You've read the Bible right? Was Jesus more concerned with feeding the poor, helping the needy, giving hope to the hopeless or in standing on a corner trying to talk people into the kingdom. He left us instructions of a lot of things we are to be doing. When we do these things people begin to take notice and ask why you do them.
In the mission field those who just preach at people get very little response. Those who love and care for the least and help them get heard the most. Talk without action is just noise. Action followed by using the open door it creates gives the most results.
For example everyone loves to cry about the muslim menace. Yet I know people who go into muslim areas and see large (I mean entire towns) numbers of conversions. Why? They go into an area where child mortality is 40% by age ten. The average life expectancy is under 50 all due to disease, poverty, lack of medical care and sanitation. They love these people with actions first. They drill them a well for clean water, a community septic system for sanitation, bring in basic medical care, clothing for children and some basic education. They do this at considerable personal risk in an area known for terrorist action.
The result is people want to know why they would do this. This gives them an open door of witness and the people respond to it because in the muslim world they have never seen such love and care. This also means less terrorism.
I know another who works in the child sex trafficing arena. No one cares for the kids but they rescue them and show them love, care, a stable home and food. People see this and respond.
I can go on and on. I've been there myself and am awaiting the Lords timing to return, soon I hope. When you do the things that the Bible commands us to do, and yet so few actually do, people notice. Even those not directly effected. They want to know more about why you would do such things, make such sacrifices. People who have been inoculated against the Gospel through constant ineffectual preaching see something that moves them. They see not words but real love, real care, a real Gospel at work. It opens doors, opens minds, opens eyes. It's the opposite of selfishness, it's selflessness. The kind Christ preached about.
The amazing thing is much of the third world church get's it as soon as they read it. Here, it's more about bigger facilities, bigger staff, bigger budgets and so we have dwindling numbers and immaturity. There things are growing, rapidly and they experience a community that we are supposed to be and it spreads without megachurches and TV ministries.
I could get really cranked up about this but I'll get off my soap box now.
