Worship Evangelism -- Chapter 4 -- Worship Evangelism: The Reasons

I confess I have found this chapter rather tedious. The reason? The thrust of the chapter is to convince people that worship should be open to everyone: both seekers and believers alike. My firm belief in the beauty and power of God's prevenient grace (the grace at work in our lives even before we believe)makes the idea of different events for seekers and believers seem ridiculous. However, she does share some thoughts on defining worship and evangelism in some helpful ways.

Worshippers, don't just enjoy God's wonderful presence for yourselves. Call others to join you there through faith in Christ. And those of you who want to see the world come to Christ, don't just call men and women to believe, call them to worship. --Gerrit Gustafson

We need to be creating an atmosphere of unparalleled welcome and acceptance in our places of worship. It should not matter what kind of religious credentials people have, what their income is, how they look, or where they spent Saturday night. God meets people where they are. And that means our churches should be public, not private, space.

In worship that witnesses, God's truth and the uniqueness of Christ are communicated primarily through the worshippers and the acts of worship and only secondarily through the sermon . . . .

And if that is true (and I believe it is true), how would our worship services differ from their current format?

What is worship evangelism? Gerrit Gusafson defines it in two profound but simple phrases: "wholehearted worshipers calling the whole world to the whole hearted worship of God . . .[and] the fusion of the power of God's presence with the power of the gospel."

Please help me by praying for a core group of wholehearted worshippers to help start this new service.