You have probably heard of St. Patrick of Ireland and St. Patrick's Day. But Patrick is a lot more important
than the color green. He and his "Celtic Way of Evangelism" are very instructive for us in how to be missional today.
Patrick was English, and when he was 16, Celtic pirates captured him and carried him over to Ireland as a slave. Patrick spent six years as a slave herding cattle for a tribal chief. During this time he became a Christian, learned the Celtic language, and learned to care for his captors. He was later rescued when a ship came by and he was able to negotiate his passage.
At the age of 48, he received letters from his former captors, begging him to come over to Ireland. And so Patrick went over to live amongst the Celts as a missionary. You see, Patrick was actually not Irish at all. He simply had a heart for these people.
Perhaps because he had lived amongst the Celts, Patrick had a very missional and incarnational approach to reaching the Celts. Note what George G. Hunter, author of The Celtic Way of Evangelism, says:
"Upon arrival at a tribal settlement, Patrick would engage the king and other opinion leaders, hoping for their conversion, or at least their clearance, to camp near the people and form into a community of faith adjacent to the tribal settlement. The 'apostolic' (in the send of the Greek word meaning, 'sent on mission') team would meet the people who appeared receptive. They would pray for sick people, and for possessed people, and they would counsel people and mediate conflicts. On at least one occasion, Patrick blessed a river and prayed for the people to catch more fish. They would engage in some open-air speaking, probably employing parable, story, poetry, song, visual arts . . .
The apostolic band would probably welcome responsive people into their group fellowship to worship with them, pray with them, minister to them, converse with them, and break bread together. One band member or another would probably join with each responsive person to reach out to relatives and friends. The mission team typically spent weeks, or even months, as a ministering community of faith within the tribe. The church that emerged within the tribe would have been astonishingly indigenous. If God blessed the efforts of Patrick's band and the people responded to faith, they built a church." (p. 21-22) In fact, Patrick and his people planted over 700 churches.
There are several important things to note from Patrick's approach to evangelism that we would do well to emulate today:
- Evangelism was done as a small group, helping to provide a powerful community witness. Evangelism today is thought of as a lone ranger affair. We are much more attractive as a community.
- Evangelism had a missional thrust. That is, the community went to the people and lived among them, rather than saying, "Come to us." While many churches have a great witness of love and fellowship, most people in the world will never know this, for they will not go to a church. The church must go to them - in groups, serving together the people whom the church is trying to reach.
- Evangelism involved blessing people. Patrick blessed and a river and prayed for the people to catch more fish. We must let people know that we love them and be proactive in blessing their lives if we are to have an opportunity to share the gospel.
- Evangelism was about giving people a place to belong. By living amongst the people, Patrick and his band let the Celts experience Christian community. This is consistent with today's culture of "belonging before believing."
- Evangelism involved telling the gospel story in creative ways. Music, art, poetry--these are no less important to people today. Music and movies are great sources to be able to help tell the gospel story. Can you think of some movies and songs that would be good for this today? There are so many!
What do you like about Patrick's approach and the "Celtic Way of Evangelism?
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