Jesus’ plan of evangelism is not the type of evangelism that we have in mind. The way we understand evangelism is that we share the good news of Jesus Christ and invite people to accept Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord. It’s certainly part of Jesus’ plan of evangelism. But it fails to present the full picture.
“And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast our demons” (Mk. 3:13-15, ESV).
After going up and inquiring of the Father, Jesus calls the Twelve. In Mark 1:16-20, we know that when Jesus calls Simon, Andrew, John, and James, they immediately respond to his calling and follow him. Jesus calls; disciples convert. Thus, when Jesus calls and appoints them as apostles, some sort of converted experience is involved. They don’t just believe. They follow. In the calling of the Twelve, the purposes of calling are as follows: to be with Him, to preach, and to cast out demons with His authority. (In the West, can we replace “casting out demons” with healing?) In priority, the primary purpose of Jesus’ calling is to be with Jesus. Jesus’ plan of evangelism is more than mere conversion. It is an invitation to enter into a deep relationship with Him. In other words, being with Jesus is the primary purpose of being called. Being precedes doing (preaching, casting out demons, etc…).
In the 20th century, the evangelical church in particular focused on the task of evangelism. Billy Graham and his crusades brought new credibility to evangelism as well as drawing large numbers of men and women to faith in Jesus. Furthermore, new methods of outreach were developed with an emphasis on finding ways to make it easy for people to come to faith. Commitment to Jesus became a matter of affirming belief in a few core doctrines and asking Jesus into one’s life. Unfortunately, an unintended consequence of this simplification was that while many converts were produced, far fewer disciples were made…It can be argued that the unlinking of evangelism from spiritual formation in the 20th century resulted in a church with little depth. In the 21st century, new attention has been given to evangelism that contains a call to discipleship.[1]
The deepness of faith draws deeply from the deep well of Jesus. Christians are not called to believe Jesus. We are called to be with Him so that we know what it means to follow Him by doing what he asks us to. Jesus’ plan of evangelism always entails solid, lifelong discipleship. Ministry or mission is the fruit of this discipling relationship.
In my previous discipleship group, a small group of us studied the book, After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters (New York: HarperOne, 2010) by N. T. Wright. He notes:
Jesus’ call to follow him, to discover in the present time the habits of life which point forward to the coming kingdom and already, in a measure, share in its life, only makes sense when it is couched in the terms made famous by Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “Come and die.” Jesus didn’t say, as do some modern evangelists, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” Nor did he say, “I accept you as you are, so you can now happily do whatever comes naturally.” He said, “If you want to become my followers, deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34). He spoke of losing one’s life in order to gain it, as opposed to clinging to it and so losing it. He spoke of this in direct relation to himself and his own forthcoming humiliation and death, followed by resurrection and exaltation. (p. 115)Jesus’ plan of evangelism is about growing in number as well as caring for its spiritual maturity: to believe Christ, to follow Christ, to grow in Christ, and to proclaim Christ.
[1] Richard V. Peace, “Evangelism,” in Dictionary of Christian Spirituality. Edited by Glen G. Scorgie (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), p. 435.
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