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Truth in Love:
A Theology of Evangelism

TDS 3039: Christian Evangelism
Professor Dr. Jack Jackson
March 9, 2018

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The concept of evangelism carries with it widespread connotations. For some it invokes
images of colonialism and coercive conversion. For others it is a word fraught with political
implications. People may associate evangelism with sidewalk doomsday prophets calling for
repentance and handing out tracks. It is imperative for contemporary Christians to free the
concept of evangelism from its stereotypes and explore its rich history and important function in
the church today. In order for Christians to effectively engage in evangelism they must first have
a working definition of evangelism. They must know what evangelism is and is not. In
addition, evangelists must understand the biblical, historical, and theological framework from
which their own practice of evangelism emerges.
What is Evangelism?

Evangelism when it functions as it was intended is an act of love. In its most
fundamental form, evangelism is the proclamation of the saving life, death, and resurrection of
Jesus Christ. That is the “good news,” the “gospel” message. To proclaim it is that simple, and
yet far more complex. To proclaim the gospel in love requires more than an announcement and
an exit. Evangelism encompasses a range of activity and intention. I appreciate the viewpoint
of Jones and Abraham which highlight evangelism as an act of initiation.1 Many healthy
definitions of evangelism include an explicit telling of the love of God as demonstrated through
the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, but also intentionally inviting and initiating someone to
experiencing that love through Christian discipleship.

True evangelism is not its stereotype. It is not proselytizing. It is not coercive or
manipulative. It is not about reaching a quota of people in the pews or of renewing and reviving

1 Scott J. Jones, The Evangelistic Love of God & Neighbor: A Theology of Witness and Discipleship
(Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2003) 68-72.

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those already present. Important as those things may be for the viability of the institutional
church and sustaining the faithful, they are not at the heart of evangelism. Evangelism is also not
the same as mission. Mission and evangelism have worked largely with and occasionally against
each other in myriad ways throughout history. Bosch’s work, Transforming Mission is
understood to be an essential source for understanding the history and role of mission in the
church today. In it, Bosch outlines the relationship between evangelism and mission, contrasting
the broader concept of mission against the more specific tasks of evangelism.2 Bosch and other
theologians contend that evangelism is an essential component of mission. Mission is sometimes
characterized by location, such as the familiar concept of the western missionary locating to a
non-western location in order to serve (and convert) non-western people. Sometimes evangelism
has been used negatively in conjunction with these missions, especially when evangelism has
looked like coercive conversion and conversion that disregards the distinct local culture and
custom, insisting upon a western concept of how Christianity is experienced.

Mission can also been seen as a social justice component of the church. I imagine
mission to function as the arms of the church opening out to care for people and respect their
inherent worth as creatures beloved by God. In contrast, evangelism seems to function as the
arms of the church embracing people into relationship and community with God and with other
Christians. Yet, mission without the proclamation of evangelism becomes simply social justice.
These important and loving actions can look like health care, liberation advocacy, and providing
for physical needs like food and shelter. Without evangelism these mission activities lose the
motivating factor which is to serve the Reign of God as faithful followers of Christ and extend

2 Bosch, David J. Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission (Maryknoll,
N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2011) 419-430.

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that love into the world. This is valuable work, but when it lacks the connection to evangelism,
it is no longer Christian mission but a secular forms of social justice. Christian mission must
include evangelism, but evangelism is not itself mission.

Evangelism is the particular announcement, the direct telling and “specific proclamation
of what God had done, is doing, and will do.”3 Evangelism scholars Arias, Abraham, and Jones
all conclude that evangelism is a multi-faceted endeavor. While they vary on their analysis of
the exact necessary concepts of evangelism, they share a common theme. Again, proclamation is
a beginning and necessary piece of evangelism for all of the scholars we have studied in this
course. Our modern concept of evangelism, especially the stereotypes named previously, come
to the forefront when we end the definition of evangelism here. Especially in light of how
evangelism has been shaped by revivalism. The system of “every eye closed, every head
bowed” altar calls and of emphatic preaching revivals equated evangelism with conversion based
on a decision.4 This concept of evangelism fails to provide an essential component of
evangelism which is initiating new believers, or people considering belief, into the Reign of God
through discipleship and experiencing the means of Grace. To lead a person to belief and then
not initiate them into the Reign of God Wesley harshly called, “only begetting children for the
murderer.”5 If evangelism has been mandated by God, and God is love, then evangelism must be
done in a way that is inherently loving. As such, it must not fall short of its task and stop at
awakening the need for Christ in someone. Rather, evangelism is sharing the light and love of
God as told through the narrative of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It may begin

3 Jack Jackson, “Session 2: The Relationship between Mission and Evangelism Student Notes”
(lecture notes, TDS 3030 Christian Mission, Claremont School of Theology, Claremont, CA, February 3,
2018).

