Evangelism at the Crossroads

Reclaiming evangelism as good news lived, not pressure applied. The word evangelism doesn’t need to be replaced. It needs to be reclaimed.

A crossroad is an ordinary thing — two roads meeting. But spiritually, crossroads are where our values and our choices intersect. Some are dramatic. Most are quiet. Yet at every one of them, the cross of Christ stands with us. Not as guilt. Not as threat. As presence. A steady light.



These crossroads show up every day: the grocery store conversation, the neighbor who needs acknowledgment, the family member who tests your patience. This is where faith becomes visible. This is where the gospel takes on flesh — in kindness, listening, courage, and truth-telling.

When Jesus Challenged Rome’s Version of Virtue

To understand evangelism, it helps to remember the setting of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus wasn’t speaking into a neutral world. He was speaking into the shadow of Rome — an empire that preached peace through dominance, hierarchy, and exclusion. Rome had its own moral vocabulary: strength, victory, control.

Jesus offered a counter-vision.
Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Blessed are the meek.
Blessed are the peacemakers.

This wasn’t soft spirituality. It was a direct challenge to the empire’s definition of what a “good” person looks like. And it still challenges our assumptions today — especially our assumptions about evangelism.

Evangelism isn’t a message we push. It’s a presence we offer.

Reclaiming a Misused Word

For many people, evangelism feels like pressure — a sales pitch, a recruitment strategy, a push to get people into church. But Jesus never pressured anyone into anything. He healed. He fed. He restored dignity. He listened. He stood with the exclusion. People experienced good news long before they understood it.

This is why the word evangelism doesn’t need to be replaced.
It needs to be reclaimed.

Evangelism is meeting real human needs with the compassion and courage of Jesus — so people encounter good news, not pressure.

Evangelism isn’t about getting people into church.
Evangelism is about getting the church into the world.

It’s how you treat the cashier having a rough day.
It’s how you show up for a neighbor who feels invisible.
It’s how your life quietly says, you matter.

Evangelism happens wherever dignity is restored, wherever compassion interrupts indifference, wherever love gets the final word.

Called Out, Sent Out

The word ecclesia means “the called-out ones.” Called out of fear, apathy, and self-protection. Called into healing, feeding, listening, welcoming, and liberating. Jesus calls each of us differently, but always toward love — right where our lives already touch the world.

If St. Barnabas Episcopal Church disappeared tomorrow, would Borrego Springs notice? I believe it would. Because the gospel you live isn’t confined to a sanctuary. It’s carried in your friendships, your compassion, your presence.

Where the Gospel Takes Flesh

Paul once wrote that the cross looks foolish to some. And in a world shaped by Roman values — ancient or modern — it still does. But to those being transformed, the cross reveals a different kind of power: not the power that dominates, but the power that heals and frees.

This is the heart of the Sermon on the Mount:
How shall we live when the values of Jesus collide with the values of empire?

At every crossroad, Jesus calls us to reflect the light already working within us. When we respond, our lives become good news for someone else.

~ Father Dave Madsen

Sidebar: A message from the guy that wrote this piece. I choose to view faith as lived more than spoken. I trust small acts of compassion and steady presence to carry the good news farther than any argument ever could.