Evangelism: Mission or Education?

I've been doing some work on the church budgets recently. While forming one of the budgets I decided a good first step would be to categorize the different areas of the church's ministry. I figured this would give us a clearer understanding of where we were spending out money. I came up with five categories: 1) Worship, 2) Program, 3) Mission, 4) Operating, and 5) Other. The reason for "other" is because we are United Methodist, which means we have to place "apportionment" somewhere.



With my categories formed, I began sifting through the different line items and expenses putting everything in what I believed to be their rightful place. Utilities...that goes in operating. Children Ministry...that goes in program. And, so it continued for a while until I got to "evangelism." I paused for a moment. I was confused. I could not figure out which category "evangelism" should fall under! So, I've begun to think a little on evangelism.

While I do have some sarcastic thoughts as to "why" we evangelize, I currently have two competing views:

1) Evangelism should go in the "Mission" category- We evangelize because we want to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others so that might come to inherit salvation. It is a selfless act that we perform to serve God by serving others.

2) Evangelism should go in the "Program" category- Evangelism is a service to others, but at the core of evangelism is the spreading of message. In other words, evangelism is educational. The aim is to promote/share a message that we believe to be the truth. It is, therefore, educational and should be categorized "program."

Okay, the real issue is not where the money should come from to support evangelism. The real issue is misunderstanding why we evangelize. Are we serving others? Are we promoting our belief by educating others? Is it the both or something else?

Where does "evangelism" belong?

Done and, umm, Done!

Completing a sermon with time to spare gives me such a great sense of satisfaction. It is Thursday, not even 5PM, and I'm like, "What's up, sermon? I just owned you! I wrote you in...hmmm...like 2 hours." Of course, the real satisfaction comes from the realization that I have not done much of anything except allow the HS to do its thing. When the words do come to you it is amazing because it feels like God is breathing on you.

This sermon is the last of a five week series. And, in a way, writing these sermons has been the same. I keep seeing God revealed a little more with each word I write on my notes.

For those of you who don't know I have been preaching a series on Matthew 4:1-11, "The Temptation of Jesus." We have been learning to apply Jesus' responses to our own lives. Here is the spoiler: "If you ever feel you have wandered into the wilderness Jesus urges you to respond in three ways. First, listen for God's Word in prayer and through scripture. Second, choose to remain faithful and ask God for strengthened faith not an outward sign of God's presence. Finally, continue to worship God alone and serve God always. The Good News is that there is another side to the wilderness where you will find God awaiting you."

You know what I mean?