Preaching the gospel evangelistically in today’s world may be an unpopular or an intimidating task. Still, it’s the calling of believers to share the Good News in multiple contexts.
“We need to regain confidence in evangelistic preaching from the Scriptures, given by the Spirit, as a way that God uses to touch, to save, to change, to transform,” says Hélder, an OC Global Alliance mission worker and founding pastor of the Capítulo 29 church in Granada, Spain.
Preaching for All Audiences
Many Christians read or hear “evangelistic” and immediately think this message is not for me, but that’s not the case. Evangelistic preaching confronts people with the Word of God, Hélder says.
“Evangelistic preaching is able to identify how people think and view life. In light of that, it confronts people with the Word of God.” Hélder says. “It has the potential of showing Christians why we believe what we believe, and equip them in their personal evangelism.”
A message aimed at Christians and non-Christians alike helps place believers and non-believers in a situation that’s authentic, we all need the gospel. “We should be very open, authentic, recognizing the presence of people who do not yet believe what Christians believe,” Hélder says. “That makes people comfortable, feeling that they can be there, they can be exposed to that content.”
As Hélder leads and preaches at Capítulo 29, he is committed to preaching with “mixed audiences” in mind in order to make the services more missional and not only focused on Christians.
Hélder says: “I’m supporting this approach to preaching – to both Christians and non-Christians from the same sermon – in our church meetings/services. I think preachers should preach to with ‘mixed audiences’ in mind and be biblical, deep, and relevant to everyone. Always communicating the gospel from whatever passage we preach from – the gospel for regeneration of non-believers and the gospel for the sanctification of believers. I believe elements such as Christ-centered hermeneutics, apologetics, and contextualization should be present in our Sunday sermons in order to reach our secular culture.”
Cultural Understanding
While looking at the life and preaching of Paul, knowing the culture of the people you are speaking to plays a major role in evangelism.
“We should always start our preaching where people are. Studying Paul’s sermons in the book of Acts, I realize that whenever he was in a different context, he would preach the same gospel in different way,” Hélder says.
Through this understanding, evangelistic preaching can become intentional, deeper, and more Christ-centered.
“Rethinking how we preach the Bible evangelistically, means that preachers are able to take people into this journey of understanding the text in its context, and the bigger story, the biblical theology of the Bible, and connect that passage through Jesus. Therefore, Jesus will always be the climax of every message,” Hélder says.
Pray with One Challenge
- Pray for a genuine revival in Spain and Europe.
- Pray for God’s guidance, anointing and protection in our family and ministry.
- Pray for God’s wisdom for Ana and Hélder as they seek to love and serve faithfully our children, each other, and others around us.
- Pray for the different training programs for young evangelists/preachers in Europe.
- Pray for Hélder’s upcoming speaking engagements.
Video
Here is the full interview with Hélder done at European Leadership Forum in Wisla, Poland:
