he Liturgy: Tried and True Evangelism By Katie Hill
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16)
To an outsider looking in, the historic liturgy of the Church might H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 20
seem like something out the Dark Ages, particularly in a culture that tries to make everything “relevant” or “relatable”. Liturgy, simply put, is a pattern of worship. Lutherans understand liturgy as God serving His people by the proclamation of the Gospel and administration of the Means of Grace, and in response we get to offer thanks and praise to Him. Good liturgy is evangelistic by design. I was raised as a very traditional Roman Catholic but I chose to leave that church when I was 18. So, for a long time, I eyed anything even vaguely liturgical with great suspicion. Repeating the same words at church over and over again? Nope! Pastors wearing vestments? May it never be! Incense? Are you kidding? What I didn’t realize then was that much of that liturgy I had experienced every Sunday growing up had been evangelizing me all along.
