WHEN DID WE START CONFUSING COMMUNITY SERVICE WITH EVANGELISM?

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”-Ephesians 2:10 (NASB)

A while back I posted this question on my Facebook page. Of course there were few takers to the question because nobody had an answer. I have been a Christian since 1981 and involved in all kinds of evangelistic campaigns of one kind or another. In the last several years I have noticed two new campaigns which have started to take shape: sport evangelism and community service. Sport evangelism has actually been around for several years and for the most part has been fairly effective. The analogy of the sports and the gospel message is easy to make plus the fact that during these “sports camps” there is, at some point, a captive audience to share with. Most of the time “sports camps” have a time in which the whole group gathers together and a speaker will make a gospel presentation of one kind or another. There are also more personal times given to children so they understand the idea of eternal life in Jesus. If done correctly a sports camp can be extremely effective and have a very positive impact. Allow me to say one thing before we go too far, I am no huge sports fan, so for me to say something this positive only shows how really effective I feel that it is.

At the same time I have also noticed more churches being involved in organized community services. These services may include helping someone in the church with needed repairs in their house; helping people with yard work; painting fire hydrants; cleaning up graffiti; or any number of clean up efforts to help make the community surrounding the church look better. More often than not it includes people, young people in particular, wearing t-shirts with the name of the ministry or church which is doing the community service. It has also become a real incentive for youth in these churches to participate since community service is now required in most public schools. While all of this is not bad I am afraid the message and mentality that it may be sending, both to those who are participating and those who see it, is not what is intended.

The Mentality Behind The Idea

Several years ago I remember reading an article in a magazine. Forgive me while I do not state who the article was about or which magazine it was since over twenty-eight years have passed, I just remember the story. A particular traveling evangelist was due to speak at a church in Houston, Texas. He arrived very early that Sunday morning, coming in from another speaking engagement the night before. He hailed a taxi and off they went. The driver asked him what he did for a living and the evangelist told him. They drove by a very large church building. The driver told him that the church they were passing was a growing church at one time, but now had very few people attending it. On the sign outside the church were the words, “Come and see.” They drove a little further and came to an intersection which had a major traffic tie-up. The driver explained that ever since this new church had started traffic had been this way. The church building was small and looked to be more like a store front than an actual traditional church. People were everywhere trying to get in. On the sign outside it read, “Go and tell.”

In this story the illustration can be clearly seen. There was a philosophical difference between the two churches. In todays “Community Service” driven churches appear to have the same “come and see” mentality. As a student and participant of evangelism/outreach I know that in most cases churches need some kind of structured outreach in order to have an “active” presence regarding the Great Commission which is ordered by the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:16-20. Over the years I have seen churches becoming more dependent on programs rather than the courage and personal conviction to share the gospel in their everyday situations. One such program was presented by the Southern Baptist called G.R.O.W. which finally faded away only to be replaced with F.A.I.T.H. While there is nothing unbiblical or wrong with programs, when we start placing our trust in a program as the only tool in the kit then we find ourselves amiss. But even with the programs mentioned above at least the idea is going and telling. I fear that the deception with the community service projects is that there is an appearance of going, but in reality it is nothing more than being a walking marque. Nobody talks about the gospel; nobody shares the good news; rarely is contact with anyone made. When contact is made it is often limited and is more about the group’s work they are doing verses presenting the gospel to someone. It is not uncommon for community service projects to be run by local governments or school entities, which will not allow an outward display of sharing religious thought. The other problem is that at some point in the future communities will begin to expect or even require churches in their areas to participate in these community efforts.

The Missed Opportunity

Let me say clearly that I do not think there is anything wrong with community service projects. I feel that if we keep things clean, help those who need assistance, and are more aware of what goes on around us, we help the world become a better place. However I do not believe doing these things will really improve conditions all that greatly until hearts are changed through the preaching of the gospel and Jesus returns. There are many in the emergent church arena who preach “missional” living which is the idea that we as a community are responsible for the individual. This is getting things backwards. The reality and the Biblical thinking is that the individual is responsible to take care of themselves while doing what they can to make the community better. But what constitutes a better community? Is it better to live in a clean crime ridden community?

