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A Successful Gospel Meeting

by Bobby Witherington

We are about to begin a gospel meeting. Gospel meetings can provide a great “shot in the arm” for the spiritual and numerical growth of a local church, or they, quite frankly, can accomplish very little positive good. Hence, it is not enough to simply have a Gospel Meeting; it should be our objective to conduct a successful Gospel Meeting. But how can that be accomplished? In the paragraphs which follow we list nine ways to have a successful Gospel Meeting.

1. Remember why we are having the meeting. Briefly, its purpose is three-fold: (a) To help carry out the local church's God-given responsibility of being “the pillar and ground of the truth,” I Timothy 3:15, (b) To speak “the truth in love,” Ephesians 4:15, and (c) To “preach the gospel,” Mark 16:15.

2. Pray fervently! The Bible clearly states that “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much,” James 5:16. Jesus spoke a parable “to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint,” Luke 18:1. Peter wrote, saying, “the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers,” I Peter 3:12. If we truly believe these Scriptures, and if we are what we ought to be, then we do believe them! So we ought to be praying for God to bless our individual and collective efforts. After all, it is God who gives “the increase,” I Corinthians 3:6, so it makes sense to invoke His help as we seek to do His work.

3. Attend every service! As Christians, we should never forsake the “assembling of ourselves together,” Hebrews 10:25. Regarding another matter, centuries ago Jonathan said to David, “thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty,” I Samuel 20:18. Yes, if your “seat” is “empty,” you will “be missed,” but it is your responsibility to make sure that your seat is not empty! For that matter, if we don't care enough to attend our own meeting, please tell me why those who are not members of this congregation would want to attend!!

4. Arrive early! By so doing, you can greet the visitors, encourage the visiting preacher, and help get the service off to a great start! I've heard that people who are habitually late for their appointments tend to be self-centered. That may sound harsh, but it is a fact that others - sometimes the whole congregation - are adversely affected when those who are expected to be present arrive late. How many real sports fans are habitually late in attending the games played by their favorite team? Shouldn't Christians show as much interest in and concern for the worship services of the church which Jesus bought with His own precious blood?

5. Invite others! When Peter arrived to preach to Cornelius and his household, Cornelius was waiting for him and had already “called together his kinsmen and near friends,” Acts 10:24. When Andrew learned about the Messiah, “he first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ,” and “he brought him to Jesus,” John 1:41-42. Upon learning that the One to Whom she had just spoken was the Messiah, the Samaritan woman went into the city and said to the people, “come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did,” John 4:29. The good news about Jesus was simply too good for either Andrew or the Samaritan woman to keep to themselves; they just had to share it! By the same token, we should share the good news of our up-coming Gospel meeting with as many as we can.

6. Sing fervently! It is simply impossible to over emphasize the positive benefits of good congregational singing! No instrument made by human hands can match the voice which God made - especially when that voice is purposely used to sing praises to God and to teach and admonish other. Yes, we should sing “with the spirit and … with the understanding also,” I Corinthians 14:15. The saints at Ephesus were admonished to speak to themselves “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,” Ephesians 5:19. In the words of Hebrews 13:15, let “us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name.” Remember, in singing, we “teach and admonish others,” we offer a “sacrifice of praise to God;” hence, we should “sing out” with our voices, and with hearts overflowing with love and appreciation for God.

7. Show hospitality! God's people must be “given to hospitality,” Romans 12:13. Visitors will be attending. They should be greeted enthusiastically, and shown every proper consideration. It is up to us to make them feel welcome and wanted! Someone has observed that “we never get a second chance to make a good first impression.” Quite often, the “first impression” which others have of us is the impression - either positive or negative - which they receive when they first enter the doors of the meeting house! And the members of the local church are the ones who give that impression! Incidentally, it is difficult to really show hospitality if we habitually arrive too late to either greet, or be greeted, by others!

8. Listen carefully. Jesus said “take heed … how ye hear,” Luke 8:18, and He also said “take heed what ye hear,” Mark 4:24. We should be like the noble Bereans who “received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so,” Acts 17:11. When God's word is being preached, we should listen with the greatest of interest!

9. Make proper personal application of the sermons preached. It is so easy to say to one's own self, “I hope brother so and so heard that point,” and then apply what is being said to others. However, each one of us will stand before the Lord and be judged by His word, John 12:48, so it behooves each to analyze every point made so as to receive the greatest personal benefit from what is said. In the long ago, David heard Nathan utter a parable, and he became indignant, concluding that the person described in the parable should “surely die,” and it was at that point that Nathan said to David, “thou art the man!” I Samuel 12:5,7. You see, David, at first, did not make the proper personal application of Nathan's message. I fear that too many of us, at times, are like David!

Conclusion: In one week our meeting is scheduled to begin. In two weeks it will be history! Let each one of us resolve to do everything within our power to make this the most successful meeting in the history of this congregation. If we do, God will be pleased and we will be glad; if we don't - well, you know the answer!

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