February 2009 New Horizons

Are You Ready to Give a Reason?

by Gary W. Davenport

Christian evangelism is heralding to sinners the good news of hope in Jesus Christ. In his book God-Centered Evangelism , R. B. Kuiper wrote, "The Bible teaches plainly that evangelism is a task of the organized church." Kuiper goes on to say that not all evangelistic efforts must be under the direct and complete control of the church as an organization, for the church is also an organism. "As an organization, it operates through its officers; as an organism, it operates through its individual members. Both the church as an organization and the church as an organism are God-ordained agents of evangelism." Hence, each individual believer is a God-ordained agent of evangelism. As the apostolic age drew to a close in the first century, the New Testament writers understood the indispensability of ministerial office for the church's worship, edification, and witness. A continuing church would be dependent upon faithful preaching for its growth in the grace and knowledge of God. The writers also ... Read more

The Church's Evangelistic Mission

by L. Anthony Curto

From its very beginning, the church of God has been evangelizing for her Lord and Savior. For millennia, the disciples have been going to the nations with the good news of redemption. It seems to be second nature—to evangelize is like breathing. We don't need to think about it or analyze it. We just need to do it. But, sadly, the church struggles in its evangelistic task. Why is that? In the spring of 2006, I had the privilege of working with the OPC mission to Haiti. I had gone there to help train men for leadership in the new and growing work on Lagonav. I was staying with the Baugh family in Kalico. The area is a barren and rocky portion of Haiti outside of Port-au-Prince. One morning as we were leaving, I noticed a group of about ten men working to clear a field of rocks so they could plant watermelons. That seemed to me to be a terribly difficult task. You see, the field was littered with thousands of rocks in various sizes and shapes. Later in the day, when we returned, the men were gone. ... Read more

Developing Outreach and Evangelism Ministries

by The Committee on Home Missions

A new mission work is usually small in size and needs to grow in order to provide care for its pastor and its people. But a pragmatic need for numerical growth should not be a motivating factor in the church's outreach and evangelistic efforts. Such efforts flow, rather, from a commitment to being faithful to the Word of God and to the work of Christ's church. Governing Definitions A distinction is made between the concept of outreach and the practice of evangelism. For the purposes of discussing the development of ministries of outreach and evangelism in a mission work, the following definitions will be used: Outreach is any gospel activity or ministry which brings the work of the church before the people of the community in which the congregation ministers. Evangelism is any gospel activity or ministry which brings the righteous requirements of God and his plan for the salvation of his elect before the people of the community in which the congregation ministers. Following a ... Read more

Perseverance in College

by "Uncle Glen"

Dear James, Believe me, I was as shocked as you were to hear that your church announced its pastoral vacancy. Your father and I learned about this at our session meeting last week. I was given to believe that Pastor King was thriving at Covenant Presbyterian Church, especially from my last conversation with him at presbytery last October. He indicated particular satisfaction with his ministry to college students, and I certainly detected no discontent on his part. I know this comes as a disappointment to you, given how much you profited from King's ministry. The bad news for you is that Covenant may possibly not secure a new pastor before your graduation. You are, after all, in the middle of your junior year, and Presbyterian pulpit searches generally proceed at glacial speed. Your discouragement about your situation prompts some reflections on the doctrine of perseverance. We tend to consider the P in TULIP as an abstraction. But reducing it to a bumper sticker like "Once saved always safe" can lead ... Read more