What Pastors and Leaders Need to Know
by the Rev. Mike Mather, pastor of Broadway Christian Parish United Methodist Church, South Bend, Indiana

Celebrate, Celebrate, Celebrate! God's goodness and abundance are all around us. It is especially important for the work of evangelization to celebrate things that the world doesn't and wouldn't notice. For example, in our inner-city neighborhood, the young people of our parish collected broken glass swept up from the streets around our building and used that glass to create a mosaic that celebrates God's life in the midst of our low-income community. The mosaic included the words, "You are the light of the world." Where the world sees poverty, it is the church's call to cry "abundance!" Where the world sees trash, it is the church's call to cry "treasure!" We must be clear about our message and show the world the glory and majesty of God by turning our world upside down.

In our evangelization, we should remember the story of Peter and John in Acts 3. As they were going to the temple, they passed by a man at the gate who had been lame from birth. The man was asking for alms, but Peter's response to him was: "I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk" (Acts 3:6-7, NRSV). Too often, the church's witness is to give alms and keep on going rather than to make a true witness by offering all that we have. What would the world see if instead of offering alms, we truly offered all that we have? The church's evangelization is to give the gifts that we have to offer . . . the ones that are uniquely ours. We can pray and encourage folks no one else even notices or those whom the world has discounted.

Jesus' life, death, and Resurrection are constant reminders to us to witness by sitting down at the table together with those the world considers sinners and outcasts. If we aren't doing that, how can we say that we are loving others as Jesus has loved us?

The challenge of evangelization is to see the world through the eyes of God. And having seen the world in that light, our challenge is to help others see the world through the eyes of God. As Paul says, "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation" (2 Cor. 6:17, NRSV).

Too often, we mainstream Protestant churches have abandoned the places where we have the greatest opportunity to witness to the glory, majesty, and abundance of God.

When we are confronted by someone whom the world counts as needy with nothing to offer, it is our call to evangelize by recognizing the person in front of us as a beloved child of God with something to offer for the building up of the community. We need to become adept at offering people a chance to come to "the blessing side of the table" — that is to say, the giving side. We are challenged to do this in every aspect of our life, in worship, in work, in our house, and in the street.

Posted 4-30-02