10. "It's for everybody everywhere"

Saying "If God's love is for anybody anywhere, it's for everybody everywhere" should call to mind the "whosoever" in John 3:16 and the need mentioned in Romans 10:13-15 for people to hear the Gospel.
Christians cannot simply agree with Lawlor's message and then excuse themselves from fulfilling the responsibility to spread the Gospel to everyone, everywhere.
The slogan "If God's love is for anybody anywhere, it's for everybody everywhere" should stir hearts and move people to action.
Edward Lawlor's slogan should inspire believers to help spread the Good News worldwide to those that have not yet heard it.

Slogans to awaken the Church

Sayings about world evangelism that stir hearts and move people to action

Need an idea for a sermon about missions? Here is one

"If God's love is for anybody anywhere, it's for everybody everywhere." -- Edward Lawlor, pastor, evangelist, and Nazarene General Superintendent

Lawlor's declaration about "everybody everywhere" evokes several Bible verses. For starters, it calls to mind the "whosoever" of John 3:16.

"Everybody everywhere" also reminds me of Romans 10:13-15: "For, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?"

In that passage, the Apostle Paul's progression from the prophet Joel's words "everyone who calls"¹ to his own logical question, "How can they hear?" is clear. Those rational, systematic steps that Paul took with Joel's words need to be taken with Lawlor's words as well. If Lawlor was right and the Gospel is for everybody everywhere, then don't we believers need to say, "Okay. How do we get the Good News to everybody everywhere?"

Edward Lawlor certainly "walked the talk." He was an untiring evangelist and church planter who had spent time evangelizing among the indigenous peoples of Canada. He eventually became a Nazarene district superintendent and then was asked to form a denominational Department of Evangelism. In 1968, he was elected as a Nazarene General Superintendent which meant he helped oversee Nazarene outreach and church planting worldwide.

Lawlor's saying about the Gospel being for "everybody everywhere" evokes what pioneer Nazarene leader Phineas Bresee had said about the time of Lawlor's birth: " We are debtors to every man to give him the Gospel in the same measure in which we have received it."

We must not simply nod in agreement with Lawlor's slogan and then turn around and excuse ourselves by saying, "Reaching people at the ends of the earth is not what I'm called to do. It is not my responsibility." We must accept our Lord's call to be involved in some way so that everybody everywhere can indeed hear the Good News.

Discussion questions

How, in your own words, would you rephrase Edward Lawlor's slogan "If God's love is for anybody anywhere, it's for everybody everywhere"?
What Bible verses come to your mind when you hear Lawlor's slogan about the Gospel being for "everybody everywhere"? How do those Bible passages speak to the responsibility of believers to spread the Gospel?
What relationship do you see between Lawlor's slogan and the message of pioneer Nazarene leader Phineas Bresee when he said, "We are debtors to every man to give him the Gospel in the same measure in which we have received it"?
Why do you believers sometimes try to excuse themselves from any responsibility to help spread the Gospel to everyone? Are there things we can do to encourage them to accept this responsibility?
What steps can individuals and churches take to ensure that everyone around the world has access to the Gospel?

Afterword

Edward Lawlor's slogan, "If God's love is for anybody anywhere, it's for everybody everywhere," reminds us of our oblication to spread the Good News of the Gospel to all corners of the world. This slogan resonates with key Bible verses such as John 3:16 and Romans 10:13-15, emphasizing the universal nature of God's love and the responsibility of believers to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to hear the Gospel. Individually and collectively, we can ensure that the Gospel reaches "everybody everywhere."

-- Howard Culbertson,

¹"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." -- Joel 2:32

More mini-essays in the "Slogans to awaken the Church" series

Mark 16:15 -- Tell everyone everywhere.

Who was Edward Lawor?

At age 18, Canadian Edward was Lawlor was converted through the ministry of the Salvation Army. He went to the Salvation Army Training College in Toronto and bcame a minister in the Salvation Army.
Edward Lawor was also active for a time with the YMCA and with Youth for Christ. He even spent a year ministering to Canada's First Nations people.
Then, through the influence of J.B. Chapman, Edward Lawlor joined the Church of the Nazarene. After pasturing for seven years, he became the superintendent over the Nazarene churches in Canada's Alberta province.
In 1960, Edward Lawlor was asked to lead the Nazarene Department of Evangelism, Six years later. he was elected as one of the denomination's six general superintendents.