In the summer of 1925 an evangelist by the name of Will French pitched a tent on the corner of what is now Lombard and St Louis Ave to hold a series of evangelistic meetings with the intent of seeing a new church planted in St Johns. After a summer of meetings in that tent a core of new believers was formed that continued to meet together at various locations over the next year. On Thanksgiving day of 1926 the basement of a new church building was poured, it was covered and the newly formed church began to meet together for worship. (The corner of Chicago and Leonard) The St Johns Wesleyan Methodist Church grew over the following years. It outgrew its building on Chicago and built a new sanctuary on its present location where they moved their meetings to in October of 1963.
Over the years the Wesleyan Church in St Johns has had the opportunity to see many lives impacted and changed with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many have poured their lives into the ministry of the church to see transformation take place. The face of St Johns has changed over the years and has left the church with a unique challenge of building bridges into the lives of its people in differing ways. If we do not care about seeing transformation take place in our community we will not exert the effort to get close enough to its people to understand the needs and the questions that they are plagued with. The message must forever stay the same, but methodology may need to change according to the needs of the people we minis-
ter to.
Christ is and always will be our model for evangelism. In His encounters with those He ministered to while on this earth, Christ taught us some timely principles about building bridges into the lives of others. In his book, “Just Walk Across the Room”, Bill Hybels highlights five lessons that is gleaned from Christ’s encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4.
LESSON 1: Bridge the Chasm –
Jesus went where other Jews did not go. He talked to people that other Jews would not talk to. “Jesus was intentional about moving toward people who were different than He was.” Are we willing to reach across differences of race, religion, gender, social class or political lines to get close enough to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others? I dare you!
LESSON 2: Ask A Question –
Jesus asked, “Will you give me a drink?” His question tests the waters of her will-
ingness to engage ultimately in spiritual issues. Learning to ask leading questions
and to know when there is openness and when there is not is something that all of
us can do as we allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit. Will we mingle with
people we do not know long enough to ask about the spiritual needs in their life? I
dare you!
LESSON 3: Practice Patience –
Jesus did not push her too quickly in making her decision about Him. Christ’s agenda was in letting her know that her life was valuable, that it counted for some-
thing and that in knowing Him her future would forever be changed. Will you be
careful to know that you are following God’s agenda and not your own when you seek to engage in spiritual conversations with others? Will you wait? Will you
listen? I dare you!
LESSON 4: Beware of Rabbit Trails –
When the Samaritan woman diverts to a long-standing dispute about where the
“true” place of worship was Jesus brings the conversation back to her need. People
will bring up hot button topics that people have talked about over and over, “What
about the problem of evil in the world?”, “What about all the hypocrites?” We must be sensitive to know when inquires may be sincere and when they are a diversion to avoid their own response to Jesus Christ. Will you resist the temptation to engage in meaningless arguments that misses out on answering the questions to the real need? I dare you!
LESSON 5: Give Hope to the Hopeless –
Let those that you reach out to know that the pain, the shame, the bondage, the grief, the brokenness, the despair can be filled with forgiveness, comfort, freedom, direction, meaning and purpose for life. Will you care enough to initiate that contact? I dare you!
When the woman’s life was changed she went off and brought an entire town out to meet Christ. A life newly transformed leaves a story that cannot be contained. Do you believe in the power of God to transform a life, a home, a community? Let’s pray, let’s go, let’s speak as God leads us into the fields of harvest. I dare you!
