The Evangelism Mandate: Recovering the Centrality of Gospel Preaching

In today's seeker-sensitive church and self-help culture, preaching to a congregation's "felt needs" often has priority over preaching the clear and compelling gospel of Jesus Christ. Evangelistic preaching has become an endangered species in our idolatrous culture. David Larsen confronts the challenge of effective gospel preaching and calls for a recovery of the centrality of gospel preaching in the Christian church.

This is not a how-to book on sermon preparation, but instead focuses on the nature and priority of evangelistic preaching. The author presents an overall strategy for every local church, giving careful attention to topics such as the history of evangelistic preaching, the invitation and conversion, evangelism and revival, evangelism and "lordship salvation," and evangelism and church growth.

The Evangelism Mandate concludes with five inspiring examples of classic gospel sermons by Charles Haddon Spurgeon, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, James S. Stewart, George W. Truett, and Billy Graham.

David L. Larsen (B.A., Stanford University; M.Div., Fuller Theological Seminary; D.D., Trinity College) is Professor Emeritus of Preaching at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He pastored churches for thirty-two years and has taught at Trinity since 1981. He is the author of several books, including The Company of the Preachers, The Company of the Creative, The Anatomy of Preaching, and Biblical Spirituality.