A sermon preached by the Reverend Canon Dr. David Anderson, at St. Jude’s Church, Oakville on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, Feast of St. Ninian. Title: ‘Sharing the Gospel Like St. Ninian.’ Texts: Romans 10:14–17; Matthew 28:16–20.
I speak to you in the name of our risen Lord. Amen.
There are saints whose stories arrive like thunder—loud, dramatic, impossible to ignore. And then there are saints like St. Ninian, whose witness is quieter, steadier, more like the tide that shapes the shoreline over time. Ninian’s life was not defined by spectacle. It was defined by faithfulness. He went where Christ sent him, and he kept going.
Tradition tells us that Ninian was the first missionary to the peoples of what is now Scotland. He preached among communities who had never heard the name of Jesus. He built a small stone church—Candida Casa, the “White House”—on the western coast. It wasn’t grand. It wasn’t famous. But it was a place where the gospel could take root in a land that was still wild, still searching, still waiting.
Ninian’s ministry was patient. It was local. It was relational. And that makes him a perfect companion for our readings today—and for the conversations we’ve been having here at St. Jude’s about evangelism.
“How are they to hear without someone to proclaim?” Paul’s question in Romans is not rhetorical. It is a summons. The gospel does not travel by accident. It travels by people—ordinary people—who open their mouths, open their lives, and open their hearts. Paul reminds us that faith comes from hearing, and hearing comes from someone who dares to speak Christ’s word aloud.
Ninian did not preach because he was confident. He preached because Christ had called him. He preached because he believed the gospel was meant for everyone, even those living beyond the edges of the Roman world. He preached because he trusted that God could do something with his small voice. And that is the heart of evangelism: not eloquence, not expertise, but trust.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” The Great Commission is often imagined as a grand, global strategy. But Jesus spoke it to a small, uncertain group of disciples—some worshipping, some doubting. He entrusted the future of the Church to people who were not entirely sure they were up to the task.
That is comforting. Because most of us do not feel like missionaries. Most of us do not feel like evangelists. Most of us feel like those disciples on the mountain—faithful, yes, but also unsure, also hesitant, also wondering whether Christ really means us.
But Jesus does not wait for perfect confidence. He sends us as we are. He sends us with a promise: “I am with you always.” Not only when we are bold. Not only when we are successful. Always.
What this means for St. Jude’s. Over the past months, we’ve had an active committee working on questions regarding evangelism—what it is, what it isn’t, and what it might look like for us. We’ve been discerning, listening, asking honest questions. And one thing has become clear to me at least: Evangelism is not about becoming someone else. It is about becoming more deeply who we already are.
St. Jude’s is not called to imitate megachurches or adopt attractional strategies that don’t fit our identity. We are not called to chase trends. We are called to join God’s work in our neighbourhood in ways that are sustainable, relational, and faithful to our Anglican way of being Christian. And that means our evangelism will look more like St. Ninian than St. Paul.
It will be local. It will be patient. It will be rooted in presence and listening. It will grow through small, faithful acts that accumulate over time. A conversation. A prayer. A gesture of compassion. A willingness to speak Christ’s name without embarrassment. A readiness to listen for the Spirit’s prompting.
These are missionary acts. These are evangelistic acts. These are the ways the gospel travels in Oakville today.
Evangelism as invitation, not pressure. One of the most important insights emerging from our parish conversations is this: Evangelism is not about persuading people. It is about accompanying people. It is about noticing spiritual hunger. It is about honouring questions. It is about offering hospitality that is gentle, trauma‑aware, and grounded in compassion. It is about telling the story we’re in—our story, God’s story, the story of hope that has carried us this far.
Evangelism at St. Jude’s will not be loud. It will not be flashy. It will not be coercive. It will be invitational, relational, and rooted in the deep Anglican conviction that God is already at work in the lives of our neighbours long before we arrive. Our task is simply to join that work.
St. Ninian’s gift to us. Ninian’s witness reminds us that mission is not primarily about crossing oceans. It is about crossing thresholds—into conversations, into relationships, into the lives of neighbours and strangers.
He preached Christ in a land that did not yet know Christ. We preach Christ in a land that sometimes forgets him or even sometimes rejects him. The work is similar. The courage required is similar. The promise given is the same.
And perhaps the most important lesson from Ninian is this: The gospel grows through ordinary disciples who trust that Christ is with them. That is us.
A final word. On this feast of St. Ninian, we give thanks for a missionary whose legacy was not loud but lasting. We give thanks for a man who believed that Christ’s love was meant for every corner of the world. And we ask for the grace to follow in his footsteps—not by travelling far, but by being faithful where we are.
May we be people through whom others hear the word of Christ. May we be people through whom faith is awakened. May we be people who trust that Christ is with us—always, even to the end of the age.
Amen. +
