Many of us find it a challenge to break out of our "shell" and speak openly about our faith to people around us.

Easter is always an exciting time for Christians. We remember the resurrection of our Saviour and his promise to fill us with new life, with all sin forgiven. We ponder his commission to "go and make disciples of all nations," to call others to join us in the joy of worship­ping Christ in the new life he gives. That Easter occurs in spring time, a time of renewed vitality in creation around us, only adds to our zeal to "get out there" and spread the gospel.

And if my observation is accurate, this zeal among us is growing steadily. I hear more and more urging to engage in evangelism work. Churches and evangelism committees are bringing in speakers to instill passion for and teach methods of outreach. Groups are going out into public areas and engaging strangers in conversa­tions that relate to the gospel.

This is good. Getting the Word out in the places we live is certainly part of the Great Commission. Yet, at times, alongside the call to reach out is heard much criti­cism for what some call our "preservationist attitude." There is a perception that our churches have had very little interest in evangelism; that we have focused almost exclusively on preserving what the Lord has given us. Some even report a resistance to evangelistic endeav­ours, even if they are Reformed in nature. Others say that we concentrate so much on training up our children in Christian schools and in weekly Catechism classes that we have neglected to train them to speak about Christ to our neighbours. We know a lot of doctrine but can't seem to share it very well.

Hindrances to Outreach⤒🔗

Now, there is something to these complaints. Many of us (myself included) do find it a challenge to break out of our "shell" and speak openly about our faith to people around us. We find it easier, more comfortable, and less risky to keep to ourselves. And it's true, most adults have not been trained for this. Nor is it (as far as I know) a regular part of our school or catechism curriculum to teach our youth how to reach out. This lack of "know-how" makes us feel inadequate and squeamish about opening up to others about such important matters. We don't want to appear clumsy or ignorant. More specific training in bringing up the gospel in conversation would be helpful. Perhaps our schools could introduce a unit in Bible class on evangelism and/or defending the faith.

Still, I think this hesitancy to evangelize is as much the fault of being Canadian as it is being Canadian Re­formed. In Canada, unlike in the United States, there is consistent and powerful public pressure not to speak about your faith, especially the Christian faith. Religion in Canada is, we are told, a private matter, confined to the four walls of your home or church. All proselytiz­ing (i.e. evangelizing for Christians) is discouraged. For those of us who have grown up in this culture, we in­stinctively feel a wet blanket draped over us, with pres­sure just to leave people to their own beliefs. By contrast, I've often been amazed at how our older members, Dutch immigrants who came here as mature adults with Eng­lish as their second language, often have more contact with their neighbours and speak more openly about their faith than people of my generation.

Overreaction←⤒🔗

What concerns me is the overreaction that I sense is developing to what is perceived to be a "preservationist problem" in our church circles. There is a push to make evangelism our number one focus while brushing aside concern to keep what we've got. All the things which sup­posedly prevented us from reaching out previously should be put on the back-burner. People are looking at the Great Commis­sion and concluding that we have not been fulfilling our task. We need to change this, even repent some say, and devote more of our time, energy, and resources to this. It's all about outreach!

In this climate, the pressure is mounting not only on young adults or single members with time on their hands but equally on busy mothers and fathers, parents and grandparents to be deliberate or "intentional" in spreading the gospel. It is our God-given duty to get "out there" and bring others to Christ. And as this new sense of duty becomes dominant, less time, energy, and resources are available for the other tasks like training our own children, volunteering in the schools, and visiting within the congregation.

The push is on to reach out with less and less atten­tion given to keeping those who've already been reached. There is confusion over the proper division of our tasks and some are racked with guilt, thinking they are never doing enough. Conscientious church members who want to do the Lord's will in all areas feel themselves pulled in opposite directions, unable to do it all. The result is a feeling of fail­ure and discouragement, of "never doing enough."

Easter Balance←⤒🔗

But before this goes too far, let us allow the Easter gospel to shine its guiding light upon us. For accord­ing to the risen Saviour himself, there is no opposition between "preserving" and "gathering" his church – both are commanded of us!

In John 21, Jesus makes one of his last resurrection appearances. In the first part of the account, the Lord ad­dresses the disciples after they have fished all night but caught nothing. He directs them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat, promising that they will find some. And they do! A huge catch! This is deliberately meant to remind these disciples of a similar enormous catch of fish caught, at the command of the same Lord, near the beginning of Christ's ministry (Luke 5). They understood the message: their Lord had called them to be fishers of men! And just as he had landed them many fish in their nets, so the Lord promised to land them many people in his church through their preaching.

So, the church indeed needs to go "fishing for men." But that is not all! The story goes on in John 21 to focus on Jesus' interaction with the apostle Peter, a key leader of the church. Peter had earlier denied knowing Jesus three times. So, to restore him fully to his task of apostle, three times Christ asks Peter if he loves him, to which Peter responds each time that he does. And then three times the resurrected Lord gives a similar charge to Peter, "Feed my lambs ... tend my sheep ... feed my sheep."

Now the focus isn't on catching the fish but it's on keeping the sheep! We aren't commanded to "catch and release" but "catch and keep!" Fish become sheep, so to speak, which then need tending. Congregation members must be fed and cared for! They must be taught and vis­ited, encouraged and exhorted. Christ gives this as much priority as evangelism itself. We are agents of Christ in his work of gathering and preserving his church!

