‘Unbinding the Gospel’ offers groundbreaking study of evangelism.

“The more we engage in prayer, the more God has a chance to work with us,” Martha Grace Reese told the General Board as she presented the results of a four-year study of evangelism in mainline Protestant churches. A minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Reese is author of “Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism” (Chalice Press, 2006; findings of the study were released Jan. 1 this year).

In addition to giving an evening presentation to the board, she also met informally with staff of the Congregational Life Teams.

Reese directed the study of evangelism, funded by the Lilly Endowment. The “Mainline Evangelism Research Project” was based on studies of 150 congregations and interviews with more than 1,000 people.

The book presents findings of the project and serves as a study guide for congregations interested in working on evangelism. It offers encouragement and advice to pastors, and gives practical how-tos for getting started. It also draws on a Disciples of Christ pilot project in congregational revitalization.

The evangelism study deliberately targeted a segment of the Christian church doing “the worst” at evangelism: mainly white congregations in the north and west of the country. Reese explained in the book the “dim” prospects for mainline Protestant Christianity: over the past 40 years the mainline denominations have lost 20 percent of their membership, during a time when the US population grew by 100 million. “Looked at as a percentage of the population, mainline church membership decreased almost 50 percent in 40 years.”

By design, the study took out of the pool congregations in the south and racial/ethnic congregations, which have been doing relatively well in bringing in new believers. “You could say that our Southern and racial/ethnic churches are ‘covering’ for the primarily Caucasian churches,” Reese explained in the book. “...Primarily white churches are hiding behind better statistics that don’t belong to them! Therefore we decided that it would be most helpful to take an undiluted look.”

Seven mainline Protestant denominations were included: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church USA, United Methodist Church, United Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Reformed Church of America, and American Baptist Church USA. In these denominations that practice infant baptism, the researchers selected the congregations that had baptized five or more adult believers in a year--which came to only 150 congregations out of some 30,000 across the US, Reese said.

What characterizes successful evangelism? There are three factors for success, Reese said: the successful congregations love Jesus, their members and pastors know how to express their faith and talk about what it means in their lives, and the pastoral leadership is open to new things.

“It’s so rare to find a mainline church with the motivation to do evangelism,” she said, “and pastors are worse than the laypeople. They don’t know how to talk about their faith, and pastors have had no (seminary) training” in how to talk about their faith personally, she said.

From her extensive interviews and interactions with mainline pastors, she reported candidly, “We have an agnostic clergy, or exhausted clergy.”

Reese herself came to know Christ through the faith sharing of a college friend. Reese grew up completely unchurched, and her college friend was “the first smart Christian who talked about it. She talked about Jesus like he was real,” Reese remembered.

But her key recommendation for congregations and pastors interested in evangelism is to begin with prayer. An example came from her first connection with the Church of the Brethren, when she was pastoring a struggling congregation, and the group began using “People of the Covenant,” the small group study series published by Brethren Press. “You turned around the congregation!” she told the Brethren. The experience of People of the Covenant “changed the entire spirit of the congregation,” she said. “They studied, they prayed.”

When asked how to do evangelism while maintaining Brethren identity, Reese responded that “trying to reason people into our interpretation of the Gospel doesn’t work.” She urges a way of faith sharing that is not defensive, and is appreciative of another’s perspective. Relational evangelism works, she said, “and being honest about our faith. That’s the whole ballgame. That’s the only thing that works in our culture.”

In addition, she advised the General Board to “move heaven and earth to identify young leadership,” even to go so far as diverting money and resources from other ministries that seem important. “Do everything you can do to get a generation of pastors and church planters,” she said to the Congregational Life Teams. Even the simple asking of a question of congregations, “Who do you have that you could call to leadership?” may change the culture of the church, she said. She also urged the planting of new congregations.

“Does a denomination like ours have a future?” a Congregational Life Team staff member asked Reese. “I have no idea,” she replied, “but I know we can do something, if everybody starts praying and asking what to do.”

“Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism” may be ordered from Brethren Press for $19.99 plus shipping and handling, call 800-441-3712. For more information about the evangelism study go to www.GraceNet.info.

Source: 3/14/2007 Newsline