The Priority of Evangelism

by Mario Vega
Evangelism is not the only component in a cell, but it is one that should not be neglected. The growth in knowledge and communion are components that must balance evangelism but never displace it to a second or third position.
It’s much easier to focus on knowledge or on fellowship than to focus on evangelism. A greater effort is required for evangelism, since it involves engaging people who are not yet part of the Christian faith.
If I were to make an observation on why our church has grown, I would say that we pro-actively focus on evangelism. In the past year, the relation between church members and guests who attend the cell was of 1 for 2.1. That is, for every Christian attending a cell, we had an average of 2.1 guests. Putting it in very practical terms, one could say that every Christian invited at least two friends each time he or she attended the cell. This reveals that the cell nucleus is not only there for personal edification and spiritual growth. Rather, there is a determined effort to reach the lost.
Comments?
Mario
Translation in Spanish:
El lugar del evangelismo.
El evangelismo no es el único componente en una célula pero sí uno que no debe descuidarse. El crecer en conocimiento y en comunión son componentes que deben equilibrar al evangelismo pero nunca desplazarlo a una segunda o tercera posición.
Es mucho más fácil enfocarse en el conocimiento o en la comunión que hacerlo en el evangelismo. En éste, se requiere un esfuerzo mayor ya que implica el involucrar a personas que no tienen mayor contacto con la fe.
Si alguna observación pudiese hacer sobre el crecimiento en nuestra iglesia, mencionaría el evangelismo como un elemento que se trabaja a conciencia. En el año que recién termina la relación de hermanos e invitados asistiendo a nuestras células fue de 1 por 2.1
Es decir que por cada cristiano asistiendo a una célula tuvimos un promedio de 2.1 invitados. Colocándolo en términos muy prácticos podría decirse que cada cristiano invitó, al menos, a dos amigos cada vez que asistió a una célula. Ese es un dato revelador, pues, muestra que el núcleo de la célula no solamente asiste para saludar a los hermanos o crecer en la fe. Hay un esfuerzo decidido por alcanzar a los perdidos.
Randall Neighbour said,
January 14, 2010 @ 4:45 pm
2.1 visitors for every member. That is an amazing ratio, Mario!
No wonder your church has grown to become one of the largest in the world.
Pray for the American church that our members will become this welcoming and hospitable to the unchurched!
Mike Mack said,
January 16, 2010 @ 12:45 pm
Thanks for this post Mario. I agree with Randall. This is an amazing stat! What would you say are the major differences, if any, between your culture and the culture here in the States? We live in such a consumer-minded society here, which is a huge obstacle, it seems to me, to many of us. What do you think?