Sullivan church of Christ – Sullivan, MO
Date: May 4, 2008
THE CHALLENGE OF A GOSPEL MEETING
Ben Justice
Today begins our gospel meeting and will continue through Wednesday evening. We hope
and pray that through our efforts we can have visitors and see the fruit of our labor. With
that said, gospel meetings can be a real challenge. The challenge of a gospel meeting can
be attributed to several reasons.
1.) While in years gone by it has been relatively easy to get people to attend, today it is a
far different story. The spiritual climate of America has definitely changed and not for the
better. It is certainly a challenge to get people to come and listen to the truth of God’s
word. But, this doesn’t mean we should give up. For those visitors we have during the
course of this gospel effort, we are honored and delighted at their presence. Not only is it
very difficult to get non-members to come, but it is often very difficult to get our members
to attend and support the meeting. With so much work that goes into a gospel meeting, it
is a shame indeed that so many don’t support the meeting by attending all of the services.
In the past, finding enough seating was a challenge; now, it is a challenge to fill the pews,
because people just don’t show any interest anymore. Why don’t more members get
involved; why don’t more members encourage others to get involved; why do members not
support the effort like they should. I fear that this ole’ world has a strangle hold on many
professing Christians. Brethren, let’s accept the challenge of this gospel meeting and
strive to be here at every service and invite others to come also.
2.) Another challenge that we often face in a gospel meeting are people responding to the
gospel invitation. Many years ago in gospel meetings it was a very common thing for many
people to respond to the gospel. The late Brother Gus Nichols baptized thousands of
people. This was characteristic of many of the old timey preachers. We become
discouraged when we don’t see any response. However, it should be made clear that just
because there is no visible response doesn’t mean there is no response period. A person
can respond without it being visible. If one is edified and built up in the most holy faith,
which results in spiritual growth, then there was a response. Also, a person may not
respond until some time later. A lack of visible response has resulted in many
congregations not having gospel meetings. I grew up in the church where having gospel
meetings was a way of life, with often more than one in a year. I have grown up in the
church where two or three gospel meetings per year were very common. Personally, I think
it is a tragedy when congregations stop having gospel meetings. Congregations should
make every effort to have at least one every year.
3.) Another challenge that we face today when it comes to gospel meetings is advertising
and promoting the meeting. When gospel efforts are truly important to us then maybe we
will take them more seriously and promote them far and wide.
4.) The challenge of a gospel meeting also falls squarely on the shoulders of the preacher.
With so many topics that could be addressed in a gospel meeting it is often very difficult to
know just which ones to address. Gospel meetings have always been primarily aimed at
those who are not members of the body of Christ. Thus, lessons geared toward salvation
and the church has usually been my primary focus. This doesn’t mean that non-members
are not encouraged and benefited. Sadly, some members actually try to use this as an
excuse for not attending, reasoning that the lessons will be mainly on first principles and
that they already know these things and therefore don’t need to come. But, this is the
devil’s thinking and will result in eternal destruction. Members ought to be able to take
every lesson and be reminded of these great and wonderful truths and also to take them
and teach them to others.
The greatest gospel effort in history occurred in Acts 2. Thousands were gathered together
in the city of Jerusalem for Pentecost. They experienced a Pentecost that they never
dreamed. Some 3,000 souls obeyed the gospel (Acts 2:37-41) and were added to the Lord’s
church (Acts 2:47). This is our goal — to preach the gospel of Christ and to reach out to
the lost with hopes of saving their souls. Let us pray for this effort and encourage others
to be a part of it.