Five Questions with Bishop Scott Jones

As we count down the days left before Commission Possible in Summersville, check this space for previews, features, and interviews to get us ready.  Today, it’s an interview with Bishop Scott Jameson Jones.

What strikes me most about the Bishop’s story is that he’s just like many of us.  Faith journeys take time, and you never know what will push you toward relationship with God.

LHA: Tell me a bit about your faith journey.

BSJ: I am a fourth-generation United Methodist preacher, raised in a Christian home. I went through confirmation when I was in 6^th grade. In 1969 I spent the summer working with the Youth Service Fund mission teams in an inner-city ministry in Tampa, Florida. There I saw the church really making a difference in people’s lives. However, I did not have a personal faith in Christ and I was not attending worship.

While hitch-hiking from Washington DC to Nashville in 1973, I was picked up by a Christian truck driver who shared his faith with me for 2 hours. I went back home and starting going to church again. For four years I sought a born-again experience like some Christians describe but it never happened. Then, one day during private prayer in a campus ministry chapel, it became clear that I was a Christian. I was indeed born again sometime during that four-year, three month journey, but I’m not sure when. After that I went to seminary and became a United Methodist preacher.

LHA: What led you to the path you are on now – Evangelism and Congregational Development?

BSJ:  I was a member of the North Texas Conference, working in an area with a rapidly growing population. Yet, our conference annually reported declining membership and worship attendance. At the same time, I served a congregation that was growing—we more than doubled our worship attendance in four years. I was also reading everything John Wesley wrote for my dissertation. It suddenly dawned on me that Wesleyans were supposed to be evangelistic and that our membership decline was a violation of our doctrine and our heritage. I then chaired the district evangelism team, then the conference evangelism team, then the Conference Board of Discipleship, and then became a professor of Evangelism and Wesleyan Studies at Perkins School of Theology.

LHA:  Describe your definition of the word ‘Evangelism’

BSJ: In talking about evangelism, I emphasize love of God and love of neighbor as the motivation and purpose of evangelism. While I have a formal definition, it really means all of the things we do to initiate persons into the Christian way of life. Sometimes that is verbal witness, but it also involves understanding, reaching out and caring for non-Christian people. The formal definition is this: “Evangelism is that set of loving, intentional activities governed by the goal of initiating persons into Christian discipleship in response to the reign of God.”

LHA: What can folks expect from your presentation in Summersville?

BSJ: I hope people get inspiration, a new attitude, and some concrete steps they can take to grow their churches. The framework of my presentation is the 20 components of an evangelistically effective congregation. But for each of the components I tell stories of real life churches that have worked for them. Too often our churches do not grow because people have outmoded or negative ideas of what evangelism is or should be. I hope to give those who don’t like evangelism a reason to engage in it, and to give those who need new attitudes and techniques a more 21^st century approach. The Components are available at www.extremecenter.org.

LHA:  The West Virginia Annual Conference of the UMC is a one of small churches.  What advice do you have for them as they seek to reach out into their communities?

BSJ: I love small churches. They often provide a level of care and mutual support that is powerful. In rural communities they are important outposts of the kingdom of God. At the same time, they face unique challenges, and all of the things I will be teaching are possible in a small church. I believe every United Methodist Church in the US is capable of growing. The first and second of my twenty components are my best advice—develop a missional and spiritual culture in your congregation, and the rest is details.

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