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The gospel is the heart of the Christian faith. (I’m not sure if that more of a definition, or a truism.) Few Christians would outright deny the need to spread the gospel, so how should we communicate this central aspect of our faith? There are dozens? hundreds? of different methods. Despite all their differences and similarities, they can all be viewed with one basic contrast in mind: whether the local church or the individual is primarily responsible for the proclamation of the gospel.

Church-centered methods focus on getting people into a church function, typically so they can respond to some type of invitation. There are several flavors of this approach; fundamentalist churches might emphasize preaching to those who are brought in, while more seeker-oriented churches may emphasize making them feel comfortable and welcome. In both, the individual’s responsibility consists of getting people through the doors so the church can do its job. Churches use anything from casual services and heavily marketed programs to bus ministry and promotional “bring-a-friend” days to accomplish this. More »