Wesleyan Pastoral Ministry, Evangelism, and Global Missions — Unit 5: Evangelism in the Wesleyan Way: From Field Preaching to Modern Outreach

Key Verse

"How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:14, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Give three Wesleyan reasons for evangelism: God's love for all, prevenient grace, and the command of Christ.

2. Describe how Wesley came to preach in the open air in 1739 and what he did to keep converts.

3. Name the main methods of early Methodist evangelism and the principle behind each.

4. Apply those principles to a modern congregation, including a congregation in a mostly Catholic community.

5. State three objections to Wesleyan evangelism and give the Wesleyan answers.

The Voice of This Course

This course is written from inside the Wesleyan tradition, for pastors who belong to it. We hold that the Bible is God's inspired Word, that Christ died for all, that God's grace goes before our choice, and that He calls His people to holiness. Other Christians differ on some points; we state their views fairly and answer from the Wesleyan side. See Course 1, Unit 4 for the history of field preaching and Course 2 for the doctrine behind it.

Why Wesleyans Evangelize

God loves all people. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). The Wesleyan teaching that Christ died for all (Course 2, Unit 2) is not only a point of doctrine. It is the ground of the preacher's confidence. He can go to any town and any person and say, "Christ died for you."

God is already at work. Wesley taught prevenient grace: before anyone seeks God, God has been seeking him. John says of Christ, "That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world" (John 1:9). When Paul came to Athens, he did not begin as if the people knew nothing. He began with what they had, an altar "To the unknown God," and he told them who this God is (Acts 17:22-31). The Wesleyan evangelist goes to people with confidence that the Spirit has been working in them, and with respect for the questions they already have.

Christ commands it. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations" (Matthew 28:19). Paul asks in our key verse how people will believe without hearing, and how they will hear without a preacher. The gospel does not spread by itself. God has chosen to use people.

These three reasons explain why Wesley was willing to break the customs of his day. He is often quoted as saying that he looked on all the world as his parish. He wrote this in 1739 in explaining why he preached outside the bounds of the parishes. He meant that a person who has been called by God to save souls cannot be stopped by a line on a map.

How Wesley Came to Preach in the Open Air

We told this story in Course 1; here we draw out its lessons for evangelism.

In 1739 Wesley was an ordained Church of England priest who cared very much about order. George Whitefield, the great preacher, had begun to preach in the open air to the coal miners at Kingswood near Bristol, because the churches would not receive them and many of the miners never went to church. Whitefield invited Wesley to come to Bristol to continue the work. Wesley himself tells us in his Journal that at first he could scarcely accept so strange a way of preaching. He had been so strict about church order that he had thought the saving of souls almost a sin if it was not done in a church. But in April 1739, near Bristol, he preached in the open air, and he continued to do so for the rest of his long life.

What changed his mind? He saw that the people who most needed the gospel were not in the church buildings. He found that Jesus Himself preached on hillsides and by the sea, and that the Sermon on the Mount was given in the open. He concluded that the need of the lost took priority over the customs of the place.

The lesson for us is not that every pastor must stand in a field. It is that the church must go to where the people are. Jesus told the servant in His parable to "go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled" (Luke 14:23). If people will not come to us, we must go to them.

The Methods of Early Methodist Evangelism

Behind Wesley's methods are principles that can be used anywhere.

Open-air preaching: go to the people. Wesley preached in fields, markets, town squares, and near prisons and mines. He chose places where people already gathered. Principle: Meet people on their ground.

Lay preachers: use every gift. Wesley did not have enough ordained clergy, so he sent out laymen and laywomen with a gift for speaking and a clear life. Course 1 tells how this grew. Principle: The task of evangelism belongs to the whole church. Acts 8:4 says of the scattered believers that they "went everywhere preaching the word."

Plain preaching: speak so they can understand. As Unit 2 taught, Wesley spoke plain truth to plain people. Principle: Use the language of the hearer.

Singing: let the hymn preach. Charles Wesley wrote thousands of hymns that teach the gospel and the way of holiness in memorable words. Ordinary people who could not read could remember a hymn. Principle: Put the message in forms that people can carry in their hearts and their mouths.

Printed material: reach beyond the preacher's voice. Wesley published many tracts, sermons and small books at a low price. Principle: Use the tools of your day, whether print, radio or the internet.

Visiting: go door to door. Wesley urged his preachers to visit from house to house, as Paul did in Ephesus (Acts 20:20). Principle: Personal contact makes the message real.

Societies and classes: keep the fruit. Most important of all, those who were awakened were gathered into small groups for teaching, prayer and watching over one another (Unit 3). Principle: Evangelism without follow-up wastes the harvest.

The Message: What Wesleyans Preach to the Lost

The message is not new. Wesley's themes are the same as those in Unit 2: sin and our need, Christ's death for all, repentance and faith, the new birth, the witness of the Spirit, and the call to holiness. Later Wesleyans have sometimes summed up the teaching in four statements: that all people need to be saved, that all people can be saved, that all people can know they are saved, and that all people can be saved to the uttermost. These statements are a later summary and not Wesley's own formula, but they express his teaching well.

The Wesleyan evangelist does not stop at "accept Jesus." He tells the new believer what has happened (forgiveness, the new birth, adoption into God's family) and what follows (growth, the means of grace, the fellowship of the church, and the hope of being made perfect in love). He does not promise that life will become easy. He tells the truth, as Jesus did, that the way includes taking up the cross.

Historians and the Revival

Historians have long discussed what the Methodist revival did to English society. Some have argued that Methodism taught working people discipline and hope and that it helped keep England from a revolution like the one in France. Others dispute this and say the effect was small, or that it was mixed. Still others stress that Methodism gave poor people dignity, schooling in reading and public speaking, and a place to lead.

