Was St. Francis of Assisi On To Something?

St. Francis of Assisi is often quoted with saying, “Preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.” While he likely never actually spoke these words, I wonder if he was on to something or perhaps this sweet sentiment that we like to put on kitchen decorations falls short of what our true calling is.

We talked in class about servant evangelism. This is the idea of starting from the foundation of some sort of service in order to have a gateway to preach the Gospel. We discussed how Professor Sweet had experience with free car washes or free cleaning services. They would offer this free service to get people to ask the question, “Why?” Once they ask, the team would share that they’re spreading the love of Jesus. It was a seed-planting ministry. There weren’t mass conversions, but that wasn’t the point.

Is St. Francis of Assisi talking about servant evangelism here? I would argue no. While we ought to show the love of Jesus at all times, perhaps without words, the Gospel is impossible to preach without words. There’s no coincidence that Jesus is identified in John 1 as the divine Logos or Word. He reveals and illuminates the mysteries of God to us. Without the Word of the Gospel, we are left in the dark.

While I do think servant evangelism is a good strategy and good endeavor, we must make sure in all our efforts to genuinely preach the Gospel – using words. Simply washing cars will not convict someone of their sin. Cleaning toilets will not help people realize the power of the Holy Spirit. I fear that if we take servant evangelism too far, we will fail in truly sharing the Gospel.

Servant evangelism is good, but it has its place and time. It must be understood simply as an entry, seed-planting endeavor. I would argue one should not devote their entire life to solely servant evangelism, for it is not an end within itself.