Preservation Blessing←⤒🔗

We have nothing to be ashamed of with our efforts to preserve the church over our sixty year history in Can­ada. This is simply obedience to the Lord's command - to be sure, all by God's grace. Our schools, our catechet­ical training, our sermons which do more than bring an evangelistic address (but should not bring less!) are not some sort of "problem" to be corrected, but a gift to be received with thankfulness! Is it not a good thing to see three (or more!) generations sitting together in church to worship the Lord? Is it not wonderful to have congre­gations full of both children and seniors? This doesn't happen without constant "feeding of the sheep," without careful and persistent instruction and visitation over the years. Do we not want new converts to experience this same blessing in their family through future years?

Outreach Impulse←⤒🔗

The record will also show that our churches have had a mission consciousness from the earliest years in Can­ada. Missionaries have been sent out from Toronto (since 1960), New Westminster (Surrey, since 1970), and Ham­ilton (since 1984) to Indonesia and Brazil. Smithers has sent a missionary to work among the native population in British Columbia since 1983. Smithville has commis­sioned a missionary for work in West Timor since 2003. This is in no way a form of boasting but simply a rendi­tion of the facts so that we may see the matter at hand with clarity.

What is an Average Church Member's Task in the Great Commission?←⤒🔗

Where we have lacked seems to be in our domestic mission efforts, that is, a concerted effort to bring the gospel the people next door, within our own commun­ities. The approach of some has been exclusively passive, a "church doors are open and people are free to come in" approach. This flies in the face of the Lord's command to "go out" and make disciples. Our own Catechism identifies every church member as an anointed "prophet" with the duty to "confess Christ's Name" (LD 12). So it is good that we are collectively coming to grips with this short-coming and are looking for ways to actively share the faith.

Yet it hasn't all been bad news – far from it! Many churches have for many years made attempts at outreach with Vacation Bible School or the Gems/Cadets program. It can also be pointed out that formal domestic mission work has been underway in down-town Hamilton since 1998 (Streetlight Ministries) and in the Greater Van­couver area since 1999. A missionary is currently be­ing actively sought for outreach in southern Manitoba. Certainly, we have much to learn but I think it's fair to say that an evangelistic impulse lives among us and is growing too.

False Guilt?←⤒🔗

Still, what is an average church member's task in the Great Commission? Are we all to be out on the street, striking up gospel-type conversations with strangers? Are mothers and fathers obligated by the Lord to dedicate even­ings and weekends to evangelism efforts and outreach?

Here we must be careful not to pile false guilt upon each other or even ourselves, as if evangelism is our pri­mary reason for existence. As if we are disobedient if we don't go out of our way to pursue gospel discussions with strangers. Each of God's children exists first and fore­most to glorify him – to live with him and for him in joy forever! Long after the last elect person is converted to the faith and all evangelistic efforts have concluded, all Christians will continue to do what we've been created to do – live to the praise of the Lord!

And how do we glorify the Lord already now? By fulfilling the daily duties of our office and calling "as willingly and faithfully as the angels in heaven" (LD 49). A few of us have the official calling to preach the gospel or engage in formal mission work, but most of us do not. The same God who calls the church (as a whole) to "make disciples of all nations" also calls us as individuals to make a living each day, to be a son or daughter (with obligations to parents), to be a husband or wife (with marital duties), to be a father or mother (with respon­sibilities to raise up children in the fear of the Lord), to be a living member of the church (to be a hand and foot to one another, carrying each other's burdens – see 1 Corinthians 12), to be kind to and helpful to our next-door neighbour, to be a productive, upstanding citizen in our communities (see Romans 13). These are some of the ordinary and necessary callings the Lord gives all of us – and we would be wrong in abandoning them in order to concentrate on "street preaching" or the like in order to obey the Great Commission.

By Our Love←⤒🔗

Rather, is it not the case that our evangelistic out­reach will take place as we conduct ourselves in these callings? The way we act at school, work, in our neigh­bourhood, among our friends, in the community is a testimony to the God we serve and people can see that. As the hymn says, "They will know we are Christians by our love," (based on John 13:35) – that is, our love for one another shown in actions. Actions often do speak louder than words.

People will often know we are Christians long before we tell them we are, because they see it in how we do things. A faithful, honest, diligent employee, a conscien­tious neighbour, a concern for the good of the commun­ity, an interest in the troubles and hardships of those we meet – all are little signposts, giving evidence that a different Spirit lives in us than in our unbelieving neigh­bours, the Spirit of Christ. It's as people see our Chris­tian lifestyle that we will have opportunity to share with them the Christian hope which drives us! The way we carry out our responsibilities each day is the primary way each Christian participates in the calling to make disciples of all nations, all while honouring God.

Don't get me wrong. I am not condemning street preaching or witnessing in the park or the mall – if you have the opportunity to do so in God-glorifying man­ner, go for it! It is to be commended! But God doesn't call or oblige everyone to do this. Some are given op­portunity to speak up in the political realm, some in the media, some on the street to strangers. Some don't have those gifts or opportunities. Also, a certain stage of life may require energy and focus in the family circle or close to home. But all of us are God's children every moment of every day and when we concentrate on act­ing like Christ in all we do, when we are a salt and light everywhere we go, then we are indeed casting a net for the Kingdom of heaven! As the Easter Christ grants us opportunity, let's all strive to catch the fish and keep the sheep!