It has also been interesting to watch the trajectory of Willow Creek Church. Evangelism and helping people become devoted followers of Christ are certainly the overriding passions at that church. But urban ministry and help for the poor have become major commitments of Willow Creek Church in the 90s. Interestingly, Willow Creek leaders are now addressing their growing struggle to keep evangelism central. They have five core values they seek to inculcate into every member.
Evangelism is one of the five.
They used to think that if they gave equal time, energy and resources to each core value, the core values would all be reflected in the life of the church fairly equally. Evangelicalism at its heart has had a focus on the proclaiming of the gospel. In its finest and truest expressions, it brings together a commitment to evangelism as a central priority, a commitment to a radical and full-orbed discipleship toward Christ as Lord and a conviction that that Lordship affects all our relationships, personal and social, in a way that ultimately makes the church the most potent force for social transformation in all the world. In other words, when evangelism is a part of the irreducible core in the way we frame our priorities, these other important dimensions of faith often follow naturally. But when evangelism is one among many good things, evangelism rarely rises to the level of centrality in our vision and practice of Christian faith.