This article was first published on my Substack here – and the edited version on AP here….
I went over to the ‘welcome new members’ noticeboard in a large Presbyterian church in the US. It was impressive. They had had over 30 new members that month alone. Encouraging. Except I noted that virtually all of them were ‘transferred from First Baptist’ or 3rd Baptist, or 105th Baptist, or an independent charismatic church. I asked the elder I was with, why this was so. “Oh, he said – that’s easy. Reformed churches are not every good at evangelism … we let the Baptists bring them in and then we teach them the way of God more perfectly”. Whilst perhaps never expressed as blatantly or as arrogantly, as that, it is an attitude I have come across a great deal.
I have a great interest in evangelism. It’s not a hobby. It’s my life. Almost from the day I professed faith in Christ, I have wanted to share him with others. It has been my privilege in over 40 years of ministry to see many people come to faith in Christ – never in great numbers – but all the one-by-ones add up over a long period. And yet I am deeply conscious of failings and weaknesses, both personally and, corporately within the church. But having dipped my toes in other ecclesiastical waters I want to make a radical suggestion to readers of this column. Perhaps Presbyterianism is ideally suited for evangelism in 21st Century Australia? I know that some will find that idea both ridiculous and somewhat hubristic – but hear me out.
Our ecclesiology, theology, worship, view of the sacraments, diaconal ministries, education, ecumenical and prophetic vision is well suited to reaching contemporary society. Over the next few weeks, I hope to write an article on each of these features – none of which is unique to the Presbyterian church – but all of them combined, are.
The State of Evangelism in the Presbyterian Church
But before I do that, I want to look at the state of evangelism within the Australian Presbyterian Church. There are good things going on – in terms of church planting, some revitalised churches, the Chinese churches, and with some gifted individuals. But I would suggest that overall evangelism in the Presbyterian church is an idea that in general we hold to – but practise rarely or badly. We far too often outsource to others and seem to regard it as at best a peripheral activity done on an occasional basis by people who are a wee bit eccentric.
If you doubt that, ask yourself: “Is evangelism is in the DNA of every church? What is the priority of teaching evangelism in our theological colleges? Why, in the book I have just finished reading, Burning or Bushed – the Presbyterian Church of Australia 40 years on’, is there not one chapter (out of 21) on evangelism? Why do we spend far more on property, administration and social care than we do on evangelism?”
We pay for what we value. In Scotland when we started up an evangelistic organisation called Solas (which continues to grow and thrive), it was initially very difficult to get funding for it. It was cynically remarked that if you show a picture of a destitute child for your ministry and you are far more likely to get money than if you show a picture of someone destined for Hell!
My own perception and practice were greatly affected by a remark that Sinclair Ferguson made at a Crieff conference over two decades ago. “In Scotland we have largely given up on expecting churches to grow through conversions. If any church had six new conversions from the world – in any one year – they would be transformed”. I realised that was basically true.
Brora
My first charge was in the small Highland village of Brora. We had a congregation of about 40. After a few months I suggested to the elders that we needed ten new people per year to stand still. They were incredulous – until I pointed out that on average each year we lost four people through death, four through moving away and two through backsliding or discontent. “But where are we going to get ten people? Ten Christians won’t be moving into the village – and even if they did most would probably go to the Church of Scotland”. Whilst they were keen on communicating the Gospel, it just never really crossed their minds that the church could grow through people being converted. At least at that scale. And yet it happened. We were desperate. We prayed, preached, praised and loved – and God worked. I recall one particularly purple patch where at least one person per month was ‘saved’ – for almost 18 months.
St Peters, Dundee
Then in St Peters Dundee, where Annabel and I ministered for 27 years, we were initially faced with an even more desperate situation – a literal handful of discouraged and disconnected people in an historic run-down building which could seat 900! The only children were our two – they grew up in a church with almost no one their own age until they were 16. Christian families were not going to come to us – in fact it was 18 years before one Christian family came to us – by then we had grown several of our own! I recall one man coming from London feeling a call to help us in a new church plant we were doing in St Andrews. But after being there for the weekend he came to tell me that he couldn’t do it – because there were no children and families. My retort that ‘someone has to be first’ did not overcome his scruples.
