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Copyright © 1987 and 2000 by J. W. Jepson

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The Church of Jesus Christ is in its time of greatest opportunity in world mission. Advanced means of transportation and communication are available to us. The Lord of the harvest is sending forth laborers who are dedicated and well-trained. Evangelistic strategy has become a highly developed science. The Holy Spirit is mightily at work. Truly it is harvest time, time to be awake and about the Father’s business.

In our contemporary (and proper) emphasis on evangelism as an integral part of the continuing life and witness of the Church, and in our exploration of ways to develop an on-going evangelistic strategy that will involve each member of the Body of Christ, we could easily neglect or even discard a form of evangelism that has been with us for a long time. We know it as the "crusade."

We are thankful that God has brought us to the place where we no longer wait until the "specialist" arrives before we reach out in evangelism. Nevertheless, it would be a serious loss to the kingdom of God if the Church were to dismiss "mass" evangelism as unproductive.

The various modes of evangelism are like the tools in a toolbox. Each has its own purpose and each is effective when properly used. We do not hear carpenters discussing which is more effective, the hammer or the saw. Such a discussion would be absurd. Each serves its own purpose; both are necessary for the task.

We should not demand too much from united proclamation evangelism, and then discard it because it does not produce all that we require of it. Although it is a major tool of evangelism that is intended to perform a specific evangelistic task, it is only one tool among many and should be utilized to perform only the task for which it is intended.

Revival and evangelism form a broad field of study. As a rule, writers on the subject endeavor to address the dynamics as well as the mechanics, giving proper priority to the need for revival, the imperative to win the lost, the necessity of heart-preparation, the centrality of prayer, and the essential role of the Holy Spirit. I will not attempt to go over this ground here. In this study all of these Biblical essentials will be assumed. My purpose is to draw attention to some Biblical principles, and then build a methodological framework upon the well-established foundation of acknowledged spiritual dynamics. If it seems mechanical in places, it is because those sections deal with method.

This is a study of one specific mode of evangelism within a theological context. Evangelism is an on-going function of the Church and of the individual believer. The periodic "crusade" is no substitute for the consistent appeal of a body of loving, ministering Christians. But it can be an important vehicle for expressing that appeal.

Whatever term is used to identify it, co-operative proclamation can and should hold an important place in contemporary evangelism. This is an attempt to define that place in accordance with Biblical principles and to suggest a resulting methodology.

I wish to assure all women who read this, particularly those in ministry, that my consistent use of masculine pronouns is generic and is intended only for simplicity and smoothness. A continual repetition of "he or she" and "him or her" would soon become tedious.