Four Principals of Evangelism
William Ross was a Scotsman who worked extensively in Wales in the late 1800’s and was a forerunner and a contributor to the change in the spiritual climate in that country that laid the groundwork for the revival of 1904.
We was a a passionate believer in the local church and a passionate believer in local evangelism. He had four central principals that were foundational to his work:
- The church must aim at the spiritual, not the temporal well-being of the unevangelized.
- The local congregation must be the agent of evangelism, not a para-church body.
- The congregation must have a clearly defined target area for it’s activities. ‘It is better to plough a small filed that to scratch a whole acre.’
- The church building must be in constant use as a center of outreach with daily evangelical meetings.
….nothing has changed.
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3 responses so far
Interestingly enough, #1 barbeques a sacred cow I was taught growing up (you must meet temporal needs first) and #2-4 seems to go against current church trends. these principles clearly define what is important - the spiritual, the local church, and targeted focus. Brilliant!
Brilliant, just brilliant!
Me thinks Richard Baxter would smile upon this!