The Sawdust Trail

By Conference Minister Ron Hamilton

“Church planting has taken over crusade evangelism as the go to way we reach people” – Ed Stetzer

I had the opportunity to attend several Billy Graham crusades in three different locations: New York City, Buffalo and Minneapolis. While each venue was different, the crusades were very similar. George Beverly Shea was a featured vocalist. There was a large choir. Dr. Graham gave an inspiring message and thousands of people responded to his invitation to come forward and receive Jesus as their Savior. It is reported that Billy Graham preached to over 215 million people with millions of people coming to faith through his ministry.

Crusade evangelism is a strategy that has been used since the First Great Awakening in mid-1700’s. It began in England and American where popular preachers gathered together large crowds of people, and preached the Gospel to them. However, as Dr. Graham approaches the end of his life, there are few crusade evangelists left and this form of evangelism is drawing to a close.

The task of evangelism has been taken up by evangelical fellowship in the ministry of church planting. Our 2016 Annual Gathering keynote speaker, Dr. Bob Logan, says,

“We are aware of the need for new churches throughout the world. But 70 percent of people in the United States have no meaningful church relationship. The harvest fields surround us. Many people will not be reached without new churches.”– Bob Logan, Director, Logan Leadership

Church planting is an effective tool for evangelism for many reasons similar to crusade evangelism. Invitation is a key element of church planting as it was in crusade evangelism. Church planters become rooted in a community and immediately begin to interact with people, predominantly unbelievers, and invite them to church. Church planting ministries are very active in inviting people to accept Jesus as Savior and grow as a disciple of Christ.

Church planting strategically targets communities ripe for evangelism. Evangelical denominations and church planting networks are actively involved in large metropolitan areas where the need is great and there is an open opportunity for reaching people with the Gospel. I had the privilege of planting a church in Woodbury, Minnesota, a rapidly growing suburb of St. Paul. Since that time, over twenty-five churches have been planted in that city. These church plants have been established as churches and thousands have come to faith through their ministries.

The CCCC has prioritized church multiplication and envisioned that one-half of our member churches will be healthy reproducing churches started in the 21st Century. The primary focus of this vision is not growing a denomination. The focus of this vision is reaching thousands of people with the Gospel and actively joining other believers in making thousands of disciples in our generation.