Evangelism and the Church ~ Part 1

How should the church evangelize the community? How would you answer this question? I am not asking how individuals evangelize the community, but rather, how does the church (corporately) evangelize?

The church relies on the world's methods of marketing to evangelize. The church is guilty of using small groups, VBS, and other programs to evangelize the lost. I am not arguing whether these methods are effective, but rather, are they biblical.  If Paul lived today would he utilize small groups to evangelizer the community?

Paul argues in 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5 that the church's primary method of evangelism is preaching. Does this method seem foolish to you? Paul thought it would. He says that the preaching of the cross is foolishness. And, in fact, God chose the foolish things to confound the wise. Paul doesn't argue that preaching the cross is effective, or that it makes marketing sense; he argues that it is foolish.

​But wasn't Paul a gifted speaker? No, he wasn't. In chapter 2 he argues that he came with weakness and fear. So why did God choose to use preaching the cross as the primary method of evangelism for the church? Paul sums up his answer in 1 Corinthians 2:5:
"So that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power."

That's it! God chose to use preaching as the primary method of evangelism for the church today and for all time so that our faith rests on God's power.