What do we mean when we use words like “evangelism” and “mission”? If “evangelism” means no more than bringing people to faith in God, have we taken them any further than the deist who sees ‘God’ as the most rational explanation of the mystery of life. Surely, evangelism takes us beyond this by focusing attention on our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. When mission emphasizes the importance of being a “gracious neighbour”, we must surely take care to make it clear that being a gracious neighbour arises out of loving the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength (Luke 10:27). If, in our understanding of our work for the Lord, we emphasize the importance of both our words and our actions, I don’t think there is any great need to say that evangelism is one thing and mission is something else. Both words describe our commitment to serving the Lord in the whole of life.