We do not need to settle that debate. The Wesleyan answer is that the purpose of evangelism is not to produce social peace or national improvement, but the salvation of people and their growth in holiness. If a changed society follows, it is a fruit and not the aim. At the same time, Wesley did not separate the gospel from care of the poor; Unit 6 will look at that.

Modern Outreach in the Wesleyan Way

How do these principles work in a small church today? Here are some ways.

Every member a witness. The most effective evangelism in most places is a friend who tells another friend. Train members to tell in plain words how they came to know Christ, and to invite a friend. Peter writes, "Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15).

The home group as an open door. A new person may find it easier to come to a small home group than to a large service. The group should stay open to new people and be warm to them.

Acts of kindness. A free meal, a medical day, a school help program or a visit to the sick opens many doors. Jesus said that people would "see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). Kindness is not a trick to gain a hearing. It is love, and love speaks for itself.

Special services and campaigns. These can help, but only if there is a plan to follow up those who respond, with a home visit within the week and a place in a group.

Children and families. Many families come to faith through their children. Work with children should be safe, honest and linked to the whole family.

Media and the internet. Where people have phones, a radio or the internet, the church can share Scripture, testimonies and invitations. These are tools. The relationship still begins with a person.

Pray. Jesus told the disciples to pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers (Matthew 9:38). Evangelism begins on the knees.

Objections and Wesleyan Answers

Objection 1: Wesley's methods were disorderly. He preached in other men's parishes and sent out untrained laymen.

In his own day, many Anglican clergy and some bishops objected strongly. They said he broke the order of the church and stirred up emotion, which they called "enthusiasm."

Our answer. Order matters, and Wesley did not break the doctrine of his church. He held to its Articles and its sacraments, and he urged his people to attend their parish church and the Lord's Supper. But order exists for the sake of the gospel and not the reverse. Paul said, "I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22). Where the usual means did not reach the lost, Wesley used other means. He also tested his work by fruit, by changed lives, and the fruit was plain. Our own churches must also guard against emotion without understanding. The remedy is sound teaching, not silence.

Objection 2: Calvinists say that evangelism makes sense only if God has already chosen who will be saved. The Wesleyan view makes salvation depend on human choice.

Our answer. A fair account must say that Calvinist Christians have been among the great evangelists and missionaries of history, and they believe that God uses the preaching of the gospel to call His elect. We honor that. But we believe that the Bible's own words, "whoever believes," "all men," and "the world," are to be taken as they stand, and that the preacher can honestly offer Christ to every person. We also say, with Scripture, that no one can come unless God draws him (John 6:44), and that all the glory in salvation belongs to God. For us, the free offer of the gospel is real because the atonement is for all.

Objection 3: Evangelism is disrespectful. It tries to change other people's religion. Why not live in peace?

Our answer. We respect every person as made in the image of God, and we seek to win no one by force, tricks or insult. We do not attack our neighbors' beliefs or the people who hold them. We speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). But we cannot be silent about Christ, for Peter said, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). To keep the gospel from a friend is not respect. It is to withhold the best we have. Evangelism is done by invitation, by example and by honest answers, and the final choice belongs to the hearer and to God.

Pastoral Application

Pastor Luis leads a church of about thirty people in a small town where most neighbors are Catholic. Some members have been rude in the past, mocking local customs. Several neighbors now avoid the church.

Luis begins by teaching his members three things. First, that their neighbors are people for whom Christ died, and not enemies. Second, that they should not argue about customs but tell what Christ has done in their own lives. Third, that they should invite and not pressure.

The church holds a Saturday meal and a free health check with a nurse from the congregation. Members invite neighbors by name. At the meal, a member gives a short testimony, and the pastor prays. He tells those who come that they are welcome to join a home group on Wednesday evening, where they may read the Bible and ask questions. Doña Marta comes, brings her sister, and, weeks later, tells the group that she has begun to pray to Jesus directly. Luis visits her family, listens to her questions, and does not speak against her church. He asks her to continue reading the Gospel of John and meets with her every week.

Some neighbors do not come. Luis does not push. He keeps greeting them, helps when there is need, and prays. He knows the Spirit has been at work before his church arrived.

Summary

Wesleyans evangelize because God loves all, because His grace is already at work in every person, and because Christ commands it. Wesley came to preach in the open air in 1739, at Whitefield's urging, because the lost were not in the church buildings, and he said he looked on all the world as his parish. The early Methodist methods rested on principles that still work: go to the people, use every gift, speak plainly, let the hymn preach, use print, visit from house to house, and keep the fruit in societies and classes. Historians debate the effect of the revival on English society; our aim is salvation and holiness, and social change is a fruit. For today, every member can be a witness, the home group can be an open door, kindness and prayer open hearts, and every effort needs follow-up. We answered the objections that Wesley's methods were disorderly, that Wesleyan evangelism is inconsistent with election, and that evangelism is disrespectful.

Further Reading

• The Journal of John Wesley, especially the entries for 1739 on field preaching at Bristol.

• John Wesley, "Salvation by Faith," "The Almost Christian" and "The Scripture Way of Salvation," in the Standard Sermons.

• John Wesley, "A Plain Account of the People Called Methodists," a primary source.

• Charles Wesley's hymns, a primary source for the message and language of Methodist evangelism.

• The Journal of Francis Asbury, a primary source on evangelism on the American frontier.

• John Wesley, Notes on the New Testament, on Acts 17 and Romans 10.

• Course 1, Unit 4 (Wesley's method), Course 2 (doctrine of salvation) and Course 5, Units 2 and 3 of this specialization.

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