On the relationship between fellowship and evangelism
All humans have a common and deeply felt need to be loved. It is written, “God said, it is not good that man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18). We were created to be social creatures and we all want to be loved and accepted by our associates. Feeling alone and unwanted is an anathema to the human spirit and leads to despair. We all have a need to be connected to others. We all need a sense of family and of belonging. This is the essence of the Biblical concept of Koinonia (fellowship).
This fellowship or connectedness is a major theme in scripture. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it” (1 Cor. 12:27). Paul said, “For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one part but many” (1 Cor. 12:12-=14). His point is that we all belong to one another; we are individual parts of one body. Therefore, we ought to love and cherish one another. Jesus said, “By this will all people know that you are my disciples; if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).
The book of Acts (2: 42-47) records the practice of the early church, “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship (koinonia), to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all the believers were together and had all things in common; and they would sell their property and possessions and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their numbers day by day those who were being saved.”
We see here a connection between mutual love and fellowship and evangelism. As the church was communing with one another in love and mutual concern, the Lord was adding to their number. When those outside of the community of the messiah saw how they lived and their love and concern for the mutual wellbeing of everyone they were attracted to not only the message but the lifestyle. Genuine love draws people together. It is the essential element in evangelism. There is an old expression that says, “people don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care.” Scripture says, “the kindness of God leads you to repentance.” (Rom. 2:4). Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Matt. 5:14-16) Our manner of life and fellowship often speaks louder than our words in our witness of the truth and the good news of the kingdom of God.
The Epistle to the Hebrews exhorts us “to encourage one another in love and good deeds, not abandoning our own meeting together, as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day approaching.” (Hebrews10:24-25) We need mutual fellowship and encouragement and without it our outreach will be much less effective. To do the work of evangelism we need to be strong in our love for one another. It is written in 1 John 2:10-11; 3:16, 18 “The one who loves his brother remains in the Light, and there is nothing in him to cause stumbling. But the one who hates his brother is in darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. . .We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. . .Little children, let’s not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.” John is exhorting us to action in kindness and generosity toward one another. As James wrote to the church, “If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?” (James 2:15-16) Love is expected to be demonstrated in tangible ways that benefits those in need.
In Matthew chapter 23 Jesus has harsh words for the scribes and Pharisees. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him twice the son of hell as yourselves.” (v.15) They were doing the work of evangelism but the result was not what our Lord was looking for. We all should ask ourselves, are we bringing people into a loving relationship with Christ our Lord or are we just converting people to our denominational or theological perspective? The scribes and Pharisees were the leading religious/faith leaders of their day. They were the Baptist or Methodist of their time and were looked upon as being the religious authorities. However, our Lord was not pleased with them. They knew about God but didn’t know and recognize God when they were standing in His presence. We want to be sure that we are not guilty of the same thing. Jesus recognized their zeal to be righteous in their own eyes but failed to fulfill the more important matters of the law. “Woe to you, scribes and hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” (Matt. 23:23) Living a life of genuine love and demonstrating compassion, mercy and justice to all is one of our greatest assets for evangelism. When people know that we care they may be drawn to care about what we know and more importantly who we know.
[Scripture references are from the NASB20]