Rediscovering the radical gospel
The gospel is radical: it’s the power of God unto salvation, rooted in Christ’s life, death and resurrection. So how can we rediscover and share it? Here’s Trudy Makepeace’s advice
1. Preach a simple message
We need people to encounter our radical gospel, and for that to happen we need to preach a simple, clear gospel message. That message is the life of Jesus, his crucifixion and resurrection and the power of the Holy Spirit. We share this to make disciples who can bear fruit, and when we preach salvation, repentance and faith we also see people saved. When I encountered Jesus, I’d been an addict for 18 years. It was a clear, simple gospel message that radically changed me and was the doorway to salvation and transformation.
2. Preach the whole gospel
The gospel isn’t always a popular message. It costs people’s reputation, popularity, brings opposition and causes people to walk away. But compromise will always cost more.
If we neglect to preach Christ and his death on the cross we compromise the preaching of the gospel. It’s only by sharing it in its purity and entirety that it’s radical.
There are so many reasons why we might compromise – fear of offending, doubt, unbelief, discouragement, not knowing the Scriptures or fear of man. But we need to hold firm to the faith we have been entrusted with.
Of course, it’s important to be aware of who we’re talking to and how we communicate, but we don’t need to protect God or shy away from the truth for fear of people being offended by our message.
3. Preach confidently
We need to preach in confidence and faith, and that can only come through our own encounters and experience with Jesus in our personal lives.
For us to rediscover the radical gospel we need to rediscover the power of the resurrection in our own lives. I find when I share out of a place where I’m encountering Christ and full of the Spirit I’m more effective at communicating God’s heart and at ministering.
4. Recapture the wonder
The Holy Spirit is the power of God, so we need to recapture the wonder and power of him. Sometimes, the baptism of the Holy Spirit can become a bit of an afterthought. But actually, he comes to empower us. Before Jesus began his ministry he was empowered by the Holy Spirit, and we need that too.
We need to get back to teaching, equipping and helping people receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit because that’s where they’ll see the power of God at work in their lives and ministries.
Setting captives free
Isaiah 61 talks about proclaiming the good news, healing the broken-hearted and announcing freedom to captives.
This is the ministry Trudy is engaged in through the Bristol-based Street Church charity which she has led for the past seven years.
Working with a hostel housing people who have addiction and mental health issues, Trudy is seeing God move.
“There are lots of life-controlling issues around the people we work with, but over the years I’ve seen God minister in the midst of such brokenness,” she says.
“We have the joy of coming alongside them, serving them and bringing a message of hope, transformation and healing.”
Trudy talks about a former soldier whose life was transformed by care and faith.
“He used to hang out in the alleyway of the church and was demonised and traumatised by PTSD. He’d scream and shout and was a serious self-harmer.
“We engaged with him and he opened his life to Jesus. Over time, he was released from that oppression. He still had mental health issues but by being in our environment things gradually started to improve.
“He’d been stuck in the hostel for years, but after giving his life to Jesus he started coming to church and his circumstances began to change.
“He ended up moving into a safe house with support and getting help for his PTSD.
“The last time I saw him he looked so radiant and free.”
Abused, Addicted, Free: a powerful testimony
During lockdown Trudy turned her powerful testimony into a book – Abused, Addicted, Free – that is ministering in prisoners’ lives.
Her story includes a horrific history of childhood abuse, suicide attempts, crime, heroin and crack cocaine addiction and sex work.
As she planned her book, Trudy intended to focus on her addiction and coming to faith, but God had other ideas.
“He took me back to the beginning, so the story is very vulnerable because I experienced a lot of abuse in my early years.
“But I felt God lead me to share this, to give people an insight and give them language and understanding for things they can’t communicate. By going back to the start I touch on issues that many people will relate to and show how one thing can lead to another.”
“Nothing is too difficult for God, and nobody is beyond reach or hope. I was so bound and broken. God has flipped that and now he is using the very things that kept me captive to bring glory to him and minister to others.”
This article first appeared in the June 2023 edition of Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.
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