What Is The Most Important Message Needed for the Church Today？
Stephen Elliott emphasizes that the church today must move beyond lifestyle and friendship evangelism and instead rely on the power and presence of God through the Holy Spirit to truly draw people to faith.
The sermon emphasizes the need for the church to shift its focus from lifestyle and friendship evangelism, which has shown limited effectiveness, to seeking after the presence of God through signs, wonders, and miracles. It highlights the importance of relying on the power of the Holy Spirit to draw people in rather than solely on human efforts.
Full Transcript
The most important message for the church, boy that's a great question and I know I could answer in probably a hundred different ways, but if I would say one thing that the church needs to pay attention to right now is to stop relying on lifestyle and friendship evangelism as its major emphasis on how to win people for Christ. We have about a 40-year track record and we know that lifestyle evangelism and friendship evangelism does not result in hardly anybody coming to faith in Christ. Now I'm not saying that a Christian shouldn't live christianly and they should of course live godly, but as an evangelism strategy we know it doesn't work very very well.
Some people do come to faith because of how people live, but not very many. The research is almost universally acknowledged that only about one percent of Christians these days are actually sharing their faith per year and only about five percent of Christians in their lifetime will ever lead somebody to the Lord. If we take that back to the book of Acts and think what if only one percent of the people in the upper room shared their faith and only five percent ever saw somebody come to faith in Christ, where would the church be? Lifestyle and friendship evangelism is not the reason why the church is exploding outside of North America.
Outside of North America the primary reason why the church is exploding with growth and with vitality is because they're leaning so heavily into seeking after the presence of God in their midst. Signs and wonders and miracles, things of that nature, and so an increased openness to the personal work of the Holy Spirit and stop relying on lifestyle and friendship evangelism as a way of drawing people in. Count on God to draw people in when God shows up with power and strength.
Sermon Outline
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I. The Problem with Current Evangelism
- Lifestyle and friendship evangelism is ineffective
- Only a small percentage of Christians share their faith
- Current methods do not lead to significant church growth
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II. Biblical Perspective on Evangelism
- Reflect on the early church in Acts
- Consider the impact if only a few shared faith then
- Contrast with modern evangelism statistics
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III. The Role of the Holy Spirit
- Church growth outside North America is driven by the Holy Spirit
- Signs, wonders, and miracles accompany genuine evangelism
- Rely on God’s power rather than human strategies
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IV. Call to Action
- Stop relying solely on lifestyle evangelism
- Seek the presence and power of God
- Trust God to draw people through the Holy Spirit
Key Quotes
“Lifestyle and friendship evangelism does not result in hardly anybody coming to faith in Christ.” — Stephen Elliott
“Only about one percent of Christians these days are actually sharing their faith per year and only about five percent of Christians in their lifetime will ever lead somebody to the Lord.” — Stephen Elliott
“Count on God to draw people in when God shows up with power and strength.” — Stephen Elliott
Application Points
- Evaluate and move beyond relying solely on lifestyle evangelism in your personal witness.
- Seek a deeper openness to the Holy Spirit’s work in your life and church.
- Trust God to bring people to faith through His power rather than human effort alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is lifestyle evangelism?
Lifestyle evangelism is the approach of winning people to Christ primarily through living a godly life and building friendships.
Why does Stephen Elliott criticize lifestyle evangelism?
He points out that research shows it results in very few people coming to faith and is not an effective evangelism strategy.
What does Elliott suggest as a better approach?
He encourages relying on the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, including signs and wonders, to draw people to Christ.
How does church growth outside North America differ?
It is largely driven by an openness to the Holy Spirit’s work, resulting in miracles and vitality, rather than lifestyle evangelism.
What biblical example does Elliott use?
He references the early church in Acts, emphasizing the importance of bold faith sharing empowered by the Holy Spirit.