4 Stephen W. Gunter, and Elaine A Robinson. Considering the Great Commission: Evangelism and
Mission in the Wesleyan Spirit (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2005) 140.

5 Ibid, 141.

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with words and invitation, but it is finished in hospitality, in welcoming one into the Reign of
Christ through initiation into experiencing the means of Grace.
The Evangelism Imperative

The biblical basis for evangelism traces back to the very first words of the Hebrew Bible.
God spoke order into chaos in creation. God reveals god-self as a speaking God. One who
proclaims and who asks humanity to join God in proclamation. Walter Brueggemann claims
God is a God who calls and who sends. We see this in the lives of Abraham and of Moses who
God calls to God and both of whom God then sends. God calls Abraham to leave the
comfortable place of his family and his country and to go to the place God has called him to, in
order that Abraham may be blessed so that all the people of earth may be blessed by God through
Abraham. Likewise Moses is called out of his home and into the desert, to lead God’s people to
liberation.6 These actions, and many other in the Hebrew Bible work to differentiate the God of
Israel as one who speaks, who calls, and sends, and who is relational. The concept of
evangelism does not belong to the New Testament alone.

We find a foundation for a God who proclaims in the Hebrew term “basar” which can be
interpreted “the announcement of Good News.” Brueggemann sums up its meaning as a verb
that “tells-the -news.” Dr. Jackson explained that we see this Hebrew term used to describe four
acts “ the proclamation in worship of God’s saving help of Israel; [to claim] victory in battle; the
herald or announcement of victory, peace, good tidings, etc; [to introduce] God’s servant, and the
brining of good news to the poor.”7 The connection between the Hebrew term “basar” and the

6 Walter Brueggemann, “Evangelism and Discipleship: The God Who Calls, the God Who Sends.” in
The Study of Evangelism: Exploring a Missional Practice of the Church, ed. Paul Wesley Chilcote and
Laceye C Warner. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008), 219-
222.

7 Jackson, “Session 2”

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New Testament Greek “euangelizesthai” speaks to God’s priority of proclamation throughout the
cannon.

One of the clearest examples of evangelism in the Hebrew Bible is found in Jonah’s call
to proclaim the message of God to the people of Nineveh. Chapman and Warner echo the
sentiments of Brueggemann above, “The scriptures declare that God…is the chief evangelist.”8
Jonah despised the Ninevites and initially refused to follow God’s command to go to them.
Jonah knew that God was a God of forgiveness and that in going to the Ninevites, Jonah would
be extending God’s love to them. Nevertheless, God’s desire was for the people of Ninevah to
hear the the message of the good news of God’s forgiveness. This announcement is also an
invitation. The narrative of Jonah’s reluctant obedience to proclaim God’s message, and God’s
desire to reach the people of Ninevah is one example of many in the bible when God
demonstrates that God chooses to use people to proclaim God’s messages. Not all is intrinsically
known, rather the good news of God must be announced by the faithful for the edification of the
world.

The New Testament introduces us to the word evangelism. Jones explains that
evangelism, or euangelos breaks down into being the eu (good) angelos (news). Euangelos and
euangelizasthai (the verbal form of the word) are the basic foundations for our understanding of
evangelism as the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ.9 In the New Testament
evangelism is embodied, it’s commanded, and it’s named as a gift of the spirit. Hunsberger takes

8 Stephen B. Chapman and Lacey C. Warner, “Johnah and the Imitation of God: Rethinking
Evangelism and the Old Testament,” Journal of Theological Interpretation 2.1 (2008): 43.

