Quote:
Originally Posted by Pergamum  Quote:
Originally Posted by tcalbrecht Street preaching may be a bit of a misnomer, but in any event, the object of the street preacher are those outside the visible church. The object of the minister of the Word is the congregation. | I would like to challenge this.
Ordinarily, the minister ministers in an already existing congregation.
But some are called to evangelize or do missionary work and for these, then the minister exists prior to the existence of the congregation.
Thus there is a case of extra-ecclesiastical preaching, not just bringing people into the church that already exists, but being used by God to birth the church to begin with.
Your definition above ignores church planting. |
I wasn't trying to give a comprehensive definition. I was addressing the ordinary situation, not the extraordinary.
As I understood the OP, the issue had to do with the question of street "evangelism" (for lack of a better term) in an area where there were existing churches. Note my comment about the goal being to bring folks into the congregation for baptism and discipleship. Presumably those doing the work on the street or in their neighborhoods are already members in good standing of the church and under the authority of ordained leadership.
I would certainly agree that in area where the gospel is new and no churches exist, that evangelists called and ordained by the church are in order.