Church ‘short-circuiting’ its commission

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32720, 24 September 1971, Page 16

Church ‘short-circuiting’ its commission

The church had largely short-circuited its commission to go into the world and preach the gospel, the national director of Open Air Campaigners in New Zealand, and field director for South East Asia (Mr G. E. Bremner) said in an interview.

Mr Bremner is in Christchurch at the national con-

ference of Open Air Campaigners which finishes to-1 day. “If you asked me why' people don’t come to church I’d say why doesn’t the church go to the people," he said.

There was now a quickening interest in visitation, radio and tape ministries, but speaking nationally the gap between “churchianity" and vital Christianity was becoming more marked, said Mr Bremner.

Often a strong evangelical

core In a church disguised what could only otherwise be called nominality, he said. Generally speaking the Open Air Campaigners were well accepted by the established churches because they did not duplicate church programmes but supplemented them.

Asked whether O.A.C. was often criticised for not being discreet about its Christianity, Mr Bremner said that enthusiastic Christianity was Often criticised. “If the outfit were a fanatical, crackpot movement it would not have attracted those who were making their marks in other walks of life. The last director in Hamilton was a Cambridge M.A.; and on our staff at present we have an industrial chemist, a business executive and three school teachers," he said. The main purpose of the O.A.C. was to work in areas where the church was not active, by providing tools for training, and leadership in communicating the gospel in i the open air. 1 The approach of the O.A.C. 1 was direct evangelism with a ■ face-to-face presentation ■ aimed at causing people to ’ make up their minds about • turning to Jesus Christ, said i Mr Bremner. : Essentially the method was r to attract the attention of ■ people, gather a crowd, and then communicate the gospel » in a palatable form. The prer sentation of musical items, i and the use of a sketch board ; were two of the key ways of . attracting attention. Mock in- ! terviews were another. The curiosity element gath- ' ered a crowd; then the gospel was presented by ordinary • people with whom the crowd could identify, he said.