Once John Wesley, the founder of Methodism stated that “What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.” In the 21st century, are we embracing his work as he started? That is, to travel and preach outdoors. His ministry model, if you will, was to travel from place to place and preach. Therefore, he appointed unordained evangelists to travel and preach, as he did and cared for the neglected people in his time.
According to one survey, a percentage of Christians in the United States of America (USA), and other parts of the world is drifting down. I am told that even Sunday attendance in mainline denominational churches in the USA is declining. What would be the reasons for this downward trend in Christian population as compare to other religions in the world? Modern day church ministry with the digital technology (e.g., television, radio, social media, etc.), expected to increase the percentage of believers, as compared to previous generation’s work conducted on horseback by traveling place to place. I think every believer in our Lord Jesus Christ should be concerned about it! Because previous generations tolerated the hardships and persecutions in bring the Word of God to present generation. I think it is the responsibility of every believer to embrace and continue our forefathers work.
I am sure if John Wesley were to be alive today; he would be conducting the same outdoor preaching ministry by traveling from place to place meeting neglected people because his ministry model worked very effectively. Are there any Methodist evangelists conducting outdoor ministry as John Wesley did? I don’t think just meeting on Sunday in a church building in major cities with few known people is going to be an effective ministry. This may be one of the reasons as to why there is a decline in attendance even in mainline churches on Sunday.
As I indicated in my last blog post that some of our extended family members’ still, worship gods, other than the God of Bible. In spite of the modern day’s television, radio, and social media ministries, still they have not changed. Moreover, few of our extended family members, who became believers through Methodist ministry, are not attending the same denominational church on Sunday. What is the reason for that? In my opinion, the main reason for this is that the modern day church ministry is not reaching out to families, as it was done in previous generations. I think that was one the reasons as to how the ministry was effective in the past without any technologies.
Yes, the previous generation tolerated and passed on the baton of ministry task to our generation; therefore, we must embrace by continuing the work by implementing similar ministry model to be effective. I like John Wesley outdoor ministry model because it reaches out to people who never heard the Gospel personally, rather than collectively. It is almost like client relationship in the business world. If you have any thought on this topic, please share it. Appreciated!