Engaging Without Watering Down - Some Reflections

A few days ago I posted a video about a church community serving well in their city.  It probably didn't paint a full picture of what is going on there and I don't have all the information about their situation.  You can go back and watch the video if you would like.  I simply wanted to commend what I saw as a good way of seeking to be intentional with those who don't know Jesus.

This post got some push-back in the comments.  Maybe rightly since we don't have all the information about what is really going on behind the scenes in the video.  My greater point was to highlight the intentionality that is on display. To me, it seems that serving is a great way to do this.  Sounds pretty biblical, eh?

At The Vine, my small group has been volunteering at the local crisis pregnancy center and serving women there who are pregnant, young, and scared.  They are mainly black women who come from extremely rough backgrounds.  After a year we have seen two of these black women come into our small group.  One has become a Christian and just last night I explicitly shared the Gospel with another as we chatted on the couch after our small group.

All we did was show up and serve.  Once a month with some food.  Very simple and easy.  But when we show up God goes with us as we are filled with his Holy Spirit.  Who knows where that is going to lead?  I had zero expectations.  It could have been a complete failure.  Maybe it will be in the future but we are going to stick with it right now.  These women need Jesus and where else are they going to go to get him?

We just showed up to serve.  Service usually leads to relationships being built.  When relationships are built it's easy to share Jesus.  How could we not talk about what is most important to us with those who know us?

So lead me ask you, Holy Spirit filled believer, where are you intentionally showing up and seeking to make Jesus known through your relationships of service and love?  You might not like the video above because it deals with "sodomites" and seems to reek of the "social gospel".   Great.  But let's hear from you about your approach to living among the lost.  Honestly, I'm all ears and I have much to learn.  There are probably a thousand ways to do this.

No one is above critique.  There are certainly wrong ways to go about evangelism and service.  Just make sure that we don't get rebuked by D.L. Moody in conversations like this in reference to evangelism:  "I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it."