Steve Sjogren, Servant Evangelism
Referenced in: Social Ministry Strategies / Evangelism Strategies – Servant Evangelism
Introduction
Steve Sjogren launched the Vineyard Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1985 with 37 people. Under his leadership, the dynamic congregation grew to more than 6000 in average attendance. From the onset VCC had a strong emphasis on servant evangelism, small groups, church planting and caring for the needy. Following a medical accident in 1997 and during his recovery, Steve became the Launching Pastor. Through the years the church planting internship program and Steve’s coaching efforts have produced several dozen successful church plants. Steve is currently focused on writing, speaking and mentoring church planters. Steve’s passion for evangelism, church planting and leadership development is reflected in his writing.
Steve Sjogren’s work is not focused on social action, per se, but evangelism. He is credited with originating the concept of “Servant Evangelism,” which stresses the powerful testimony of exhibiting the gospel through a lifestyle of kindness and servanthood. These resources are valuable both with regard to evangelism and social action.
Sjogren’s Kindness model works well for churches that are more informally structured and where highly organized and long-term efforts are not practical or feasible. Examples of his approach would be a group of Christians walking into a local restaurant with cleaning equipment in hand and volunteering to clean the bathroom and the toilets, even if the owners tell them they do not need it (but at the same time do not withhold permission!). Stories convey how recipients in these situations may resist at first, thinking the servants want a donation or something else in return. When it becomes clear that they are doing it simply to be kind to others, the defenses slowly break down, and life-changing conversations begin, thus “servant” evangelism.
Resources
There are several resources in this series. Follow the links to the listings.
- Steve Sjogren, Conspiracy of Kindness: A Unique Approach to Sharing the Love of Jesus. 15th Anniversary Edition – Presents the basic idea of servant evangelism.
- Steve Sjogren, Dave Ping, and Doug Pollock, Irresistible Evangelism: Natural Ways to Open Others to Jesus
- Steve Sjogren and Dave Ping, Outflow: Outward-Focused Living in a Self-Focused World
- Steve Sjogren, 101 Ways Series
See Other Resource Guides on Christian Social Ministry:
- Social Ministry, Introduction
- Theological and Philosophical Foundations of Social Ministry
- Spirituality for Ministry of Social Compassion and Justice
- Strategies For Christian Social Ministry
- Perspectives and Strategies For Social Ministry Among the Urban Poor, Urban Ministry
- Christian Perspectives on Political Theory and Church-State Relations
- Christian Perspectives on Economics and Public Policy
See Resources on Over 100 Ministry Topics: