Rev. Peter L.D. Visser
missionary consultant
It would be so nice: that it would be like the old days, in the great revival movements. Wesley, Whitefield, Edwards: they just preached in the open air to large numbers of people and what conversions came out of that! If you look in the CGK Yearbook now, you will see that about 100 people 'from no church' have joined the churches in recent years. That is not thousands, but it does mean that even today there is very regular rejoicing in heaven when one sinner is converted (Luke 15:7, 10). It is encouraging to browse through old yearbooks for a while, in this regard: from about the year 2003, there is a marked increase in people joining the churches, usually receiving baptism.
Through people
Who talks to these people (deputies evangelisation issued a brochure of interviews with accessions, entitled Coming home (2002)), notes how important it is for Christians to establish real contact, a real relationship with them. Coming to faith often takes a long time of preparation, but contact with a Christian time and again proves to be an important moment in such a process. 'This suggests that the faithfulness and witness of 'ordinary' Christians around them are absolutely irreplaceable. Indeed, it emerges from these conversations that this is in fact the only way these people got further in their search. (...) Still (has it ever been different?) the vast majority of seekers come into contact with faith and church through people around them.' (Coming home, p.50).
'Ordinary'
This makes me personally not see much in evangelisation work that does not focus on building relationships. Occasional actions do not form a bed in which contacts can blossom into warm relationships. None of the ten homecomers who told their stories in the brochure mentioned an organised evangelisation action as a factor of significance. Things are usually different: homecomer Tamara was addressed when she was new at school by a Christian girl. Daan noticed when playing football with Christians that they 'had something'. Petra had a religious neighbour who addressed her when walking the dog. Robert was visited in prison by a Christian who sacrificed his free Saturday for him and homecomer Rakan was taken in as an asylum seeker and invited to a Christmas Eve by a 'regular Christian'. Since 2002, in my experience, nothing has changed in this course of events: 'ordinary church members' are used by the Holy Spirit in a very 'ordinary' way to show others something of the Gospel.
Together
In fact, anyone who knows the Bible should not be surprised by this either. How often did the Lord Jesus lie down at meals, where conversations arose and people caught sight of Him? How many times did the Lord Jesus simply, while walking through the country, speak to people, touch them, make contact? In many missionary initiatives around the country, that Biblical form is being applied again: eating together, not just with your own circle, but with an open invitation to neighbours, acquaintances and local residents.
Question
What opportunities do we have, simply in our environment, to establish relationships with children, neighbours, the elderly, colleagues in our network? How can we be hospitable, engaged and moved?
Rev. Peter L.D. Visser
missionary consultant
