Altar call at Iglesia de Casa de Misericordia in Fairfax, Minnesota in September.

By Tom Shanklin

“Oh my friends, we are loaded with countless church activities, while the real work of the church, that of evangelizing and winning the lost is almost entirely neglected.” (Oswald J. Smith)

There are many wonderful quotes attributed to Oswald J. Smith, but the one above encapsulates the great deficiency of the Church, then and now. It serves as a stern reminder to Christians and Church leaders to stay on task with the real work of the church, evangelizing and winning the lost.

Oswald J. Smith was a man who was greatly burdened for lost souls. Because of the compelling desire to reach the lost, he endeavored to become a missionary but was rejected by several missionary boards because of ill health. Finally, he found his calling in life as a pastor of The Peoples Church, an interdenominational church in Toronto, Canada. At his funeral in 1986, Billy Graham called him “the greatest combination pastor, hymn writer, missionary statesman, and evangelist of our time.” Smith traveled extensively, wrote tirelessly, and raised millions of dollars for world missions. His life demonstrates that love will find a way to reach the lost. Like Oswald J. Smith, you can find your place in the great harvest plan of God.

Tragically, in too many churches, trivial pursuits predominate the agenda, instead of preaching the cross of Jesus Christ. As Oswald Smith also said, “The church that fails to evangelize will fossilize.” 

Before Jesus left this earth, He gave His Church “The Great Commission.” He told us (all of us) to “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.” He’s talking about the world where I live and you live, plus all the nations of the world. But in all too many cases, it could be called “The Great Omission.” It seems the church is often involved in everything but its true mission of evangelizing the world. Satan is working overtime to divert the church of Jesus Christ from its true purpose. 

But God’s purposes will not be thwarted. Jesus loves His bride, but He loves her too much to leave her the way she is. God will have his way! Change will come that will awaken the church. We can see that it happened in the Bible, and we can see it happened in history. 

When the early believers became inwardly focused, great persecution came upon the church in Jerusalem. Christians were scattered to other places. When many of them came to Antioch of Syria, they began to preach to Gentile believers, and many received Christ. The church at Antioch was established and became the great missions-sending station of the early church, which spread Christianity throughout the world. 

Interestingly, the church today is growing more rapidly in places of great persecution, such as China, Iran, and Nepal, than anywhere else in the world. It seems when the church gets shaken out of its country club mentality, real spiritual life comes forth, and the church begins to expand. 

John Wesley was an Church of England (Anglican) minister who was born again and began to preach salvation through a personal relationship with Christ. As a result, doors were closed to his ministry in the Anglican Church. So, he followed the call of God outside the church, traveling tirelessly preaching to coal miners in the open air, when they would come out the mines. 

In order to disciple the new converts, Wesley established “societies” to teach and encourage believers. Then he trained preachers to go travel in a circuit and minister to these “societies.” This network of societies eventually became the Methodist Church, although Wesley never intended to start a denomination. Similarly, today many churches and denominations are shutting the door to the Gospel. New wineskins are once again needed to contain the new wine of the Holy Spirit.

Evangelism is proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. It’s everyone’s business. First, it’s the evangelist’s business, a ministry office that has been almost entirely neglected and ignored by the Church in recent years. It is also the business of every other Gospel minister (apostle, prophet, pastor, and teacher) as well as every member of the body of Christ. In some way, each of us is called to win and nurture souls for the Kingdom of God. Like Oswald J. Smith, we need to find our specific place of ministry and fulfill it. 

Some of our friends and partners inspire me greatly in their dedication to reaching people with the Good News. A friend from North Dakota has had great battles with her health in recent years. At times, she has found herself in the hospital for procedures to keep her body functioning. Every time she is in the hospital, people are drawn to her bedside, and she ends up leading them to Christ. In no way do I think her sickness came from God, but I see that she is doing a good job of turning tables on the devil and defeating him, in spite of the hardships she is facing. 

A rancher friend from South Dakota is great at connecting with people. While at a restaurant with his wife recently, he began to chat with their waitress. He asked her, “Say, have you been born again?” She answered, “I’ve heard something about that, but I don’t know what it means.” He then shared the Gospel and led her in prayer right in the restaurant to receive Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior. 

Another farming couple from western Minnesota has been writing to us for years, asking us to pray with them for family members and friends for salvation. Recently, the man’s father died, but before he left the earth, a pastor from their church led his dad to Christ. Other family members and friends have also come to Christ. Recently, several friends and relatives were baptized as a result of their witness and the preaching of the Gospel at their local Church. 

Folks, we can do this! We’ve got the greatest message, the greatest Savior, the greatest salvation. God forgives through Jesus Christ. He saves. He heals. He delivers. He changes lives! And we have the great privilege of letting people know about it.

 Now is the time for the church to arise and take her rightful place! It’s time to do the real work of the church, reaching the lost and making disciples. 

Go for it!