Duncan Whitty who is pastor of Corstorphine Community Church on the western side of Edinburgh got in touch with us at Solas, after we had an article about evangelism published in the United Free Church of Scotland’s magazine. ‘Would you be willing to come and do some evangelism-training for us?’ he asked. “Of course”, we said!
After a detailed conversation about the needs of the church, and the context in which they are working, the Solas session which seemed most appropriate for them was an evangelism-equipping session we often do entitled, “Engaging the Apathetic and Disinterested”. That session is all about the way we can talk about the gospel in a way which interests people who say that they are not interested in it! It’s the thinking behind our Have You Ever Wondered? book, and is proving to be a really useful session for encouraging Christians to speak about their faith more engagingly.
Corstorphine Community Church (CCC) part of the United Free Church of Scotland, a denomination that we have worked with quite a bit over the last year or so in a few congregations and at their annual ‘Gathering’ conference too.
CCC has two congregations, which are remarkably different! The morning congregation is not untypical of a smaller gathering of the United Free Church. It is extremely warm and friendly, generally older in average age, and quite traditional in form. The afternoon service is rather different! The majority of the afternoon folks come from Hong Kong, and arrive with lots of youth and children, a worship band and a lot of passion. The morning service was conducted entirely in English, but the afternoon was in Cantonese – and I was handed a headset for translation into English so that I could follow the announcements, prayers and Bible readings! When I came to talk about Solas, and then to preach – the translator came out of her soundproof translation booth and joined me at the front of the church and then translated my English words into Cantonese. It is a while since I have worked with a translator – and was a
Duncan’s instructions to me were very clear though – he wanted the same message brought to both congregations! So we looked at the way that wondering questions can be used to engage people who think they are not interested in God or the gospel, in spiritual conversation that leads them to that! The point is not some elaborate bait-and-switch technique to ensnare the unwary – rather that many people have never heard anything of the gospel presented to them in a way which they can connect with their everyday concerns. However when we listen to people and found out what they care about (music, justice, the environment, human rights etc etc) all of which can be bridges into gospel conversation that genuinely interests those who might otherwise say (like Alastair Campbell) “We don’t do God”.
It was a joy to meet Corstorphine Community Church and to spend the day with them and think and pray through how we can share the gospel together. All of us at Solas love working with churches all over the country. Let us know if we can serve you or your church too!
