What Can Make Our Gospel Meeting Great?
Jeremy Northrop
Plans have been made. The date has been set. If you have been around, then you know what is coming up. Our gospel meeting. We have already been made aware of the flyers in the foyer and who we are to pass them out and advertise for our upcoming gospel meeting. As if our tradition, we have plans to have a fellowship meal after the morning service on Sunday and then meet each evening Monday through Thursday at 6:00 PM for a time of fellowship and dining. It is probably no surprise to any of you that this bulletin article is about our plans for this gospel meeting. There are several things that each one of us can do that will ensure our gospel meeting to be a great success. Of course, any time the gospel is preached, there is success. This time will be no different. There are, however, some things that we can do to make sure that things are optimal.
The first thing any person can do (and hopefully is already doing) is pray. We need to ask God for His blessing to be on this event. We need to ask God to bless each of us with courage to stand up and do what we need to do, for strength to be able to attend, for opportunities to invite others to attend. The list can go on and on. It is equally true that we need to pray for all of the other things that will be mentioned in this article. God is a gracious God who will supply us with our needs. The biblical mandate for prayer is obvious. Paul encouraged us to “pray without ceasing” (1Thessalonians 5:17). He set forth an example of prayer in that he certainly practiced this admonition. He encouraged Timothy in the local work to pray before and for everything that the local work entails (1Timothy 2:1-4). Jesus spent all night in prayer (Luke 6:12). The disciples prayed (Acts 13:3). The list can go on and on but the point is clear. We need to pray for our upcoming gospel meeting.
Another thing that we can do is attend. You might be thinking this is rather obvious but we need to mention it. Today, it seems that people are busier than ever trying to get everything done. We have sporting events in which the kids are involved. We have professional associations and other organizations of which we are members. We have jobs that require long hours. Sometimes, the motivation to attend worship services seems to dwindle in the middle of it all. Yet, we all remember what Hebrews 10:25 says, “...not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” Many people want this principle to apply to the services on Sunday morning yet it applies to every opportunity we have to meet with the saints. Let us not forget that the elders have set aside this time for us to be spiritually uplifted and encouraged. We need to submit to them as the word of God says to do (Hebrews 13:17).
Not only do we need to attend but we need to invite others to attend. Who do we need to invite? First, I would submit that we can and need to invite Christians. The gospel meeting is a great time that we have to be able to worship with other Christians who do not attend the same congregation as we do. We can be a source of encouragement to them and they can be such to us. Also, we can invite non-Christians. This is an opportunity for us to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. The great commission is that we are to go and teach others. This is a good time to invite others to attend so that they can be taught. Thus, we need to advertise, advertise, and then advertise some more. Give your friends and family a personal invitation. One of the great blessings of modern technology is that we will be recording the lessons to publish on our website. It may be that you know people who live too far away to be able to attend personally or perhaps they are physically unable to attend. We need to tell them about our website and give them the opportunity to hear the lessons we hear. Also, as usual, we will be recording our lessons on audio CD. The point is this: we have an opportunity for evangelism here that goes beyond July 17, 2008. We need to use this opportunity in a good way.
Next, we need to encourage and accommodate. We need to encourage our speaker to have the strength and courage to preach the word (2Timothy 4:2). But also, several responsibilities have been placed on us as members. As mentioned earlier, we have plans to have a fellowship meal after services on Sunday morning and each evening Monday to Thursday. Food then has to be prepared. Other things have to be done to accommodate a meeting of this nature. The doors have to be opened and friendly people have to be prepared to meet and greet the people who walk through the doors. Plan and prepare for the event. But also, let us be sure to utilize what we have prepared to do.
Let’s review before we move on: We need to ask for God’s blessings on our gospel meeting. We need to attend every service of the meeting. We need to advertise so that others will attend. We need to accommodate both our speaker and any guests who will attend.
Finally, we need to apply what we learn from our gospel meeting. It is perhaps easy to come to the gospel meeting, be encouraged and uplifted by the things that are done and said but then to let that ‘fire’ dwindle down as time passes. One way that we can avoid the fire dying is to apply continually the things that we learn from our gospel meeting. James said it best: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). A simple knowledge of God’s word will profit us very little if we do not apply what we know. One of the greatest ways for this meeting to be a great success is to apply the things we learn throughout the week.
Gospel meetings are a great work. A lot of effort has already went into planning this upcoming gospel meeting. Let us all resolve today to do all that we can do in order to assure that our gospel meeting is a great success.
