This month in El Salvador my team is doing Unsung Heroes, where we find and meet new potential contacts for future teams. We do this by praying and asking the Lord to lead us in the right direction as we research and speak to people.
This has led us to meeting many pastors, ministers, organizations, people in the community from diverse values, missions and denominations. In a way, it’s been like an interviewing process. We talk about our mission’s organization, our goals for the meeting, logistical information and vice versa.
Having met with many people by now, I’ve noticed a common mission with a lot of them. Their goal is to bring people to salvation. Their goal is to get as many people to heaven.
Many swear by evangelism to complete this mission. You know, the door-to-door kinda evangelism. The “let me tell you who Jesus is so you can accept Him in your heart and you can go to heaven“, the “let me check another one off the list and feel good about my efforts” kinda deal.
Yes this is important but in a place like Central America it should be different. Central America, like most of Latin America, we were conquered by the Spanish and were indoctrinated into Catholicism. So people here know about God and know about His son Jesus already.
Ask a Central American if they believe in God and His son Jesus and more than likely they will say YES (…or you can just look at the public buses with all their religious stickers.)
It’s kinda ingrained in us. It’s in our culture. In our blood, it seems like.
So the question is not if they know of God, the question is if they see God in us? In our actions?
Evangelism focuses on preaching the word of God. Speaking it out. Letting it be known to others. However, people know it in Central America.
So what do we do next?
We ought to live out the word of God.
Churches, ministers, Christian organizations and all believers in this region need to focus on living out the word of God.
Our behavior and actions ought to speak louder than our words.
It is easier to say things and tell you what I believe….but if I don’t actually put it into practice then what am I doing?
That’s the thing. This is what is happening in Latin America. We talk and talk and talk about the word but are we putting it into action?
Go feed the hungry.
Go shelter the homeless.
Go visit the sick.
Go encourage the prostitute.
Go clean a park.
Go visit a prisoner.
Go have coffee with a blind person.
Let’s stop talking about the word and start living it out like Jesus did.
