The Gospel: Both “Social Action” And “Evangelism”

Ronald J. Sider, founder of Evangelicals for Social Action and author of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, has advocated for a more holistic vision of Christian ministry since 1973.

He (along with Philip N. Olson and Heidi Rolland Unruh in their book, Churches That Make a Difference: Reaching Your Community with Good News and Good Works) wrote,

“The whole gospel brings salvation in its fullest sense — forgiveness of sins, inner conversion of individuals in regeneration and sanctification, physical and emotional healing, the transformation of social and economic relationships, reconciliation and peace overcoming sinful human divisions, and the ultimate triumph of Christ over the forces of evil on a cosmic scale.”

The authors quote John Perkins, internationally known author, speaker, and teacher on issues of racial reconciliation and Christian community development.

In his book, A Quiet Revolution, he makes the case for a holistic understanding of the mission of God’s people,

“Evangelism creates the committed people, the concern for the needs of people and the broad community base from which to launch social action. Social action, in turn, fleshes out the Lordship of Christ, reaching people’s spiritual needs through their felt needs and developing an indigenous economic base for the work.”

Perkins never minimizes the importance of evangelism, stating,

“A ministry of Christian community development without evangelism is like a body without a soul.” (Beyond Charity: The Call to Christian Community Development).

Here we have two leading Christians — who are known and heavily admired for their work in the area of social action — making the case that the gospel according to the Scriptures is both/and – both social action and evangelism.

Because of evangelism, people are forgiven of their sins and receive their inner conversion through regeneration and are experiencing sanctification. They can then participate in God’s transformation of social and economic relationships, God’s reconciliation and peace overcoming sinful human divisions, and the ultimate triumph of Christ over the forces of evil on a cosmic scale. This is how, for Christians, the Lordship of Christ gets fleshed out here in God’s world.

The Gospel: Both “Social Action” and “Evangelism”