When the International Congress on World Evangelization met at Lausanne in 1974, it stressed the social implications of the gospel as well as man’s personal need to trust Christ.
In one of the major conference addresses, Sr. Michael Creen said, “Evangelism is the church’s first priority. But you cannot isolate the preaching of good news without destroying the good news itself. The end of Acts 5 brings us almost to revival situation in Jerusalem . . . and then comes Acts 6 with a little matter of social justice and fellowship.
“They could have so easily brushed it aside and said, ‘Don’t fuss about the widows. Let’s get on with the preaching. That is what matters.’ If they had done that, God’s Spirit would have been grieved, the fellowship would have been ruined.”