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Pastor's Lead Article
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FRIENDSHIP EVANGELISM = START WITH THE CLOSEST FRIENDS
If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
– 1 Timothy 5:8
Last month we looked at “Friendship Evangelism” from the point of being a friendlier congregation, especially to visitors. This month, we want to take it in the other direction, and consider the friends closest to you.
A little while back, in a conversation with someone that had turned to church attendance, a suggestion was made (partly in gist, but the more I thought about, the more it made sense) that if they have a “Bring your child to work” day, we should have a “Bring your child to church” day. The idea was not only directed at young children, nor even just sons and daughters. The majority of our members who are inactive (not in worship services, partaking of the Lord’s Supper or being part of other activities) are related to other members of the congregation, some who are active. We’re talking about spouses, children and grandchildren, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, cousins and in-laws and all the others ways in which we can be related to someone. It would be an understatement to say that these people are our “friends”. The bond you have with them is stronger than mere friendship.
It is true that in the passage above, Paul is speaking more about providing material support. But how much more important is it to provide spiritual support and encouragement. This is not only about “going to church”. It is about what is good for them, about their spiritual and eternal welfare. People have no qualms about encouraging a relative to quit smoking, lose weight or eat better. Let us be willing to encourage those closest to us to feed their faith with Word and Sacrament, to lose the weight of their sin as they are reminded of God’s forgivness for Jesus sake, to rejoice in the deliverance from the smoke of the eternal fires of hell.
While evangelism and witnessing involves reaching out to others, there is plenty of evangelism work to do with our families – the family of believers here at Cross-, and the families God has given to us.
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