But over the years, gradually and with many ups and downs the congregation grew, the building was refurbished and new churches were planted. Most of the new people were either non-Christians or people who had left the church. And again, it was ‘the ordinary means of grace’ combined with a dedicated and at times creative approach to evangelism and a team ministry which were used by the Holy Spirit to bring people to Christ and glory to God.
Sydney and Newcastle
Fast forward to coming to Sydney in 2019 where I came to do evangelism with Sydney Anglicans. It was a fascinating insight into a different evangelical culture and a different way of doing evangelism. I struggled. And now I have returned to my roots – seeking to revitalise and renew a struggling Presbyterian congregation, namely Scots Kirk in Hamilton Newcastle.
We have been here three years – and for the first few months it seemed as though it would be a short-lived stay. No children, no young people, and a congregation seemingly in terminal decline but kept on life support by funding from the past. It’s a story all too familiar in NSW Presbyterianism. Over half our congregations have under 50 people in attendance. I was recently (October 2026) ordained as the fully fledged minister, and it was a surprisingly joyful and encouraging occasion. The congregation has grown to about 80. The new people can be divided into those who had no church background, those who had given up on church and those who have come either looking for a new spiritual home or just wanting to help. We are by no means out of the woods but at least we are beginning to crawl …!
Here is the video of the induction on Friday 16th Oct 2026
But it’s not enough. It’s not nearly enough. Within 30 minutes’ drive of our church there are 750,000 people. Every Sunday the roads are busy with people heading for the beaches, the shops, sport, or to commune with nature. With rare exceptions there are not queues outside the churches. The signs on Tudor Street warning us about increased traffic because of a ‘Special Event’ are not sadly referring to the special event of Christ being proclaimed amongst his people!
So how can we reach these people? How can we communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who so desperately, but unknowingly, need Him? I don’t have many answers, but I want to reflect on this in the coming weeks, by showing how if we place biblical evangelism at the centre of our churches, we may find that our distinctives help rather than hinder the proclamation of the Good News.
Why?
But for now, I leave you with this one thought. Our evangelism will be spasmodic, weak and ineffective unless our motivation is real and deep. At my ordination 40 years ago, I was asked the most terrifying and searching question: “Are not the call of God, zeal for his glory, love for the Lord Jesus Christ, and a desire for the salvation of all people, your primary motivations to serve God in the holy ministry rather than worldly interests?” I was told by my own minister that being the youngest minister in the Free Church (ordained at 24) would not be a problem because by the time I was fifty I would have 26 years of experience … IF I retained my zeal. That’s a big and challenging ‘if’! It’s so easy to be worn down and become ‘weary in well doing’.
A minister friend of mine remarked that in many years of ministry he has seen more people weep over the movement of a communion table, than those who wept over lost souls. Kevin Murray’s excellent article in Burning or Bushed on overseas mission states that “the proclamation of the saving work of the Lord, Jesus Christ, wasn’t a priority because a liberal view of the Bible and sin had stripped away the urgency of the proclamation of the gospel” (p.245). He said this of the pre-union Presbyterian Church. But can I be forgiven for asking what is the practical difference in the current post-union Presbyterian church? Our theology may be sounder but if we only wear it as a badge, rather than use it for evangelism, then we are of all churches to be pitied.
D. L. Moody was on ‘mission’ in Scotland when he went for a walk down the famous Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow. At one point he was so overwhelmed by the thousands of people he saw that he stepped into a shop door and wept for the people. In this he was like his Saviour who wept over Jerusalem. Another time Moody received a complaint about his style of evangelism to which his epic response was: “You may well be right, but I prefer the way I evangelise to the way you don’t!”.
– David Robertson
Should we have an Evangelism Target? EN