What unprecedented times we live in! Over the past 12 months, COVID-19 has changed the face of everything. In Australia, we handled it well, with less than 1000 deaths recorded since the pandemic began in early 2020 (and none in the last six months).

But there have been so many lockdowns, movement restrictions, quarantine, and isolation. The Church, an important part of society, has faced more restrictions than anybody. By extension, evangelism and outreach have faced challenges.

What an important tool evangelism is for soul winning. Our first example is Jesus, who moved from place-to-place, preaching, healing, and performing miracles. He brought the Kingdom of God into their lives practically and impactfully, winning many hearts. Those hearts he won, he then empowered and sent out to spread the gospel.

What then is the future of evangelism in Australia given COVID-19? Will evangelism still have the human touch that makes it powerful?

Certainly, the pandemic has disrupted how we do everything. Life after COVID-19 has created “the new normal.” Evangelism in Australia was no exception. Many Christians have viewed the pandemic as an inconvenience and a deliberate plan by God to draw humans closer to himself. We expect evangelism in Australia will be look and feel different as life returns to “normal”.

Online and digital churches will now stay. Before COVID-19 most churches in Australia had always had an online presence, whether website, social media, or (if you’re a large church) online streaming. This required having a team responsible for online media in its various forms, recording church activities and uploading them on the church website. COVID-19 changed all that and brought about the need for live streaming of all church activities simply to keep the congregation connection. Churches in Australia quickly migrated to a new online world, sometimes virtually overnight. Connect groups moved to Zoom, churches bought cameras and streamed live with empty buildings.

Several online platforms are giving churches and pastors opportunities to reach out to people outside their congregation online and in real-time. One such platform is Life.Church Open Network. Pastor Jeremy Greening of Vineyard Christian Church in Stanthorpe, through the Church Online Platform, could continue broadcasting into homes and saw even greater engagement. Churches had little choice. They needed to adapt to continue to meet the needs of their congregations. Many will still use online media to connect with people from now on.

With COVID-19 shaking the entire world to its core, many people’s faith in God has stirred. Non-Christians and returning Christians have found within them the desire to explore God and their spirituality. They are the “faith explorers.” They have joined the church online armed with pen and paper to ask questions. These questions do not always challenge the beliefs and faith of the church. They often occur from curiosity to find out what God and the church have in store for them in this unprecedented moment in their lives.

Evangelism should not be a one-way experience, just sitting and listening to the preacher (such as with online streaming). It needs to be very intense, interactive, and soul-refreshing. Alpha Australia has made it possible for churches to stream Alpha episodes, host a small group discussion times via Zoom. The new “faith explorers” are joining these online interactive groups, watching and listening. They sit in the comfort of their homes protected by a laptop or a mobile phone, creating the freedom to ask questions.

We must anchor evangelism in Australia on community engagement and collaboration. The Covid-19 pandemic has created lots of isolated individuals in the community. The pandemic has highlighted people with prolonged social isolation. With social connections and contact deeply affected, people with minimal networks ended up with even less, increasing the likelihood depressive symptoms will emerge.

One example of evangelism done well is a campaign run by Together for the Illawarra, born out of a collaboration of Christians in the Illawarra, inspired by many years of relationship among community churches with events like annual Prayer Breakfasts. In recent years, it’s focus has been prayer, evangelism, and community engagement as a city of church congregations. It’s aimed at empowering, activating, and unifying churches across the Illawarra to be a blessing to their communities.

In John 4:35, the Lord says,“Do you not say, ‘Four months more
and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes
and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” (NIV).

Youth for Christ runs another successful campaign, called Hope. These simple, small cards are easy to carry and hand out. They have a simple QR code which people scan to load a website filled with video messages of hope, and an invitation to follow Jesus.

You can see how these simple evangelism campaigns can help Christians connect with people and meet their needs in a world where physical distance has become crucial. Engaging with technology to help people connect with Jesus in a simple, but effective way, connecting them with community and answering their questions along the way.

There’s little doubt evangelism faced challenges in 2020, but through the efforts of churches, large and small, we are seeing new ways to connect with the most vulnerable in our community safely. In a post COVID-19 world, lots of love, caring, community support, and evangelism are essential. Christians should focus on winning souls for the Lord! People respond more to the gospel in an atmosphere of care, giving and humility. The wheel of evangelism moves faster when all these qualities are readily available.
The harvest is here! How will you engage with the community around you for Jesus?

Read Peacemakers Newsletter Winter 2021

Discover Hope Website

Together for the Illawarra Website