Evangelicals Now
Christian news worldwide
magnifying glass Search archives
home Home check the archives Archives Subscribe Subscriptions Advertising Information & booking of classifieds Adverts Find a local evangelical Church Find a church for the search engines and extremely curious! About us Contact us Site Map
Printable
Version

The Commentary

Making friends for the church

‘What do I think of Christians? I think most are hypocritical. I also think most are judgmental and are not very accepting of most others.’

That online comment may well fit the bill for some of us, in which case we must repent. But there are good Christians who are not like that. However, what tends to happen is that we are all tarred with the same brush. That means that people are wary of us and will not be open to giving the gospel of Christ a fair hearing from us.

In late June, Don Maclean, the former Radio 2 religious programme host described the BBC as being keen on programmes which attack churches. He said, ‘They seem to take the negative angle every time’. Thus there is continual media propaganda campaign to the nation giving a negative image of Christianity. Though this situation is a tragedy, it should not surprise us. Paul warned us that ‘the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4.4), and prejudicing people against Christians is simply a part of that Satanic strategy.

Recognising this prejudice, many churches are seeing the value of outreach which, first of all, simply seeks to win friends for the church. One church I know hires the local lido on a summer’s evening and invites families to come and enjoy themselves. Or it might be a village quiz or even a car boot sale in the church car park. Once people feel at home with Christians and can see past the caricatures, then they might be in a better position to listen to the good news.

Things can change dramatically when we adopt such an approach. I was reminded of this recently when I read again the story of The Small Woman, Gladys Aylward, and her experiences as a missionary to China in the 1930s. She joined an older missionary, Jeannie Lawson, at the town of Yangcheng. The reception Gladys received from the locals was hostile. ‘They hate us here’, said Mrs. Lawson, ‘They call us foreign devils. It’s something you’ll have to get used to.’

The Inn of Eight Happinesses

There was prejudice there against Christians far greater than anything we experience. How was it overcome? They found the answer one day as they were watching a mule train pass by. Many of these came through the town carrying goods to other parts of China. The next nearest village was a day’s journey, so the mules and drivers stayed the night in Yangcheng. ‘If we could only talk to the muleteers’, Gladys said, ‘they’d carry our message for miles through the province’. It was a ‘eureka!’ moment.

‘You’ve put your finger right on it’, said Jeannie Lawson. ‘We’ll open an inn. That is what our house was built for in the first place. There’s room for at least 50 men to sleep in it.’ Gladys was carried along by Jeannie Lawson’s enthusiasm. The roof was mended, new doors were fixed, and the courtyard and rooms cleaned out. ‘Once we’ve got the muleteers inside, we can tell them Bible stories’, said Jeannie. ‘All Chinese love stories.’

So it was that in months to come with Gladys taking it upon herself to grab the bridles of the front mules and lead them to the courtyard, what became known as The Inn of Eight Happinesses became their way of making friends for the church. Is there something your church could do for its community and so open a door for the gospel?

John Benton