Mission America Coalition has a long history of evangelism

Mission America Coalition has a rich history of evangelism. The organization now known as The Table Coalition started in 1973 and has put the Gospel message front and center ever since the early days, when the movement grew to become what it is today. It’s a place for people of all denominational backgrounds to unite under the banner of Jesus and help people find salvation.

Over the years, several important figures have helped the organization to flourish from those early days, starting with the late Billy Graham (one of the founding members, who also founded the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association) along with the late Dr. Bill Bright (who founded Campus Crusade for Christ) and Dr. John Perkins (who founded the Christian Community Development Association).

Nick Hall, as the current President and CEO of The Table Coalition, is leading the organization into the next phase of evangelism, particularly when it comes to digital methods to reach a worldwide audience. Yet, the mission remains the same – to help people of all backgrounds and locations find Jesus.

Because Mission America Coalition has such a powerful story when it comes to uniting under the name of Jesus to help others find salvation, it’s worthwhile to recount some of the milestones of the organization, including those who helped formulate and launch the movement from the very beginning.

Billy Graham and evangelism

You could make the case that the modern evangelism movement today started with Billy Graham back in the late 40s and early 50s. The seminal figure, who passed away in 2018, ushered in a new period in evangelism that focused on large-scale events, crossing denominational divides, and focusing on follow up and discipleship.

Billy Graham introduced the idea of a large-scale evangelistic event in 1949 with the Los Angeles Crusade. According to the official website for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, hundreds of thousands of people found Jesus at that event. All told, about 215 million people heard the Gospel throughout his ministry in person at events, with many hundreds of millions more who heard the Gospel on the radio, through television, his books, and through other methods.

Graham was instrumental in starting Mission America Coalition along with Bill Bright and Dr. John Perkins because the mission, even back in 1973, was clear. It was to gather around the common cause of evangelism and share the Good News with anyone who would listen, regardless of background, geographic location, or denominational affiliation.

Setting the stage for growth

This idea of uniting believers around the mission of the Gospel has helped The Table Coalition, formerly known as Mission America Coalition, expand and reach people in every walk of life and in areas outside of the United States.

Another important figure in that expansion and development was Dr. Bill Bright, who started Campus Crusade for Christ. In 1951, Dr. Bright started the campus ministry now known as Cru at the University of California at Los Angeles. In 1979, Bright launched the Jesus Film Project, which has now been viewed by over 5.1 billion people in 225 countries. The movie has been translated into 1,400 languages and shown in all corners of the globe.

Dr. John Perkins is a civil rights legend who became a follower of Jesus in 1957. According to his official bio at Seattle Pacific University, he is “one of the leading evangelical voices to come out of the American Civil Rights Movement…an internationally known author, speaker, and teacher on issues of racial reconciliation and Christian community development.

In 1989, Dr. Perkins helped found the Christian Community Development Association, which is similar to Mission America Coalition in that it is a way to unite evangelicals across denominational lines. Dr. Perkins focused on urban settings, according to his official biography, and is still actively engaged with them.

The thread running through all of these developments and with these like-minded leaders is that the Gospel is relevant and vital today and is the one and only way to bring all people groups together under one common cause, which is the cause of Christ.

Modern evangelism

While the Gospel has not changed in over 2,000 years and the message is the same, the techniques to reach people have grown and adapted to modern culture. Back in the early years when Billy Graham was conducting crusades, social media was not even remotely possible or imagined. The main techniques to share the Gospel back then were radio and television.

With the rise of social media over the last decade, it’s now become possible to share Jesus with a wide digital audience. Nick Hall, the current President and CEO of The Table Coalition, has shared the Gospel with over 330 million people, with over two million Gospel responses.

An example of how far-reaching the digital platforms have become is a recent broadcast of a Good Friday service, streamed over YouTube and online to millions of people. Nick Hall has over 180,000 followers on Facebook, which means the message of evangelism can be transmitted to a large audience over social media in ways that were not possible before.

Another recent example involves the FTS-OU event, held in late April at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. Thousands of people gathered in the stadium to hear artists like Kari Jobe and Chandler Moore, then heard a Gospel message by Nick Hall. Thousands more were able to tune in through a livestream of the event, some hearing the Gospel for the first time. Events like these were often self-contained within a city just a decade ago or more, but can now be transmitted online, through social media and on YouTube.

There’s no telling what the future holds when believers unite under the banner of Jesus, gathering together in His name. Mission America Coalition, now known as The Table Collation, is poised to continue the legacy of the founders who caught the vision for evangelism back in 1973 that continues to this day.