Book Review: The Celtic Way of Evangelism by GE Hunter, III

In The Celtic Way of Evangelism, George Hunter, III, examines the ministry methods of Saint Patrick and his colleagues. These methods proved highly effective, leading Christianity to sweep the pagan nation of Ireland within a few generations, and Hunter convincingly asserts that modern churches should learn much from their methods in order to effectively reach increasingly secular Western cultures.

The evangelistic methods of Celtic Christians were highly relational, centering on a team of evangelists building authentic relationships with the communities to which they were ministering. They engaged the imagination and emotion of those communities through storytelling and music; practiced radical hospitality to strangers; and emphasized belonging in relationship even before believing in Christ. With these foci, Patrick and other Celtic Christians built rapport and credibility which provided them the opportunity to outline a positive vision for who the Irish could be in Christ.

Celtic Christians approached evangelism with transparent humility, fervent faithfulness, persistent prayer, and unmitigated passion. They prioritized biblical revelation but endeavored to understand the cultural and historical context of those to whom they ministered rather than override it with Roman language and ways. This meant that they employed the vernacular, adopted indigenous music, and searched for contact points. They embraced as their supreme purpose the service of Christ and the pursuit of his will, but they recognized that even the most pagan context may present critical insight into blind spots and shortcomings in their own faith. Further, they endeavored to build upon the positive aspects of the existing culture rather than replace it wholesale.

Celtic Christians endeavored to include people who were dissimilar to themselves without compromising the gospel. Indeed, they aimed to convert those people thoroughly, emphasizing that the primary goal of faith was to make believers Christ-like while tolerating anything about the indigenous culture which did not attract from this goal. Thus, Celtic Christians encouraged an other-centered spiritual life, challenging each other “to be liberated from our self-interest and narcissism and… to be given the credibility, compassion, and the power from which ministry and mission make a difference” (99).

To reach the thoroughly secular, increasingly postmodern Western culture which exists today, churches will need to develop (1) credibility borne of a life that reflects the message they preach; (2) clearance that comes from engaging community leaders and living in proximity to the community itself; (3) contact that comes from befriending and thoroughly understanding people; (4) community both with other believers and the unsaved; (5) engaging, imaginative communication; (6) conversational evangelism; (7) contextualization of the church and gospel to local cultures; (8) continuity that comes from building “on whatever [we can] in the people’s primal religion that preceded the introduction of Christianity” (105); (9) evangelistic methods that are consistent with principles that have historically fueled successful evangelistic efforts; and (10) conviction that even those who are far from Church and Christ can be effectively reached.  

Ultimately, this means being committed simultaneously to Christ and the people to whom we are ministering and practicing a more robust hospitality than we have in the past. It will mean calling people to the ideals of holiness as well as helping them to apply the gospel message to those real-life issues that comprise the “excluded middle” so that people will understand God’s design and work among the practical uncertainties we all encounter. And it will mean offering the forgiveness, acceptance, second chance, and new life that “most people are looking for, but the Church is not offering it to them” (130).

Hunter’s observations of the Celtic Christians and their evangelistic methods echo much of the lessons embodied by the modern missional movement. Moreover, they reflect the methods which have proven key to most successful evangelistic outreaches throughout history. As such, and given the growing distinction between the values of authentic Christianity and the New Barbarians of our day, churches would be well-served to heed much of Hunter’s advice. Recommend.