Regional Snapshot

Latin America and Caribbean:
Dispatches from the Trenches

ORLANDO, Florida—This year for our Snapshot of Latin America and the Caribbean, I decided to share with the entire family a behind-the-scenes look at one of the key issues on our hearts as we struggle to become missionary congregations.

Over the past two years or so a number of our pastors have either called or written describing some of their frustrations as they invest more and more time in evangelistic efforts. I will share with you the essence of our burden by summarizing what goes on in our correspondence. We hope you will join us in praying that God will help us become the missionary congregations we deeply desire to be.

Memo that captures the key points that so many have expressed:

We had an inspiring service and activity. Unfortunately, no one new came to the evangelistic service we had so extensively advertised. We plan to examine our methods—is the problem with the methods themselves? Are the ones we are using effective? Or, is it us? Do we need to become better at implementing our existing methods? 

• We have mailed out invitations advertising the topics we will cover.

• We even hand-delivered invitations to houses in the area surrounding our church.

• We’ve also handed out copies of Odyssey to people we met as we handed out the invitations.

• Before this, for another activity, we even ran radio ads on a radio station with good coverage.

• We have been praying for God to bring people.

• We have prepared ourselves to receive new people.

• would appreciate any comments or suggestions you may have.

Reply:

First, let me congratulate you and the congregation for your devotion to Christ and your passion for fulfilling the mission he has given us.

I am truly impressed by all that the Holy Spirit is doing through you in helping to equip and motivate the members. It is inspiring to see how willing the members are to be equipped and to go forth. 

I also am moved by the fact that no one showed up. This is happening in a lot of our congregations, and many feel frustrated.

When we lived in south Florida, my wife, Carmen, and I were actively involved with the congregation’s passion to reach out to the surrounding community. Over a three-year period, we handed out leaflets; knocked on doors and offered to pray for people; invited the community to the church for a fun day with activities, music and food; invited family, friends and co-workers to church; and, together with two other churches on the same street, conducted an open-air crusade.

Over that three-year period we were frustrated because no one joined our church. 

I still do not have all the answers, but would like to share a few suggestions for your consideration. Like you, we also evaluated our methods. It is essential that we do that, but the more I have thought about it, the more I believe we need to look deeper than just at our methods. I think we need to go back to our theology. Specifically, what is the church? Why are we called to live and share the gospel? Even deeper, what is the gospel?

Maybe this can help us see in a new light what our mission is.

Jesus is God’s gift to the human family. Jesus—God who became fully human, without losing any of his divinity—gives him-self to and for the world. 

And he is given by the Father for the world. In my imagination I see the Father’s hand extending Christ-on-the-Cross as his gift to our world.

When that same Je-sus is lifted up, people are drawn to him. That drawing is a supernatural thing. God personally draws them to himself. 

We, the church, are simply called to proclaim the reality of Jesus—this God-man—who came to give himself for us because he loves us. But our proclamation is not just in our words. It must be in our lives and our hearts. For us to effectively live and share the gospel, we need to share Jesus’ passion for lost souls, not just see them as potential members of our church. 

The church is Jesus’ way of incarnating himself in our day and age. He lives in and through us. We are to be the community where the self-giving love of God is revealed and lived out. In my imagination I see us, the church, on the cross, with the Father’s hand extending us-on-the-cross to the world.

Maybe what God is telling us is that in addition to that vital work of learning evangelistic methods, we need to deepen our ties with him so that the posture of our soul is more in keeping with his. 

His has always been a posture of caring for us regardless of our response:

• He clothed Adam and Eve even when they had sinned and were hiding from him.

• He put a protective mark on Cain, limiting his punishment, when he had killed his brother and deserved death.

• He never gave up on Israel in spite of generations of rebellion.

• He came to his own, knowing they would not accept him.

• He still, today, stands at the door (of the world, of each individual’s heart) knocking.

When we adopt this posture, we focus less on methods (though we do continue to learn new methods and to evaluate our efforts) and move more into a life-style of protecting, clothing, never giving up on, coming to people, figuratively standing at the door of our neighbor’s heart. This is just how we live. And out of that living we share what makes us who we are.

Maybe the way forward is to move beyond seeing our outreach and evangelistic methods as investments that bring a certain return, such as new members to disciple. Rather, our evangelistic activities are merely coordinated expressions of how we feel about people all the time. 

How do we adopt this posture of the soul?

The short answer is by spending time with God. 

When we do that it shows. Paul used various word pictures to capture this. He told the Corinthians that by spending time with God we take on the “fragrance of Christ” (2 Cor. 2: 14-16). Others “smell” Jesus on us.

He told Titus that as we get to be walking, talking advertisements for Jesus, we “will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way” (Titus 2:10).

I have found that my ministry has been transformed since I began to focus on letting the God-who-sends-me-forth reveal himself through me.

I focus less on methods (Is my sermon well-prepared? Do I have a well-thought-out agenda for this meeting? Will I be able to answer their questions adequately?) and seek merely to let God’s presence in me make itself known. What a difference there is when we let the Creator minister (through us) to his beloved creation!

How do we spend time with God?

Along with the necessary personal devotions such as prayer and Bible study, I would recommend two things as being especially helpful in sharing the gospel.

Corporate worship. We need to make sure that our focus is on Jesus. He is our heaven-sent-window into the heart of God. His life, death and resurrection reveal the posture of God’s heart. 

We need to periodically evaluate our worship calendar and worship services in the light of what Paul said about his preaching, “Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified” (Gal. 3:1). Do our people have a clear understanding of Jesus Christ and what he stands for?  The life he lived and gave away? Does the calendar and service format you follow adequately portray this Jesus?

Frequently celebrate communion. Some refer to special services such as communion as sacred moments.

God communes in special ways with his people “whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 11: 26). 

Notice that word proclaim. Communion is a proclamation of what the heart of God is all about. Does God need to hear us proclaim that he is a God of love? No, but we do.

The practice of frequently reenacting Jesus’ crucifixion reminds our needy hearts of his love. And, as in all genuine worship, God shows up. In a way that is beyond words to express: “God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children” (Rom. 8:16, The Message).

As I close, I want to thank you for the multiple hours of training and equipping you have provided. That training is crucial, and we must continue to learn. I am also convinced that God is inviting us to walk even more intimately with him so that we can more effectively portray Jesus to others. I look forward to seeing what God will do in and among us all as we continue our commitment to live and share the gospel.

Copyright © Grace Communion International, 2005