TIME FOR RENEWED EVANGELISM

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 46, 18 November 1936, Page 10

TIME FOR RENEWED EVANGELISM

Advice to Presbyterians i I MODERATOR ADDRESSES GENERAL ASSEMBLY Dominion Special Service. Christchurch, November 17. "There are other things to be aimed at in preaching besides conversion, but if conversion is not tlie only thing to be aimed at. it is certainly the first thing,” said the Right Rev. T. H. Roseveare, newly-elected moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, in his address to the General Assembly to-night. •'Many state the' truth without pressing it on their hearers. They assume a ‘take it or leave it’ attitude. The consequence is the church does not grow, but decreases “Can it be that the lack of evangelistic preaching means the emptying of the pews? Can it be that one of the causes of the springing up of so many enthusiastic sects is the lack of a warm evangelistic atmosphere in our own? Is that true of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand? Our statistics show that of the 340.000 Presbyterians -on the census, 228,000 are under pastoral care, leaving 111.000 as yet untouched. In addition to that, the church attendance from 1928 to 1934 has declined by 5433—that is to say, from 83,869 to 78,436. What is tlie reason for this? What, do we, as a church, care for the careless non-churchgoer? Do we earnestly and passionately present the evangel, or are we more concerned about maintaining our churches and their activities? The best defensive is the offensive. Tlie church should choose the battlefield, and concentrate on pressing its unique message rather that) on maintaining its own security' and respectability. We are in urgent need of such evangelism. Central Place in Youth Work. “Evangelism must have the central place in all youth work. Let it be granted that there is a place, and au important place, for teacher training, for the preparation of a suitable syllabus, fo r the organising of rallies, camps and conferences. There are many questions that exercise the minds of our young people, and these must have due consideration in the discussions- But surely the matter of primary importance is to see that these young people make a definite decision for Jesus Christ. It cannot bb assumed that in all cases they have done so, and that the only message left is to urge them to Christian service. Before they have any service to give to the Master they must receive the grace He has to give them. Again, in our mission work, which is becoming more and more departmentalised, the evangelistic aim must predominate. Ou r church is not merely a civilising agency. Its first aim is to win men and women to Christ. Thus, wherever we turn, we discover that un enthusiastic evangelism is the key to success in the work. “What is needed? Merely a change of method, a simpler style of address, a more direct appeal, a more unrestrained fervour and greater stress on our unique message. Most ministers have commenced their ministries with evangelism. That which first led them to preach was a real passion for souls. But we have come to regard ourselves as calm expositors rather than as impassioned advocates. Mass Evangelism. "It is sometimes claimed that the old methods of evangelism have had their day, never to return. That may be too sweeping an assertion. We cannot forget that on the day of Pentecost crowds were gathered together, and “the Lord added the saved dally to their number” The charges of “manufactured revivals” and "artificial effervescence” and "unhealthy excitement” can scarcely be made against such evangelism as that. Still, we have had unfortunate recent experiences of mass evangelism that have made us very shy, and it will be some time before confidence is restored. “The minister of the Gospel is first and foremost an evangelist. It may be that one of the most marked weaknesses in our Church is the fact that this is overlooked. Examine the programme of work of many of our ministers to-day. Far too much of our time is taken up with organisation and committee work. The idea seems to have grown up that our main concern is to develop the institutional, whereas it is rather to foster the spiritual and win the outsider. This side of our work eould be much better attended to hy means of pastoral visitation if our hands were not so full of other duties which a minister is expected in these days to attend to.” ASSEMBLY OPENED Election of Moderator Bv Telegraph—Press Association Christcliurofli, November 17. The general assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand was opened at St. Paul’s Church this evening. The qpening session took the form of a service of praise led by the combined choirs of city churches, and the only business was tlie election of the Rt. Rev. T. H. Roseveare, Papatoetoe, as moderator. Tlie Rt. Rev. 11. H. Barton, retiring mmlerator, preachct) on the subject, "Standing Fast in a Day of Crisis,” and Mr. Roseveare’s address after his election was, "Evangelism, Our Unique Work.”