Reaching the Lost: Preparing For A Successful Gospel Meeting

Introduction:

We will be starting our gospel meeting next week!

These meetings give us an opportunity to hear lessons from the Bible and worship God.

They also are an excellent way to reach the lost in our community, giving others the chance to hear the word of God.

We want to have a successful meeting; we certainly don’t want to just say “it’s that time again”—this isn’t something to approach haphazardly.

Gospel meetings should be planned, purposeful, and intentional. We expect to hear God’s word proclaimed—I am confident the preacher will do his part. But will you do your part to contribute to the success of this meeting?

Here are some things you can do!

Expect to Hear the Gospel

We have gospel meetings where we identify what we expect to hear: the gospel!

We are not coming to hear funny stories

We are not expecting to hear political speeches

We are not anticipating motivational stories

Gospel meetings allow us opportunities to hear the word of God proclaimed and taught.

We should want to hear the gospel because it is God’s power to salvation -

Romans 1:16 ESV

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

When we hear God’s word, it builds us up in our faith -

Romans 10:17 ESV

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

By hearing God’s word, we have an opportunity to grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ -

2 Peter 3:18 ESV

18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Invite Others

Gospel meetings tend to have a two-fold purpose:

edifying faithful brethren to remain faithful

sharing the good news of salvation with the lost

We invite other Christians from other congregations to attend and hear the messages presented by sending out flyers.

But what are we doing to invite our friends, co-workers, or family members?

Use social media — we waste too much of our day in front of screens and if we can’t take the 30 seconds to share our meeting announcements on Facebook then we are in serious trouble.

Give a personal invitation to the person who checks you out at the grocery store

Ask your neighbor if they would like to ride to church with you

Each and everyone has a responsibility to those who are lost—will you invite them to hear the gospel that can save them from their sins? -

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Pray For Success

Maybe you are afraid of opening up and inviting someone to church and doing evangelism, but there is still something you can do: pray!

The key to prayer is that when we pray, it often times reveals what is on our mind. Are we focused on spiritual things? Do we want the church to grow? Do we want to have a building full of people? Yes, of course we do.

Those things won’t happen overnight. They won’t happen accidentally.

Having a successful gospel meeting will happen when we spend time before the meeting to pray about it -

Acts 4:23–31 NASB95

23 When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O Lord, it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said, ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, And the peoples devise futile things? 26 ‘The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord and against His Christ.’ 27 “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. 29 “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, 30 while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

When there is a commitment to preaching the word of God and when we support that commitment, then we can expect God’s blessing to be upon us - ,

Acts 6:4 ESV

4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

Acts 6:4–7 NASB95

4 “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch. 6 And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them. 7 The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

Acts 6:7 ESV

7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Attend the Meeting

One vital and visible way for us to have a successful gospel meeting is to be here to support the meeting.

It can be discouraging as a guest preacher to make plans to be away from your home, family, and local church, in order to preach the gospel only to find out that people aren’t all that interested in hearing the gospel.

Of course things happen that are outside of our control, sometimes we get sick, sometimes work makes us stay late, but let those things be the exception (not the rule).

Make plans, talk to your children’s teachers/coaches, talk to your boss, or if you are your own boss realize there may just need to be a stopping point that you enforce upon yourself.

If you take time to worship the Lord, learn from His word, and spend time with encouraging brothers and sisters in Christ, then you will be blessed for being here -

Hebrews 10:23–25 ESV

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Attendance isn’t about building up the preacher’s ego.

It’s not about bragging how many people we had here.

Attendance is an opportunity for us to grow and learn more about how to be pleasing to God.

Let’s make plans to be here!

Be Hospitable

Perhaps one of my favorite things about gospel meetings is about the time that we get to spend together with Christians -

Hebrews 13:2 ESV

2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Hospitality has several wonderful benefits:

Opportunities to visit with the preacher

Have someone from church over that might be weak and struggling

Evangelistic! Invite a non-Christian over and bring them to church with you -

Luke 15:1–2 ESV

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Dining together at the same table is something we should do often and look forward to doing. Even if you were unable to have the preacher into your home for a meal, have someone else from church over—you are going to the same place that night, so why not invite them over?

By sharing a meal together, we can encourage people to serve the Lord!

Conclusion:

You may feel that you have about a month’s worth of work assigned to you today—good! (And maybe we will start preparing earlier next time)

We want to use that to make a strong effort in sharing the word of God.

God’s word is the way of salvation and we want people to hear that message. But first, we must be sure that we obey His word ourself -

Matthew 7:21 ESV

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.