EVANGELISM DEFINITION(S)

From, the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2000, 2003:

"Zealous preaching and dissemination of the gospel, as through missionary work."

"1. a preaching of, or zealous effort to spread, the gospel, as in revival meetings or by televised services. 2. any zealous effort in propagandising for a cause." Websters New World College Dictionary (2005)

"God's act of working through believers empowered by the Holy Spirit to communicate the good news of Jesus Christ to every person and people group with the purpose to persuade the lost to come to salvation." Southern Baptist Convention

"Evangelism is the Christian practice of Proselytization. The intention of most evangelism is to convert those who do not follow the Christian God to Christianity for the purpose of effecting eternal salvation. Evangelism is done in obedience to the Great Commission, a command from Jesus to his disciples to proselytise, accorting to accounts in the New Testament." Wikipedia

"Joyfully sharing the good news of the sovereign love of God, and calling people to personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, to active membership in the church, and to ovedient service in the world." PCUSA, 1990.

"(Evangelism) . . . proclamation that Jesus is already Lord, that in him God's new creation has broken into history, and that all people are therefore summoned to submit to him in love, worship, and obedience. The logic of this message requires that those who announce it should be seeking to bring Christ's Lordship to bear on every area of human and worldly existence." N. T. Wright, Bishop, Church of England

"The Christian Church is a missionary organization. God’s mission led to the formation of the Church so that the gospel would be preached, lives transformed, and the world saved from sin and the consequences of evil.
Mission is witness to the reign of God for the whole person and the whole creation. Action to bring about a more just society and to meet the needs of the hungry, naked, imprisoned, sick and poor is an essential art of mission. Just as essential is the invitation to all persons to be initiated into Christian discipleship. Thus, while mission is larger than evangelism, it must always include evangelism. The biblical basis for this unified understanding of mission is the Great Commission read as a corollary to the Great Commandments (Matthew 22:34-40 and 28:16-20).
As an integral part of its mission to praise, worship and serve God, a congregation should be a means of God’s grace for the world. It should love God and neighbor in ways that are perceptible both to those inside and those outside the congregation.
Evangelism is best understood as intentionally loving persons with the goal of initiating them into Christian discipleship. Scott J. Jones, Bishop, Kansas, UMC (EMPHASIS ADDED)

BEGIN WITH THE BASICS:

WHAT IS EVANGELISM?

What is evangelism? What does evangelism have to do with our Mission Statement?

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MISSION STATEMENT

THE MISSION OF WEST MARKET STREET UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IS TO GLORIFY GOD AS WE MAKE, NURTURE AND SEND FORTH DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST.

HERE GOES

Thank you for visiting this blog. I am creating this blog as an opportunity for interested persons to learn more about EVANGELism.