Developing A Culture of Evangelism in the URCNA 

[URCNA Synodical Home Missions Committee]


The committee has spent considerable time discussing the importance of developing a healthier “culture of evangelism” in our churches. Such a culture is far more than the outreach plans and occasional efforts of office-bearers and missions/evangelism committees. In a healthy culture of evangelism, the whole congregation is motivated by the gospel it believes and cherishes to reach out to the lost and to make more disciples of Jesus Christ. This culture develops only when church leaders continually keep the mission before the congregation so that it shapes the entire ministry. 

This concept is developed helpfully in the small book by J. Mack Stiles, Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus (Crossway, Wheaton, IL, 2014). In such a culture, we would expect our people to grow to be more committed to loving their neighbors and more ready to welcome and enfold new people into our churches.   

Since the COVID pandemic many of our congregations have seen an increase of visitors from a variety of backgrounds. A culture of evangelism leads us not only to see God's hand at work here but also to seize the opportunity so that our members warmly greet visitors, help them to feel welcome, and plan for their return. Our church members should not assume that visitors are from sister churches, that they are Reformed, or even that they are Christians. For some visitors, it is a huge step to enter the doors of a church. Our members should help them to find a seat and to follow the order of worship. Visitors are far more likely to return when we attend to them in these small but significant ways. 

Moreover, in a culture of evangelism a good deal of informal discipleship will take place because the ordained church leaders are not the only ones who share with others the riches of Christ and of the Christian life – other church members are able and eager to share gospel riches with others, whether in small group settings or on an individual basis. When God blesses our churches with new converts, we gain a new appreciation of what we possess through years of spiritual nurture. A culture of evangelism encourages and creates opportunities for these riches to be shared. 

When the local church has a healthy culture of evangelism the most important kind of witnessing takes place through the words and deeds of the members, not primarily through evangelistic programs, however valuable those might be. Instead, witnessing regularly and naturally happens in the daily lives of church members who shine as lights in the world of their existing relationships at work, at play, and in the neighborhood. 

This may all sound abstract and somewhat unattainable for many of our churches. However, the Synodical Committee on Home Missions believes that there are many small, concrete steps our churches can take to help cultivate this growth. In that spirit we offer the following practical suggestions for promoting a culture of evangelism in our churches. We hope that these ideas will give some helpful direction to consistories and evangelism committees in our churches. 
  • Pastors must preach the gospel in a robust way each week for the nourishment of believers and for the salvation of the lost. This will train members in evangelism and give them confidence that they can bring unbelievers to public worship to hear the gospel.
  • Train leaders to give some evangelistic shape to the entire ministry of the church. The SCHM strongly recommends the excellent little book Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus by J. Mack Stiles.  
  • Provide church members with gospel tracts, church information cards, and other literature that they can easily share with others (see for example “Resources for Changing Lives” produced by the Christian Counselling and Educational Foundation). The SCHM offers many other suggestions at the “Resources” page of www.urcnamissions.org. 
  • Design fellowship events, Bible studies and small group meetings to be hospitable gatherings to which church members can invite visitors and other non-members.
  • Maintain regular prayer meetings which give attention to love of neighbor, evangelism, and making disciples of Christ, etc. A strong commitment to meet regularly is more important than the frequency or size of such meetings. 
  • Give the congregation regular opportunities for training in evangelism and apologetics. For example, groups could view and discuss recorded sessions from previous URCNA Missions Conferences (www.youtube.com/@urcnamissions) or from the annual conferences of the Center for Mission & Evangelism (look for the conference playlist at www.youtube.com/@MidAmericaReformedSeminary).
  • Train members for loving engagement with neighbors (see The Art of Neighboring by Jay Pathak & Dave Runyon; The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield). 
  • Provide some format for new members and converts to share their testimony with the congregation. This can be a tremendous encouragement, an exercise in evangelism, and a great way to motivate our people to share the gospel.

Further details and concepts may be found in the 2026 Report of the URCNA Synodical Home Missions Committee beginning at page 236 of the document linked HERE.

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