I was at a funeral recently. I ran across a colleague who has always been a trusted resource for evangelism in the local church. I shared with him that our church had put a lot of extra time and energy into our inviting and hospitality ministry. In fact, I was even a little proud that we over-spent in our evangelism line item in the budget. (not too much). He said, “Well, I celebrate your church spending so much in evangelism. Typically what I see is churches spending most of their money on missions, but hardly any on evangelism.”
I then shared with him about our church’s efforts in doing a neighborhood Christmas mailer that that invited them to our Advent/Christmas events and shared a message about the gospel. I told him I struggled a little internally with spending so much money on words. That same money could be helping the hungry during this season.
He said, “It’s ok to spend money on the words if they are the right words. Remember John’s gospel begins with, ‘In the beginning was the word.'”
That’s the truth. Sometimes, words are worth the money. Words are important. They can bring life and destroy it. Our words we chose to share, “Light shines in the darkness.” Jesus came to light our world. I hope that’s a good word for you.
Will Zant 