A sermon for the congregation of St. Saviour Anglican Church, Penticton BC on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026 by the Very Rev. Ken Gray
Have you ever played that game, typically during summer holidays sitting around the campfire by the lake, or at a summer camp, where someone starts a rumour which is passed from one person to another, and miraculously changes along the way? A good starter would be something “Emily likes Jonathan, and I saw them smooching behind the wood shed.” Passing through twenty-five story tellers it becomes something like “Emily never wanted children, so Jonathan became a Trappist monk . . .” While the characters remain the same, any narrative, any sense of meaning, is altered beyond recognition, amusingly, though untruthfully.
Stories are altered over time by the tellers and received through the experience of the receivers. In the case of the Bible, generally speaking, the shorter the quotation, the more original it is. According to the philosophical principle called Ockham’s Razor — “the problem-solving principle that recommends searching for explanations constructed with the smallest possible set of elements” — the shortest version is likely the most accurate and truthful. The notion further suggests, that “entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity.”
So you will rightly ask, how did the Gospel message spread so quickly, and how accurate was the transmission of truth? Luke, the author of ACTS, describes the early evangelism this way:
“God raised [Jesus] on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (From Acts 10)
Notice the qualification: Knowledge of Jesus’ resurrection comes not only through words for the first Christians. It comes to those “who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.” Easter season is structured significantly around a review of post-resurrection appearances — Mary Magdelene in the tomb garden; The road to Emmaus; Jesus re-assures Thomas — These and other appearances form what for Christians is incontrovertible evidence of God’s power and love shown in Jesus the Risen Christ.
Next comes Paul, the first, arguably the greatest theologian of the Christian church. Given the passage of time it became necessary to codify and write the resurrection stories down, for posterity, for instruction, and as a guard against heresy. Hence the New testament scriptures, set in historic ecumenical councils.
For more than 150 years after the Resurrection, Christians had no official church buildings. During this time, evangelism was conducted mainly in homes, (it feels like we are returning to this pattern now), in the context of worship and Christian education. Itinerant evangelists were rarely found in the early centuries. In 250, after over 200 years of evangelistic effort, Christians still made up only 1.9 percent of the empire. By the middle of the next century, though, about 56 percent of the population claimed to be Christians. The life and testimony of the Church seems to have set in after 315 (when the emperor, Constantine “got religion”) as Christianity began to displace the old Roman religion.
Enter now the religious orders and the so-called Desert Fathers and Mothers. Returning from the desert, beginning in the fourth century monasticism in general tended away from strict isolation and retreat toward involvement and service. Basil the Great in the East and Martin of Tours in the West led in this development, and the result was that Celtic monks did evangelistic work in Europe and the British Isles, and Byzantine monks worked among the Slavs and eastern Germanic tribes.
During the Middle Ages, the sword frequently prepared the way for the Word. The imperialism of Charlemagne, the ambitions of the Teutonic Knights, the folly of the Crusades come to mind. The 12th century Francis and the band of “little brothers,” the Franciscans, believed that poor lay people could best communicate the Savior’s love to poor lay people. Then came Martin Luther, the seminal figure of the protestant reformation. His emphasis on personal experience and the constraint to witness in terms of that experience eventually found a home within the Lutheran and Reformed communions.
Let us not forget the evangelistic endeavours of Ludwig Count Zinzendorf, John Wesley, and George Whitefield. Next came various Bible societies, “inner mission” organizations and foreign mission societies. The Pietists and Evangelicals were not just quietly devout. They were concerned to bring the Gospel to the lost.
If there is one man of the 19th century from whom we can learn something about training evangelists in our churches today it is probably Dwight Moody. We are interested to hear that in his revival meetings Mr. Moody discouraged emotional and physical displays, and even stopped them when they occurred. Moody taught evangelists to “never mind the Greek and Hebrew. Give them plain English and good Scripture. It is the sword of the Lord and cuts deep.”
In 20th century Latin America, Catholic laymen called for evangelical missionaries. Often, a Bible in the hands of a layman resulted in the growth of congregations. It is still true in Latin America today that churches grow in
proportion to the degree to which all members are involved in evangelism work.
Through the 19th to 21st centuries Anglicans demonstrated a rich history of evangelism and outreach from a wide variety of perspectives. Perhaps my own story might serve as an example.
Raised in a broad-minded and liturgically centrist church in Victoria Christian faith was anything personal for me. While leading music for a Lenten devotional service the words of the Beatitudes (Matthew 15) took root. They spoke to me, directly. My English organ teacher was an enthusiastic evangelical whose seemingly chaotic life found order and direction in the faith. His influence led me to study music in England and experience both British evangelicalism and radical Christian action. My story is but one story; you will have yours; I am curious to hear yours. Perhaps we should schedule events where people could share their stories. I have done this before; it was wonderful. We Christins are after all, story tellers. Richard D. Balge (my source for the brief history above) ends his short history with these words:
“We must be careful whom we admire and from whom we borrow. If we will continue to live in and under the Word as hungry beggars and eager disciples we can, God helping us by his grace, conform more closely to the pattern of all great evangelists and anonymous evangelizers since the Day of Pentecost. They loved the Savior and those for whom he died. They were willing to become all things to all [people]. They addressed the felt needs of people or awakened an awareness of those needs (forgiveness, reconciliation, assurance). They preached Christ crucified and risen. Their preaching was accompanied by works of love and mercy.”
In our history, our evangelism, our struggles and our faith, help us, Creator, Father and Mother of us all. Amen.
Extracts from A Brief History Of Evangelism In The Christian Church [Synod-Wide Convocation on Evangelism, Wisconsin Lutheran College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 15-17, 1978] By Richard D. Balge
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