Our (Not-So-Secret) Weapon
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples,” Jesus said, “if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). The reference here is not our love for nonbelievers (as important as that is), but Christian love for one another. Our love as a church is our not-so-secret weapon to witness to the world about Jesus Christ. The local church, far from an obstacle to evangelism, is the God-ordained means to share the Gospel with the world.
Come Join the Party
The word party has a couple of meanings. One definition is a distinct group of people, distinguished from the crowd-at-large. We use the term, for example, in restaurants and fishing trips. A party of five is a bit cumbersome for a fishing party in a rowboat. The other definition is a celebration: a birthday party or party for retirement.
The church-as-party works in both senses of the word. Located in a city or town is a distinct group of people who believe the Gospel and have joined a Christian assembly. God has set apart a people for Himself to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called them out of darkness into His marvelous light (see 1 Peter 2:9-12). As sojourners and exiles, we comprise the party that believes the Gospel. In the second sense of the word, the church is a perpetual festival celebrating the good news of Jesus together. With so many prodigals coming home, “it [is] fitting to celebrate and be glad” (Luke 15:32). Let’s party!
Christian Community
This is one of a myriad of reasons why it is important for Christians to be part of a local church. Our faithful presence in the culture is amplified exponentially by how we act while we are together. Do we model Christian love? It is one thing to claim to love God whom we cannot see; it is quite another to love our brother whom we can see (see 1 John 4:20). The church is our opportunity to demonstrate true love to a watching world.
Let me explain practically. For the people of my city to see the bond of Christian love in real time, they must see it in my church. When neighbors watch a disabled member living alone welcomed to Thanksgiving dinner by a family with kids, they witness something of the love of God. When they observe an old man in the hospital visited by a host of church members of all ages, nurses take note of what Christian love looks like. When wealthier members go out of their way to provide Christmas gifts to families in the church who have very little, the neighborhood hears that Christians mean business when it comes to love.
The Beacons Are Lit
The “you” in “you are the light of the world” (and in “you are the salt of the earth,”) is plural for a reason. We shine the light together. It is why Jesus can so easily extend the light metaphor to “a city on a hill” (Matthew 5:14). It is our corporate witness that shines brightest. However, it isn’t just a matter of shining the light of Christian love so people can observe it; it is a welcome signal. Like a lighthouse, it calls people to Terra Firma.
To tweak the nautical analogy a bit, the church sounds the call to enter the ark and find refuge. “If anyone could escape who was outside the ark of Noah,” Saint Cyprian of Carthage challenged, “then he also may escape who shall be outside of the Church.” If those in the community come to faith in Jesus, where will they gather to worship? Where will they go to grow in grace? Where will they learn how to join the mission? The answer biblically is as obvious as a boat on top of Mount Ararat. Have them come and join the party!
Trust the Church
The idea that our witness would be better off without the church is not only unbiblical, it is patently incorrect. Your best tool for outreach is an invitation to a loving, caring, kind-hearted, and welcoming community of redeemed believers. Without neglecting the call to go and tell it on the mountain, we need to remember the strategy, “come and you will see” (John 1:38).
Your community needs to overhear the “music and dancing,” (Luke 15:25) of prodigals and know all are welcome here.
Rick Harrington is a pastor at First Baptist Church - Haverhill in Massachusetts and the Provost of the BCNE Multiplication Center. He is the author of the books "How to Find a Church: Seven Steps to Becoming Part of a Spiritual Family" "The Weight of Preaching: Heralding the Gospel of Grace". and the upcoming book "Churching: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church in the Christian Life."