"Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said."

(with the Ethiopian) " 'Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?' " Then Philip began with that very passage of scripture and told him the good news about Jesus."

         Today we look at two approaches to evangelism that we find in the Holy Spirit-formed church.

         The first is the combination of proclamation and miracle that we find in the ministry of Philip in Samaria. The miracles here seem to be largely the casting out of evil spirits. In the Gospels, Jesus cast out evil spirits as a sign of the triumph of the Kingdom of God, of one power replacing another power.

         When Christianity first came into pagan Europe, it was really the experience of healing through prayer along with the message of Christ that won the day. Paganism was not defeated so much by argument and persuasion as by the power of Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit. This is true in many parts of the world today where the church is growing rapidly and there is great poverty. It is the power of God in healing that is bringing people to Christ.

         The second type of evangelism we see here is the approach Philip uses with the Ethiopian on the road to Gaza. Here it is Philip's use of scripture, that he is able to guide the man from the words of the prophet to the death and resurrection of Christ. It is a kind of opening of scripture, so that understanding leads to faith. What Philip explained to the man on the road is what the risen Jesus Christ explained to the apostles in the time between the resurrection and the ascension. He opened the Scriptures to them.

         Christians live by a new story, an alternative story to the one that the world tells us. We have participated in two VBS events this summer and it has struck me that what we are doing with children in those events is helping them to understand and live by a new story. They come with all that the TV and the world tells them, but we present an alternative narrative to live by, one that is filed with love and hope. That is what camp is all about at Covenant Harbor and Covenant Point, and also this week at CHIC: a week immersed in the alternative story. Scripture has saving power when we know how to guide people from its truth to the reality of faith in the risen Lord Jesus Christ.

         The Holy Spirit forms the church and gives it power to proclaim, to heal, to persuade, to invite, so that people who need the Lord might be saved.

         Anthony Robinson is a pastor who now consults with and teaches other pastors. He relates that once he was teaching a course on congregational change to about 40 pastors of differing backgrounds. He asked them to describe what it is that motivates them in their ministry.

         First, he wanted to know how many of them were primarily motivated by the opportunities to build relationships, to care for the emotional and spiritual needs of people. He counted 26 of the 40 who fit into that category.

         Next, he asked how many were driven by results and achievement. How many were motivated by developing and administering programs, planning worship, getting things accomplished. Eleven of the pastors found themselves in that category.

         Finally, he asked how many were motivated by power and influence, that is, by a desire to change hearts and minds, by evangelism. Only two or three found themselves in that category.

         Robinson concluded the class by saying he would be concerned for a church where so few pastors were motivated by changing hearts and minds, by influencing people and communities toward greater health and faith in Christ through the exercise of spiritual power.

         I think that the same numbers might hold up for laypeople as well. We are drawn toward caring for people, toward opportunities for service and for administrative detail, rather than seeing our church as a powerful transforming agent in our community.

         Here then is the story of Philip, who was empowered by the Holy Spirit to be an evangelist. Philip was one of those believers who were scattered around the empire during the persecution of Christians that was triggered by Stephen's death. Philip was one of the Seven, one of the Greek speaking Christians who were appointed to take care of the needs of the Greek speaking widows who had been neglected by the Christians who were culturally Hebrew. Stephen was the first leader of this group, and Philip seems to take his place. So he begins as a servant, one who cares for poor widows. We might say he worked at a food bank.

In the scattering of disciples Philip does not so much choose to go to Samaria, as he is chased there. But his going there is not an accident. He brings the Gospel to "the Lost Sheep of Israel." That is what the Jews called the Samaritans, "lost sheep." They were seen to be renegades from the faith, racially "impure" and complicit in the Roman occupation of the Holy Land. The Roman headquarters in the occupation was in Caesarea which was in Samaria. Because of that, there was some reluctance of the church in Jerusalem to go there in mission. But something has happened in Philip to remove a barrier, a cultural or racial wall of resentment and hostility. He goes to Samaria and becomes an evangelist there.

         He is well received. The Samaritans pay attention to his words and they watch the miracles he performs. In him they see a power to overcome racial and cultural hostilities. They find in him more than just sincerity or good intentions. They recognize the power of the Holy Spirit, and they respond in faith.

         Then he is sent by the Holy Spirit to meet an Ethiopian eunuch on the road to Gaza, significantly south of Samaria. This Ethiopian is wealthy, intelligent and powerful. He is the treasurer of the Queen of Ethiopia. He is also what was known as a "God-fearer," a Gentile who took on the faith of Judaism. He is reading a manuscript of Isaiah. He is one of the sheep of Israel, but a very distant one. Philip acts as a guide in the scripture and brings him to faith in Christ.

         We next meet Philip in chapter 21. Luke writes, "We reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied." So Philip spent his life as an evangelist in Samaria.

         The example of Philip is very instructive for us. He comes from a neglected group in the early church. He is chosen for a simple task of service, to bring food to widows. He did not intend to become a missionary or an evangelist. But through circumstances, he found himself in Samaria and there he began to proclaim Christ, and the Holy Spirit empowered him to do Kingdom work. He experienced the defeat of oppressive powers of evil. He experienced the opening of hearts and minds to God's word. He taught others what he had learned from the risen Lord Jesus.

         I spent last week guiding a group of children called the "Rockin' Rabbits" around the Community Christian Church in Waukegan at their VBS. In 1996 Pastor Tim Knight planted a church on the north edge of Waukegan. A congregation that was dying out gave this new group their building and their blessing. They came with a vision to minister to a poor community through acts of compassion in Jesus' name. They started a PADS site, a food bank, a children's ministry. They have found such ministry to be both joyful and tiring. From the beginning Tim prayed that another church might be willing to walk alongside them in ministry to the poor. Theirs is rather a multi-cultural community with lots of families of modest income and where needs of many kinds are found. Carl Ball of "Love, INC." asked our church to consider coming alongside that ministry a few years ago, and we have given people to help in the food bank, some financial help for the food bank, and now a group of about 20 as helpers in their VBS, which is an outreach into their community.

         What did we learn in this step in evangelism and Kingdom service?

         First, we learned that it is hard to do. All the kids in the neighborhood did not come. There were about 60 children present. Evangelism is not easy. We realized that they might not know too much more about it than we do. But we sensed that both we and they are praying and are willing to step out in faith to reach communities for Christ.

         We found out that we can work together with people we don't really know all that well. They clearly needed us, and they appreciated us, and we appreciated them. We worked well together.

         We found out that the Gospel comes humbly and quietly and with servant heart. It is then given Holy Spirit power. We are at the servant-heart stage.

         We came back convinced that people need the Lord in our neighborhood, too. We, like Philip, are committed to proclaiming Christ wherever we find ourselves.

         This summer we have tried two interesting mission projects: roofing in Miami and VBS in Waukegan. After each event, Pastors Ed Carrey and Tim Knight told me that they want to come here and speak to you, largely to show appreciation. I sincerely hope that will happen. I am very interested to hear what they have to say to us. And I am very interested to see what the Spirit will do next.

         Amen.