I believe I am known as a church leader who is committed and thoroughly oriented to evangelism. Therefore, you may be surprised to hear that I believe service to our fellow man comes before evangelism. It is the method and plan of Jesus to serve before, or at least during, our efforts to teach the world about Him.

Far back in my pastor-evangelist experience, we seemed to largely ignore our neighborhoods and communities until it was time to pitch a tent on some street corner and begin the awesome task of evangelism. Since then, we have learned that a handbill announcing the meetings is not quite enough to convince a total stranger to come hear what you have to say. I believe service is the answer.

Jesus, our great Example, put food into a hungry stomach before speaking about eternal things. He made a blind man see before discussing his faith. He cast out devils before commissioning to go spread the Good News. What a marvelous pattern of humane concern!

Jesus invited the faithful servants to come and inherit the kingdom, and His basis was predicated on the service they had rendered unto Him. Those servants, described in Mathew 25:37–39, seem a bit surprised at the pronouncement of Jesus as they asked, “When did we do all these things unto Thee?” The answer, of course, is, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.”

First of all, it seems service was rendered because it was the right thing to do rather than any thought of earning a place in the kingdom. We have the same opportunities today.

Last spring, our Union office staff journeyed over to Benton Harbor to clean up and repair a park in the inner city. We had a wonderful time watching that area slowly return to its natural beauty. It was a special joy to see the children reclaim their play areas, and to hear adult citizens asking, “Who are you, and why are you doing this?”

We may not have been completely aware that the real answer was, “We are doing this unto Jesus.” As bleachers were repaired and righted, picnic tables painted, and leaves and rubbish raked and bagged, there was a sense of accomplishment because we knew we had made a difference.

But the crowning experience of the day was when various community members timidly joined us to share our supper. The word spread like a prairie fire through the neighborhood! Maybe, just maybe, this small effort made the evangelism effort that followed a bit more acceptable in that community. Do you really want to serve Jesus? Find a way to reach out to “one of the least of these.”