God calls us to build. As we apply that image to the work of evangelism some may say, as others said a long time ago, "The time has not yet come for the LORD's liaise to be built". But God's challenge, then and now, is to repentance and to activity. Those who remember better days may be discouraged. "Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?" But God's word is, "Be strong ... and work. For I am with you." (Haggai 1:2; 2:3, 4)

This Committee longs for the re­lease of fresh funds and the permission for new appointments which will free its hands and enable it to exercise its full remit. As we look to the future however we recognise that money and personnel on their own will not be enough, if the church as a whole is not evangelistically minded. The occa­sional large project in church extension must not be allowed to be a sop to the collective conscience. Thus we begin with a discussion of evangelism in more general terms, believing that a renewed commit­ment to outreach throughout every part of the Free Church is basic to recovery and growth. We comment first on the respon­sibility of the denomination before turning to the local situation.

Surely one of the chief reasons for belonging to a denomination is to enjoy fellowship and support in evangelism. Among many things, that offers a fivefold challenge as we reflect theologically and practically on our need to share in this commitment, to spread the Gospel of the crucified and risen Christ.

First, we need a shared vision, an evangelistic vision, which accepts and as­serts the priority of reaching out with the Good News to as many people as possible. There are of course other kinds of growth besides numerical, but we want growth in knowledge, holiness and love to be the experience of multitudes, not a handful. Perhaps all this implies a new mentality for us and a dramatic shift of focus. In some parts of our church innumerable meetings exhaust ministers and members, and leave no space for anything else. The problem of many churches has been de­scribed as a maintenance complex, where energy is directed to simply keeping things going and catering for those already inside.

Sometimes that goes along with a failure syndrome, where decline is expected and new ideas are seen as pointless, because it won't work here. The change of attitude needed means moving beyond maintenance to mission, with an emphasis on looking out and going out, in proclamation and service. There is a huge difference between sometimes engaging in church-shaped mission and actually being a mission-shaped church.

In the second place, we need a shared impetus, encouraging one another to exercise our full responsibility in begin­ning to reach out and then in keeping going. Our motivation for mission is var­ied, but several things might be high­lighted. We go in obedience to the great commission of our Saviour, because we are Seeker-sent, commanded by the King. We go in love, because God loves the world, and he calls on us to move out in compas­sion to those in eternal peril. We go in gratitude, because we are so thankful the Lord sent someone to tell us, and we want to share this news with others. We go for truth, because we live in a world where there is so much error and so many compet­ing options, and we can point to the last Word. We go with freedom, because the Gospel is suitable for all and is to be freely offered to everyone, without reserve. And we go for the glory of God, that he might have more who gladly worship him. Through meetings and magazines, in cor­respondence and conference, we are called to motivate one another.

Thirdly, we need a shared depend­ence, relying together on a sovereign Lord on whom we depend for any success. Be­cause he is sovereign we can go in genuine optimism, because we know that he has the power to transform any individual, any family and any community. But only he has that power, and so we go in prayerful dependence, recognising it as his work from first to last and pleading with him to bless our frail endeavours. Mission has its origin in the heart of God and is always the work of God. He himself is the primary missionary. There is a sense therefore in which the theology of mission might be properly studied under the doctrine of God rather than the doctrine of the church. We are privileged merely to participate in what is his work from first to last. Our shared sense of dependence will be manifested in a fellowship of prayer, and for that to be meaningful we require more exchanging of news. It is extraordinary how much some people know about mission abroad and how little they know about work at home.

Fourthly, we need shared experi­ence, learning from one another's suc­cesses and failures, gleaning ideas and gaining wisdom. As one reads the litera­ture on evangelism, suggestions tumble out. Think for example of all that is done by different churches in evangelistic visi­tation of various kinds, doing surveys, distributing literature, welcoming new­comers, offering prayer. Other groups focus on hospitality, in homes, churches or other venues, catering physically and spir­itually for particular groups. Some hold special services, with a focus on guests, or families, or young people, or perhaps asso­ciated with a particular festival such as Easter or Harvest. Others have used diaconal ministries to reach into their com­munity with the compassion of Christ, or have offered a Christian perspective on a specific issue of general interest such as parenting. Time fails us to tell of holiday clubs, men's breakfasts, evening classes, agnostics anonymous and communion seasons. We can benefit one another as we experiment with similar things in a Free Church setting and share ideas and exper­tise with others in the denomination.

And fifthly, we need shared re­sources. We do this centrally already, as we share money and send people, but per­haps there are other ways in which this could be done within the fellowship of the denomination.  For example, a strong church could adopt a weak one. If they were geographically far apart, the help would be in prayer, and perhaps in picking up the tab for special aspects of their work and wit­ness. If they were near enough to one another, aid might include seconding peo­ple to offer fellowship and to help in staff­ing work which otherwise would not be feasible. Perhaps also the weak could sometimes help the weak. Three small congregations might feel unable to cope with special efforts in outreach on their own, but by getting together and pooling resources each in turn could benefit from the strength of the three. None of this is meant to suggest a loosening of denomina­tional ties and commitment. It should meaningfully strengthen these, and release new funds as people are inspired to give to a particular project in which they have a very personal interest.