The Importance of Evangelism for the Growth of the Church

Priska Sinaga

priskasinaga30@gmail.com

Abstract

A growing church is a church that carries out its primary task of evangelism. The task of evangelism is duty of all believers without exception. A growing church will always carry out the Great Commission commanded by the Lord Jesus (Matthew 28: 18-20). The church in question is not a luxurious building but believers. The church is called to be agents of spreading the news of salvation to all mankind. So that one of the calls of the church is to make disciples of all human beings. The Lord Jesus wants the church to be the source and light of God's glory and love for the world. Church growth is an important issue that continues to be a concentration for church leaders, be it the pastor as the pastor of the congregation or an assembly in a local congregation. Evangelism is an effective means of promoting church growth. This evangelistic mission can be carried out with various strategies according to the characteristics of the community around the church to be able to spread the gospel effectively. The research method used is the librarian study method (qualitative). The literature study method is a series of activities related to research methods. A growing church is a living and healthy church, where the church grows in quality and quantity. Quality is related to the spiritual life of the church, while quantity is related to the number of congregations. A church that grows spiritually will influence itself to bring others to come and believe in Jesus. Believers will become witnesses for others with the power of the Holy Spirit so that they can lead everyone to accept the person of Jesus, and be able to do God's Word in their daily lives.

Keywords: Evangelism, Church Growth, Great Commission

preliminary

The term church growth can be interpreted as the effectiveness of the spread of the gospel and the multiplication of churches in new areas. According to the statutes of the Nort American Society for Church Growth what is meant by church growth is a scientific discipline that investigates the nature, expansion, planting, multiplication, function and well-being of the Christian church in relation to the effective application of God's Commission to make disciples of all nations. Him (Matthew 28: 18-20). Basically church growth is a biblical ministry driven by data and strategy. 1

1 Peter Wongso, Church Work and Mission Today. (Malang: SAAT, 1999) 51-52

The term "evangelism" is closely related to the life of the church throughout the ages. In today's context, several local churches respond to evangelism as a task

that is done through witnessing to the people he meets. The church becomes God's representative to carry out His plan to reach all mankind.

Evangelism is at the center of every conversation in church growth or health. The basis of evangelism is the Bible. The Bible gives the responsibility to evangelize the world, the Bible gives the gospel to be preached, tells how to tell it and promises that the gospel is God's power for the salvation of every believer.

Research methods

The research method used is the librarian study method (qualitative). The literature study method is a series of activities related to research methods. 2With this, the researcher tries to collect information that is relevant to the topic or problem that is the object of research through books and journals.

2 Mestika Zed, Library Research Methods. (Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia, 2008) 3

3 Yakob Tomatala, Mission Theology. (Jakarta: YT Leadership Foundation, 2003) 185-186

Discussion

Evangelism for church growth

The church exists to exalt the Savior, equip the saints, and evangelize to sinners. Evangelism is the natural result of a Christ-filled "body" that lives and functions in a community. Evangelism is the result of the life of Christ flowing into the church. One of the secrets of church growth is the secret of "sustaining evangelism." Defending evangelism is the art of winning souls and defending them. Effective evangelism will produce souls who experience repentance and this will make the church grow in quality. Church growth is a scientific field that must be studied from all aspects, in relation to the implementation of the Great Commission of Jesus Christ; focuses on producing actual growth, with the growth of new souls as part of the growth of expansion, existence, continuity, and across cultures and locations. 3

Rick Warren defines true church growth as consisting of five aspects: