Evangelism that Flows
July 1, 1998
In the early days of the city of Chicago, some
bold engineers succeeded in an amazing feat. They actually reversed the flow
of the Chicago River. Instead of dirty water flowing into Lake Michigan,
the river was dredged and channeled to flow out of Lake Michigan to a canal
that eventually connected to the river system that would flow into the
Mississippi River.
A similar challenge awaits every pastor who takes the Great Commission seriously.
The natural flow of most churches is not toward evangelism. The reasons are
many: a culture increasingly hostile to the message of Christ, fear of rejection,
an inward focus on our own needs.
Even so, some pastoral "engineers" have succeeded at reversing attitudes
in their congregations and are seeing notable results.
Leadership invited three such leaders to discuss the task.
Jerry Cline has served nine years as pastor of Upland Evangelical Mennonite
Church in Upland, Indiana. Before that he served for eight years with Overseas
Crusades, six in Indonesia.
Mark Mittelberg is executive vice president of the Willow Creek Association
and co-author of Becoming a Contagious Christian, book and training
course (Zondervan, 1994 & 1995). Prior to joining the staff of the
Association, Mark served for seven years as the director of evangelism at
Willow Creek Community Church, where he continues to be evangelism trainer
and a frequent speaker at seeker-oriented events.
Mike Slaughter has, for nearly two decades, pastored Ginghamsburg United
Methodist Church in Tipp City, Ohio. He is author of Out on the Edge
(Abingdon, 1998) and Spiritual Entrepreneurs (Abingdon, 1995).
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