In the previous post, I suggested ten ways you can use an evangelistic Sunday (such as Open House or a Christmas musical) to reach people with the gospel.
In this post, I want to encourage you to steward every opportunity for sharing the gospel and reaching people for the Lord that a special Sunday brings.
What can you do on Sunday morning to lead people to Christ? Here are five suggestions:
- Meet your guests at church. As mentioned in the previous post, when you talk with prospective guests on Saturday, prearrange a place to meet on Sunday morning. Be waiting for them when they arrive at church. Save a seat early, and bring them right in. It’s simple on your end, but just having a caring person greet them and host them will go a long way toward taking away the edge of discomfort they will experience in visiting a new place—let alone a church.
- Greet all guests at church. Some people will come simply because they found a flyer on their door and won’t have a personal host. Be friendly to everyone, and do your best to introduce guests (your guests and other guests) to others.
- Be prepared to counsel at the altar. Most likely, the sermon on a special day will be a gospel message for the unsaved. Be ready and available at the end of the message, when the pastor invites listeners to respond to the gospel, to help counsel your guests. If you are accustomed to using a marked Bible or New Testament in presenting the gospel, have that with you.
- Look for opportunities to witness. Just because someone doesn’t respond to the gospel at the end of the sermon doesn’t mean they can’t be saved! As the Lord allows and as you sense an openness in your guests or in others you meet, ask them about their salvation. At our Open House, we have a complimentary meal following the morning service for our guests and those who brought them. Every year, people are saved at the meal.
- Begin lining up your follow-up visits. Each guest is a trust from God. Regardless of whether or not they trusted Christ, you need to continue to follow up on them. If they were saved on Sunday, you want to explain baptism to them. If they were not, you want a chance to sit down with them in their home to ask about their experience at church. Did they enjoy it? Did they understand the message? Do they have any questions? Have they made the decision to trust Christ as their Saviour? Undoubtedly, there will also be follow-up visits you will want to make to people who said they would come but then didn’t. Don’t drop these contacts just because the special day is past. Now is the time to steward these contacts for continued follow up and discipleship. (We’ll come back to this in the next post.)
At the end of the day, take some time to reflect on God’s blessings and give thanks to Him! At the end of a special Sunday as I look back over the day, I’m always humbled that God would use us and entrust us with spiritual fruit. Be sure to thank Him and give all the glory to Him for the great things He has done!
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit…—John 15:8
