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The Waldorf Vineyard Christian Fellowship |
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The Waldorf Vineyard Christian Fellowship |
Servant Evangelism serves by being a simple, straightforward approach to share God's love in simple, practical ways. Along with other smaller events, we host several major Servant Evangelism outreaches through the year, some of them being:
4th of July Soda Give-a-way: As the day draws to a close, people gather anticipating the light show about to begin on a hot, muggy July 4th. Often when people come together on an event such as this, the whole family comes and, people are likely to start chatting to their "neighbors" in the vehicle next to them. We've found that a cool drink on a warm, humid night is appreciated, and again, it gives us the opportunity to practically express God's love for people. Along with serving them (the servant part of Servant Evangelism), we get the opportunity to talk about Jesus, our relationship to him, and the relationship he wants to have with them.
October Neighborhood Outreaches: These events, held each October 31st, are our opportunity to reach out, touch the community and share Jesus Christ with our neighbors. We set up an abundance of lights to well light the yard. We grill free hot dogs, provide free chips, soda, coffee and of course candy. We also have simple games with prizes for the little kids who come. We also hang a large banner that says "It's all about Jesus", meaning, the reason for our going all out for our neighbors this way is because of what Jesus means to us, and we do it for Jesus, for the increase of his kingdom in the hearts of mankind. These are probably our most popular outreaches; enjoyed by both the community and our own people.
Community benefits: Most importantly, we aim to have non-Christians begin to open their hearts to God's love. People are a lot like porcupines: they either present their soft, vulnerable side or their prickly, skeptical side that says, "I don't want to hear anything about this Jesus you're talking about." Servant Evangelism has the potential to quickly get past a persons defenses and habitual responses to religious inquiry. The main focus should always be "sharing the love of God in a practical way": the focus is the love of God being shown through some medium; secondary to the main focus is the method or function, otherwise we become just another community service organization.
Christian benefits: Through evangelistic service, Christians are built up in their courage to share their faith with unbelievers. About 50% of Christians have shared their faith at some point, but only about 20% have actually lead someone to Christ. Servant Evangelism serves as a first step toward more risky approaches. The church becomes oriented toward action. The church is in continual need of redefining. It seems clear that the church in America is living in an age of great inwardness, Servant Evangelism gives the opportunity for freedom over fear about evangelism for the follower of Christ.