I'm reading a book about the World Columbian Exposition, the world fair in Chicago in the 1890's, and it's been an interesting story. It started with me looking up the history of the Ferris Wheel, and it turned into me being really intrigued by the story of the Chicago world fair. We think about all the incredible technology and board walk rides we have now, but the WCE was really a class of its own time. Millions of people flocked to Chicago, a city recently rebuilt after a devastating wild fire. It's an amazing history. And it got me thinking.
So many things drew people to that world fair. It was new and exciting. It was something wild that they didn't have to get on a boat and go across the ocean to see. Here was something cool and magnificent on American soil. Sure, it had its set of problems -- deaths, robbers, even a murderer -- but there was something about the chaos and excitement that thrilled people enough to come in to see it from every walk of life.
I work in small-church ministry, so setting up a world fair isn't an option here (I think big, but I also think realistically big). But maybe if churches could learn a few lessons from the world fair, we might open our hearts and minds to discover new ways to draw people's attention.
Outreach and Evangelism are kind of like a bank account.
Okay, hear me out before you roll your eyes.
Think about your checking account. When you use your check card, you can either use it for a charge or a debit. The difference is minimal; the money is coming from the same account. The heart of outreach and evangelism is the same: it's opening people's eyes and heart's to Christ. The difference between outreach and evangelism is that the former brings people to an individual church while the latter brings people to the church universal. Small scale vs. big scale.
At the church where I'm currently serving, outreach and evangelism are the same committee. Ideally, this would not be the case, as each requires a different set of gifts. But the reality of small church work is that when you have a limited amount of people, you do the best you can with what you're given. We combine outreach and evangelism because even though they each require different gifts, they're each from the same account: it's how do we as a church welcome people to know Christ better? In outreach, we invite them to church, we invite them to social events, and we find new ways to advertise our church. In evangelism, we tell people our faith story by showing them how much God loves them.
And I'll say this even though I know some will disagree: Evangelism is NOT about growing your own church program. That's outreach. Growing your church program is a result of evagelism, not a cause. Evangelism is growing the church universal; that is, it's bringing people to Christ even if they don't find a home in your church. The hope is that they will find a church home somewhere with a church family that rises to the occassion to nurture their beliefs and help them grow in their walk with Christ. Ideally, your church is the one that does that, but it's not always the case.
So that's the difference: Outreach, small scale. Evangelism, global scale.
As a new pastor, my main concern is outreach, not evangelism. I'm looking for new and exciting ways to reach out to the community to let them know that this church is still here and waiting to serve them. I recently read a report from a previous pastor that people think this church where I'm serving is a "well-kept secret in the community." Someone recently shared with me that they didn't know our church was even still open for worship services. The task of outreach is to change that perception so that people know we're here and we're inviting them to share in the glory of God with us in worship, Sunday school, and other social activities. There are so many ways to reach out people that we would never have time to put all of them into practice. So let's start small. What can we change today, or this week, or this month that will encourage people to step through our doors and visit this church? We're not setting up a world fair, but we're setting up a church family that has a face in the community so people know this is a place that will welcome them and encourage them when they come here.
Reach out to people. Let them know they are welcome as they are. I hate the saying, "Welcome the stranger." In the church, there are no strangers, only brothers and sisters in Christ.
Wishing you peace,
Pastor Becki
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