Several months ago I was talking to an outreach minister at a particular church which had made a real effort to help with community project services over the past several years. For every one wall of gang graffiti they cleaned up there would be four more walls messed up, not including the one they just cleaned. Helping with crime watch services, YMCA, and health centers had benefits, but very little was ever accomplished in terms of changing the core of the neighborhood. It didn’t take long for him to realize the problem was not in cleanliness of the neighborhood, or the upkeep of houses, or doing good things out in the community to make it look and feel better. The problem was with the fact that the gospel was not being shared. People saw all the good they were doing, but it was leading to nothing. At that point he concluded that change, real change, would only happen if the Christians living in that area were to start sharing the gospel with their neighbors, the people at the grocery store, kids they went to school with, and people they worked around. The sharing of the good news of Jesus Christ was the only real way the area was going to change. Needless to say the church rejected that idea and wanted to continue to pursue the community service idea. Today that church continues to die.

History Agrees

Over at matthiasmedia.com, J. Mack Stiles posted a very good article recognizing this very issue in June, 2011 (http://matthiasmedia.com/briefing/2011/06/deckchairs-on-the-titanic-evangelism-and-social-action/). In his article he tells the story of working with a missionary in Guatemala, where the Guatemalan farmers were starving because of lack of protein. The missionary began to implement a plan which allowed them to get the needed protein. In the process he also shared Christ with these people groups. As time went on he noticed improvements in the culture that he was not anticipating. In areas of morality men stopped running around on their wives which lead to them paying more attention to their families and farms. Disease became less of a factor because cleanliness became more of one. Ethically people started treating each other better as a result started helping each other in situations which allowed them to manage issues better. They also developed a stronger sense of honest economics. Health wise the protein problem began to diminish, before the program could be administered in any significant way.

This would not be the first time something of this nature has happened. Wherever Christianity takes root stories of this nature are the norm. Billy Graham noted in several interviews back in the 1960’s that the answer to the race issues in America was Christ. Many Christian economic experts have stated that the work place issues that go on between the unions and employers could be resolved by following the Ephesians 6 model of treating one another with great respect and doing an honest day’s work. Physicians with a strong Biblical background have shared how many health problems could be averted if people simply took time to rest (Sabbath), ate things in proper portions (no gluttony), allowed God to handle situations more (prayer), rebelled less (obey parents), exercised more (work), and stopped being sexually immoral. Each of these issues demonstrates about 80% of the health problems in our nation. They all answer the issues of heart disease, stress related trauma, some forms of cancers, and sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS, gonorrhea, and certain kinds of cervical cancers.

The Biblical Aspect

Many who believe that community service is the ultimate form of outreach will run to the book of Acts, in particular chapter 4:32-37 where many of the rich land owners would sell property as needed in order to help take care of those in hardship. This group will criticize those of us who look at the issue of community service and ask hard questions, as being anti-Christian, overtly traditional, unscriptural, or even immoral. The problem is they criticize me while they mandate more of an emergent church philosophy. That philosophy basically states that we can make the world a better place if we just help people out. In fact it is a new form of Phariseeism that has immerged. They have ignored the fact that the land owners did what they did, “as any had need” (v. 35).

They will also run to James 1:27 stating that if we do not take care of the poor (widows and orphans) then we are not showing Christ. What they ignore here is the context of the power of God’s word at work in the life of a believer (vv. 22-25), the need for repentance in the life of those in sin (vv. 19-21), and doing things out of an experiential compassion (2-18). Again those who think this is the only way to make an effect in a community miss the mark.

It should also be understood that so much of what happened in the Bible was spontaneous. It is often not an organized effort or even a mandated thing. It is something that occurs as people’s lives are changed from the inside/out through the work of the Holy Spirit, from the word of God, grounded in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Which brings us back to a fuller aspect, the best way to bring a real effect to a community is for the people in the churches to individually share the gospel with their family, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances. This is the only real way in which things change. Unlike many of the emergent church leaders such as Rob Bel, John Burke, Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, Dallas Willard, and others changing the social environment does not produce the kind of change that is necessary to enter the kingdom of God. They have missed the mark (sinned) by thinking that only by saving the planet can anyone enter into Heaven. In fact some of them do not believe in eternity, only in an eternal purpose.

A Final Thought

It all comes to this one question, “Does community service automatically translate to evangelistic outreach?” Let me ask another question, “Does going grocery shopping, or mowing your lawn, or helping your neighbor work on their car, or teaching your children good manners, or protesting an abortion clinic, or setting up a city ordinance against pornography video stores, or working in an election against alcohol, automatically lead to evangelistic outreach?” The answer is no, it does not. In fact any of the above mentioned things only leads to people saying that you are a good person who wants what is best for the community. Any of these, including community service, must be done with the express purpose of sharing the gospel. In the end what it does is it opens up opportunity to talk to others about the gospel. When you feed the poor, and try and help the homeless, it is not uncommon that they will be more open to hearing what you say. However, again it must be done with the intent of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote in 1st Corinthians 10:21, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Nothing more needs to be said.