9 Jones, The Evangelistic Love, 23.

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a critical eye to the emphasis on the so called “Great Commission.”10 In all four of the gospels
and in the book of Acts, Jesus calls his disciples to be his witnesses in the world and to share the
good news. The concept of evangelism is pervasive throughout the New Testament. I respect
that the so called Great Commission has been used as an excuse for violence and coercive
mistreatment of people in history. However, I reject the idea that the Great Commission is no
longer relevant or that Christians are no longer called into it based on the idea that this was a
mandate for the original disciples. That it has been misused in the hands of some does not
negate the fact that the call to evangelism is, in my opinion, undeniably presented as a duty of
Christian followers in the New Testament.

We noted God’s nature to send and proclaim as seen in the Hebrew Bible, and that
continues in the New Testament. This is demonstrated in the incarnation. Such a priority was
this that God sent the son into the world, fully God and fully man in order to proclaim the Reign
of God. This points to the fact that it is in the very nature of God to announce. I have heard it
said that all of Jesus’s teachings made the same claim, “The Reign of God is at hand.” And, that
everything else he said was exegesis. There is some truth in this assessment. Jesus is
undoubtedly proclaiming a message. Jesus has come to live and die in order to reconcile
humanity to God and throughout his earthly ministry he is traversing the area announcing that
the Reign of God has come near. That Jesus ends his ministry on earth by asking his followers to
continue to announce this message is not a stretch. It feels like a natural extension of Jesus’s
ministry on earth.
Evangelism in the Tradition of Wesley

10 George Hunsberger, “Is There a Biblical Warrant for Evangelism.” in The Study of Evangelism:
Exploring a Missional Practice of the Church, ed. Paul Wesley Chilcote and Laceye C Warner. (Grand
Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008), 59.

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John Wesley, and the people of the methodist movement were concerned with
proclaiming a distinct message. Wesley felt the task of proclaiming the gospel was such an
imperative that he went against the cultural standards of the day and began preaching in the open
air. Field preaching was a radical means of proclaiming the gospel at that time. He brought the
message of the gospel to the poor and working classes. He and other methodists spent time with
those who were imprisoned, with the undereducated, and the poor sharing the inclusive and
loving message of the gospel. Wesley used the term, “publishing the gospel,” to describe
evangelism. He believed proclamation was absolutely essential.11 Wesley believed that human
salvation was on the line and that proclaiming the message of the gospel was an imperative that
played a part in saving souls. There was an urgency and importance to the work of evangelism.

The United Methodist Church, which traces its heritage to the work of John Wesley,
maintains a degree of this importance. The denomination affirms that the gospel is necessary for
all people, and that salvation is found through Jesus Christ alone.12 When we hear a word like
“field preaching” it might raise up images of 19th century revivals and the conversions we’ve
read about during the Great Awakening. John Wesley was proclaiming in order to inspire
awakening, but not in the same sense. The purpose of proclaiming the gospel was to awaken a
person to his or her need for Christ. The goal was not a spontaneous conversation but rather a
conviction that would prompt an awakened person to turn toward a new life as a follower of
Jesus. Initiation was an essential component of Wesley’s evangelistic approach.

11 Jack Jackson. Offering Christ : John Wesley's Evangelistic Vision. (Nashville, Tennessee:
Kingswood Books, 2017) 18-19.

12 “Do United Methodists believe that faith in Jesus Christ is necessary to go to heaven?,” The United
Methodist Church, accessed March 8, 2018. http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/do-united-methodists-
believe-that-faith-in-jesus-christ-is-necessary

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A person who was awakened to their need for God, was invited into the community of
believers. The objective was not a decision but a transformation. Wesley did not consider
salvation to be a one time event. This theological viewpoint varies from some evangelistic
approaches today that can feel transactional. If you say this prayer then you get to go to heaven.
Wesley viewed salvation as a process. The justification that is often tied to salvation, is given
freely as a gift of Grace from God out of love. We do not earn it, we simply respond in faith.
Salvation then, in the Wesleyan tradition, is more closely linked with the concept of sanctifying
grace than justifying grace. When an awakened soul turns toward God and responds to God’s
freely given grace, they enter into their salvation.13

