Organización del Sistema Educativo Ecuatoriano

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The fundamental motif of Christian evangelism is attached to the compassionate love to save souls from going to hell fire. That forms the reason preaching of the gospel to non-christians or anyone is carried out with an utmost sense of love by an evangelist. And love being a very viable stimulant for the work of evangelism, it ought not to be restricted to the preaching of the words of God. This love should provoke another dimension of evangelism by which Christians are motivated to involve themselves in social services of helping the needy in their midst even as they also preach the gospel to them. However Christians are not to engage in the use of social services as an instrument of manipulation of belief, rather as an expression of Jesus Christ’s own compassion.

In a historical run-up to the need for a social service, Jesus speaking in the book of Luke asks, “What does it profit my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has no works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, go in peace, be warmed and filled, without giving them the things needed for the body what does it profit?” (James 2: 15-16). In essence the early Christians are noted to have preached Christ with words and powerful work. It became very clear that the words cannot be separated from work in the sense that words are directed to the soul and works are relief given to bodily ills and wants. This is what is expected of today Christians to engage themselves into social services of helping the poor, the needy and the less privileged overcome their challenges.

While analyzing the fact that Wesley’s social services served a great evangelical purpose during his time, Ross (2014) observes that through Wesley’s concern and compassion for the poor, vulgar, base, and outcasts to call sinners to repentance, the poor responded to Wesley’s holistic evangelism and the Methodist movement spread throughout low-income earners in England and in America. A further insight from Ross shows that while the Church of England and its members participated in philanthropy, the church showed little interest in extending religious services to the poor. Wesley however would seek to connect the poor with

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both the social services and religious services of the Methodists holistically. Wesley’s physical presence with the poor was not limited to extending social services. Wesley also went to where the poor are to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The things to be grasped from the Wesley’s approach to evangelism as embedded in social services of attending to the need of the poor, is for Christians not to neglect the moral bounding and the responsibility placed on them as Christians to have compassion for starving people and for those who suffer from any form of social deprivation or the other. The significane of this is that in today’s society of diverse human suffering, the place of social service as means of helping the poor, the needy in the society for the sake of the gospel is to be encouraged. It has always been noticed that the poor, the needy, the hungry and the less privileged are the people that pay more attention to Christian evangelism. And the preaching of the gospel if it is being proclaimed by the same individuals that have shown them compassion either by feeding and providing for them or meeting of their needs it would aid their acceptability of the gospel.

Evangelism revolves around showing God’s love through example. Therefore Christians should show their faith in God through kindness to others. The true position of things remains that this kindness which is committed to serving the needy, the poor and the less privileged is done in love and for Christ’s name. But without making an explicit attempt to bring those they serve or help to Christ, any one that argues in this direction is perhaps justified to an extent, but one must bear in mind the sayings of Webster (1961) that “evangelism, if it is to be effective, must be carried out on the basis of equality and friendship, for as D.T. Niles has defined it, it is one beggar telling another where to get bread” (p. 150).

Suffice to say that evangelism is not only a matter of preaching the gospel as has been noted several times. Evangelism as well takes place in the context of friendship and social service. People are very much excited when practical steps are taken to preach to their hungry

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stomach with their needs met. It is God’s standard as stated in the book of Deuteronomy that the poor is to be looked after thus, “For the poor will never cease out of the land, therefore I command you, you shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor in the land” (Deuteronomy 15: 11). This certainly is seen as God’s standard which every Christian is expected to be encouraged to always do.

Campbell (2014) is emphatic when he states that, in fact church history is replete with examples of Christians for whom the proclamation of the gospel is absolutely number one, and yet they are not therefore ambivalent about the poor. Stating that George Whitefield and Charles Spurgeon are two great exemplars, no one could question their gospel credentials.

George Whitefield was arguably the greatest evangelist of the eighteenth century, having preached to hundreds of thousands of people in the UK and North America. And yet in 1740 he founded the Bethesda home for boys as an orphanage in Georgia, which still operates today as boys’ school. Charles Spurgeon was one of the great preachers and evangelists of the nineteenth century, with a church of over five thousand people. Yet, in 1867 he founded the stock well orphanage in London, which still exists as spurgeon’s child care. Campbell also went further to point out that these two men were outstanding preachers and evangelists, but they were not too busy to found orphanages. They were not so consumed by the gospel strategy that they failed to care for the disadvantaged.

In such communities as Amansea, Ugbenu, Awba-Ofemili, Aguobuowa, Oraukwu, Igboukwu and so on where violent evangelism crusade has taken place, if churches and Christian evangelists had been of help to the poor masses there by meeting their needs in such a way as sinking of water bore-hole to lessen the water problem of the people, by giving loans and grants to help the indigent ones in their business or agricultural production, they would have made a great success in their work of conversion. Since most of the beneficiaries remains the prospective converts they would therefore be favourable disposed to embrace Christian

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religion which would render the issue of forced conversion and violent evangelism crusade inconsequential. From whichever way one is to look at it, social services in this context implies taking care of the poor, orphans, and the needy which is of evangelistic significance. Some people are converted through the reality of social services rather than the effect of preaching.

As Christians, God tells us to care for the poor because He too cares for the poor. It is not just the right thing to do, but strategic for Christian evangelism and effective faith conversion.