Evangelism is sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. The power of this good news lies not in methods or fervor, but in God Himself.

To evangelize is to present Jesus Christ so that sinners repent, accept Him as Savior, acknowledge Him as Lord and become responsible members of His Church. This mission begins with our presence and continues with the proclamation of the gospel and always moves toward the persuasion of others to become Christians.

This final decade before the 21st century is an unprecedented and wonderful opportunity for evangelism. The goal of establishing a viable witness within every people group is attainable. At the same time, there are unusual threats and dangers as forces of non-Christian religions and secularism compete with the advance of Christianity. Societies are taking new shapes in response to the forces of globalization, urbanization, technology, democratization, nationalism and international war. Within the church itself there are movements to dilute the gospel, generalize Christian spirituality and compromise biblical morality. It is a period of high opportunity and high risk.

At such a time, our commitment is to both revelation and relevance. Without compromising the teachings of the Bible and our historic Christian faith, we seek to be relevant to our culture and times. We align ourselves with the strategy of St. Paul who was willing to become all things to all people in order to evangelize within different contexts and cultures. We follow the example of Jesus’ incarnational ministry — remaining faithful to God while speaking the language of the people and sharing their culture.

While Christianity is growing quickly in previously non-Christian pacts of the world, many of the traditionally Christian western cultures are essentially post-Christian. Our strategies, therefore, in our own and near cultures must increasingly incorporate pre-evangelism. Like St. Paul in Athens, our initial evangelistic approach must utilize the common ground found in human needs, ideas and experiences. Our ultimate goal, however, is not merely-to meet felt needs, but to meet the essential human need of reconciliation with God.

To help people experience this reconciliation, the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) acknowledges the responsibility we have to demonstrate our oneness in Christ. Our spiritual unity enhances evangelism and our evangelism enhances spiritual unity. We commit ourselves, therefore, to demonstrate that unity more fully and to rejoice in our oneness in Christ and the eternal life which is ours now through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, we are supportive of the many efforts of the evangelical community to evangelize our country by the year 2000 and beyond. We commit ourselves to promote, encourage and, where appropriate, coordinate such efforts through evangelical churches, denominations and para-church organizations. And so, bowing in His presence and sacrificing ourselves as His servants, we humbly and joyfully share in “Proclaiming Jesus Christ… Together! “