Not Evangelism

Evangelism means preaching the gospel. That is all, and there is no substitute.

[S]ocial action or “mercy ministries” (e.g., soup kitchens, medical clinics, etc.) must never be mistaken for evangelism. They may be a means to evangelism, but they are not evangelism. The church’s main responsibility is gospel proclamation. Nothing must obscure the church’s central obligation to preach the gospel. Expounding Scripture in the local church equips members to understand and express God’s character of justice and mercy appropriately to the world. And this rightly means touching on issues of poverty, gender, racism, and justice from the pulpit. Such teaching, however, should normally occur without committing the church to particular public policy solutions. For example, Christian preachers could strenuously advocate the abolition of human trafficking without laying out specific policy proposals for how to do it. Christian preaching can speak to [sic] what ought to be done without assuming it has the expertise to untangle all the means necessary for achieving those good ends.

A non-Christian’s greatest need is to hear the gospel. The proclamation of the gospel addresses the greatest part of human suffering caused by the fall. It is central to fulfilling the Great Commission (Matt 28:18–20). And it is central to fulfilling the great commandments (Mark 12:29–31; cf. Gal 6:2). For the Christian these commandments must lie at the heart of any cultural mandate (Gen 1: 28).

—Mark Dever, The Church: The Gospel Made Visible