Wesley initiated awakened believers into the Reign of God by inviting those seeking
salvation to enter into community where they could experience the means of grace. They were
enrolled in class meetings where they could meet weekly to practice spiritual disciples such as
prayer, receiving communion, searching the scriptures, fasting, and Christian conferencing.
These small groups worked to initiate new believers into community and into relationship with
God. Through these means of grace, the holy spirit works to transform people into a new
creation. New believers continue to grow in their sanctification, closer into the image of God
which humanity was created to become, by growing in love toward God and toward neighbor.
These are the acts of piety and mercy that form the foundation of Christian life in the Wesleyan
tradition. John Wesley didn’t use the phrase evangelism to describe what he was doing yet this
model provides a powerful framework to encompass evangelism. Wesley proclaimed the central
truth of the gospel, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us and called for repentance

13 “Our Wesleyan Heritage,” The United Methodist Church, Accessed March 8, 2018.
http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/our-wesleyan-heritage

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and a turning toward a new life of holiness. The goal was for lives to be transformed. Wesley
understood that transformation generally cannot be sustained by a moment of religious
conviction. The goal of evangelism was for people to commit to participating in the means of
Grace and to entering into a life of Christian Discipleship.14
Truth in Love

Our theological frameworks shape how we evangelize, if we do it, and why. I believe the
overarching theme of God’s activity in the world, as witnessed to through the life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus is a testament to love being the very essence and nature of God. That God
is loving, relational, liberative, and inclusive inspires me to tell the gospel as I have experienced
it and as I know it because it is truly the good news. I believe to proclaim the gospel and live
into it means that Christians have in imperative to invite those we tell into community and
relationship. There is an implicit connection between proclamation and initiation. To tell
someone that we found an amazing treasure that is available to all people and then not share the
map of how to find it, falls short of loving our neighbor.

The fact that my theology is in step with the traditional teachings of the United Methodist
Church means that I share the gospel with the understanding that it is the truth. While I hold the
belief the salvation is found through God in Jesus Christ I acknowledge that is a difficult, if not
impossible, position for many Christians to hold today. While I cannot affirm the truth of all
faiths, I can affirm the value of all people, and the beauty of many religions. Importantly, I can
embrace the fact that in faith there is mystery. Love is the very nature of God. I cannot grasp
how that is worked out in the eschaton. I embrace the mystery of the workings of God and do
not assume to know how God loves and what to expect in the realized Reign of God to come.

14 Gunter and Robinson, Considering the Great Commission, 136-143.

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My job is not to condemn or criticize but to represent the love of God in this time and in this
place. That means faithfully sharing the gospel in love, and loving others as myself.

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Bibliography

Bosch, David J. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. Twentieth
Anniversary Ed. ed. American Society of Missiology Series, No. 16. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis
Books, 2011.

Brueggemann, Walter. “Evangelism and Discipleship: The God Who Calls, the God Who
Sends.” in The Study of Evangelism: Exploring a Missional Practice of the Church, edited by
Paul Wesley Chilcote and Laceye C Warner. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 2008.

“Do United Methodists believe that faith in Jesus Christ is necessary to go to heaven?,” The
United Methodist Church, accessed March 8, 2018. http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/do-
united-methodists-believe-that-faith-in-jesus-christ-is-necessary

“Evangelism: Witnessing to Our Hope in Christ.”. International Review of Mission 101 (1) 2012.

Gunter, W. Stephen, and Elaine A Robinson. Considering the Great Commission Evangelism
and Mission in the Wesleyan Spirit. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2005.

Hunsberger, George R. “Is There a Biblical Warrant for Evangelism.” in The Study of
Evangelism: Exploring a Missional Practice of the Church, ed. Paul Wesley Chilcote and
Laceye C Warner. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
2008.

Jackson, Jack. Offering Christ : John Wesley's Evangelistic Vision. Nashville, Tennessee:
Kingswood Books, 2017.

Jackson, Jack. “Session 2: The Relationship Between Mission and Evangelism,” Lecture notes,
TDS 3030 Christian Mission, Claremont School of Theology, Claremont, CA, February 3,
2018.

Jones, Scott J. United Methodist Doctrine: The Extreme Center. Nashville: Abingdon Press,
2002.

Meadows, Philip R. 2011. ”The Journey of Evangelism." In The Oxford Handbook of Methodist
Studies.: Oxford University Press.

“Our Wesleyan Heritage,” The United Methodist Church, Accessed March 8, 2018.
http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/our-wesleyan-heritage