![\"Need](\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Meeting-Needs-570x427.jpg\" "\\"Meeting")
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When it comes to need-based evangelism, we have two extremes.<\/p>\n
On the one side, we have the people who focus only on meeting people\u2019s physical needs. These are the social-gospel churches, which focus on need-based evangelism. They say things like, \u201cPeople don\u2019t care how much you know until they know how much you care\u201d or \u201cAn empty stomach has no ears.\u201d I would not argue with these proverbs, as they are true. But I would add a proverb of my own: \u201cDon\u2019t let busy hands tie your tongue.\u201d Sometimes these churches get so busy loving and helping people that they never get around to telling others the truth about God, sin, Jesus Christ, and eternal life.<\/p>\n
The other church extreme criticizes such efforts as a waste of time and resources. What good is it, they ask, for people to go to hell with nice clothes and a full stomach? They argue that a person\u2019s eternal destiny is more important than any earthly comfort. These churches say things like, \u201cIt\u2019s our job to preach; it\u2019s God\u2019s job to save\u201d and \u201cPeople are destroyed from lack of knowledge, not from lack of food\u201d (alluding from Hosea 4:6). There is truth in these sayings as well.<\/p>\n
But both sides, with their proverbs and passionate appeals, have missed the overarching message of the gospel, that it is good news for both the body and the spirit. For both temporal and eternal life. The gospel is not just about life here and now, nor is it about life in the hereafter. It is about both. The gospel is the full-orbed message about the claims of Jesus on both our present and eternal life. To focus on one life or the other is a serious mistake.<\/p>\n
There are two types of need-based evangelism: meeting physical needs only and meeting spiritual needs only. The gospel balance is between the two. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9127,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[15,19],"class_list":{"0":"post-9125","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"tag-close-your-church-for-good","8":"tag-discipleship","9":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\n