THE SPIRITUAL AND SOCIAL
IMPLICATIONS OF
GRASSROOTS EVANGELISM
By Valerie Ross
According to Bishop James H. Gaylord, “Evangelism is the vehicle by which we meet the vast spiritual and social needs of those in the communities which we have been called to serve.” This concept has taken on a life of its own for the Kelly Temple Church of God in Christ, where Bishop Gaylord has served as Senior Pastor for the past 29 years, with the theme: Ministering to a Hurting World. This theme encompasses Bishop Gaylord’s holistic philosophy of ministry, such as providing services and constant support, while emphasizing the importance of personal development, balanced with a wholesome spiritual life.
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It is these principles, cou- pled with the power of prayer, that Bishop Gaylord believes to be the bedrock of soul-winning. And, the recent number of new converts and those receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost during weekly Tuesday night corporate prayer, serve as evidence of his philosophy. “Yes, to evangelize also
means to proclaim the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, the actual “doing” of evangelism extends beyond the standard practices we’ve employed in the past. Soul winners of the 21st Century venture to attach themselves to the seekers and become involved in the lives of those needing Christ and further seek to engage the social barriers that hinder souls from being born into the kingdom.” The key, Bishop Gaylord
believes, is understanding and successfully balancing the spiritual and social aspects of evangelism so that, in accordance with the example set by Jesus, we fulfill our responsibility of ministering to the whole individual. As Paul points out in Romans 1:14, we are debtors to every non-Christian because we have the good news that cannot only save their souls but deliver them from the circumstances which challenge their lives. At the genesis of His ministry, Jesus made clear His mission by use of the words of Isaiah in Luke 4:18-19: The famous declaration, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,” set clear His calling and places us, as His followers, under obligation to perpetuate the mission. Today we are faced with
extraordinary challenges that require us to operate at optimum levels with untiring motivation. This motivation must be based on more than sheer desire but rather, on sound biblical principles. Let us consider the motivational principles of Jesus, as the factors which motivated Him should also be the motivating force that drives us as His disciples. There are three elements which the Scripture
defines as motivators of Jesus and thus must be at the root of evangelism.
First and foremost, Jesus
had an undying Compassion for Lost Souls. He was moved with compassion when He saw the mass of lost souls (Matt. 9:35-36; 14:14, 15:32) and this compassion moti- vated Him to do two things: First, to ask His disciples to pray that God might “send out laborers into His harvest” (Matt. 9:37-38). Second, to do something about it Himself, which was to select and send out His apostles (Matt. 10:1, 5-7). How can we develop or strengthen this compassion for lost souls? The best way is to let God teach us to love. This lesson of love is exemplified by Christ in 1 Jn. 3:16-17. The infer- ence is that the more we connect with the realization of God’s love for us, as manifested in His Son’s sacrifice, the more our compassion will grow toward others. Secondly, we must
operate with a Sense of Purpose. This motivating force is seen in our Lord’s encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. While His motives were perhaps questioned by his disciples, Jesus made it clear that His mission was “To do the will of Him who sent
me...to accomplish His work” (Jn. 4:34). Of course He repeated this as His purpose on many other occasions and reiterated that His life’s mission was to both save a dying world (Jn 3:16), and to “seek and save the lost” (Lk. 19:10). The question for us today is, do we have this same “sense of purpose” in our lives to put first the Father’s will? Right Purpose is a product of the study and application of the scriptures to our lives. As a consequence of our understanding of God’s will for us and an appreciation for our position in Him as His chosen, we become more empowered to share the “good news” and sing the praises of Him who called us from darkness into light (1 Pet. 2:9-10).
Finally, the most essential
force that motivated our Lord was, The Love of the Father. Jesus had experienced “the love of the Father,” which prompted Him to love others (Jn 15:9). However, it did not stop there. This “love” was such that He in turn wanted to share it with others, with us (Jn 17:26), even if at His own peril. Therefore, insomuch as we have experienced “the love of the Father” in our lives, should we not be moved and moti- vated to share it with others? Jesus commanded that we are to love one another as He loved us (Jn 15:12). “If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us” (1 Jn 4:12).
Of course as a natural
outflow of evangelism, we must also be concerned with the training and equipping of those who come to Christ as a result of our evangelistic efforts. In conjunction with our standard “new members” orientation and training, we must be careful to nurture new converts in a way which ensures their development as disciples, so that at some point, they too are equipped to pick up the evangelism baton and run with it.
The underlying questions
for us today are: 1 - Are we operating under the power and anointing of the Holy Ghost?; and 2 - Are we fulfilling the commandments of Jesus Christ as it relates to Kingdom work and evangelism? Whether the unreached are in our communities or on the other side of the world; whether they speak our language or are of a different culture, tongue and tradition; these are the lost for whom Christ came to seek and to save. It’s time to be about our Fathers’ business!
Valerie Ross is a member of the historic Kelly Temple COGIC in Harlem, New York, pastored the Bishop James H. Gaylord, Jurisdictional Prelate, where she serves in the Music, Women’s and WPWW ministries.
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