the bark from the trees, dig up roots and collect leaves, grinding it all together to make a thick soup. They may pawn a chair, a cooking pot or bicycle tire in order to buy a little more grain from those wealthy enough to have some remaining. Most days offer only an evening meal of gruel.

Then inevitably it happens: a six or seven-year-old comes running to his father with shouts of sudden excitement. "Daddy! Daddy! We have got grain! Mommy can make flour so our tummies can sleep."

The father stands motionless. "Son, we can't do that," he softly explains. "That's our seed grain, our only hope against starvation. We are waiting for the rains, and we must plant the seed."

The boy watches as his father takes the sack from the wall and does the most unreasonable thing imaginable. Instead of feeding his desperately weakened family, he goes to the field and casts the seed into the dirt! Why? Because he believes in the rains that are coming.

The act of sowing the seed is a statement of faith—the rain is coming!

Once again the rains will fall. The seed planted will sprout and germinate. When the days are long, when it appears there are few results from your labor, remember: the rain is coming!

When your Bible study contacts do not respond and attendance is low at your evangelistic meetings, when your results are meager, remember that the rains are coming! The Spirit will fall!

The only way we can reach the cities today is if the Latter Rain falls to germinate the seed and produce earth's final harvest. The bastions of hell will only be overcome by divine power; the desperate needs of the city can only be met by divine power; the forces of evil can only be conquered by divine power. Supernatural need necessitates supernatural power.

God's Promise

God has given us the promise! The Spirit's power is available! Without it we are helpless.

Is there a future for Adventist evangelism? Indeed there is! Hungering souls do respond to a ministry that focuses on the person, ministers to the whole person, and is shared by church members who love the lost sheep with the passion of Jesus. But even the best methods of evangelism will not be truly successful without the convicting, converting power of the Holy Spirit.