Special Evangelistic Meetings
Whatever may be the emphasis placed upon pastoral or personal evangelism, however strenuously we may contend for the use of the ordinary means of grace, the special evangelistic service is a necessity. God has certainly set his seal of approval upon it in the past and when properly used and not abused it is of incalculable benefit to the entire community. In its relation to the unsaved it is helpful because of the fact that it is essentially different from the ordinary services of the Church. It appeals to the indifferent because it is unique in its character. It commands attention because men have become so accustomed to the stereotyped service of the Church that they may be unmoved by it; there are thousands of people who will never be saved except in the special meetings. Why then be either indifferent or opposed to it. Would not this come within the scope of Paul’s idea when
he say, If by all means I might save some “? 203
No one coiJd contend more zealously for continuity in the evangelistic spirit of the Church than I and no one could more thoroughly believe in the possibility of an ideal evangelistic Church, but all the history of the Church from the day of Pentecost to the present time proves that, “The Lord Almighty does not carry forward the growth of that Kingdom by an even and gradual expansion, which would leave it to men to claim the glory of it It advances like a river, which rarely follows far a straight line, which may, for long distances, be troubled and turbid, but suddenly breaks out at intervals upon its course into broad, peaceful expansions or lakes, surrounded by scenes of extraordinary fertility and beauty. It grows upon a principle like that which the Creator has impressed upon many genera of the vegetable kingdom — grasses, canes, trees — by a succession of nodes, or axes, or joints; points where, at considerable distances apart, the compressed life of the stem breaks out into spreading branches, laden with foliage and fruit. The Kingdom of God has thus ever increased by a succession of sudden and vigorous expansions, whose intervals have not been without regularity or plan. It is one of those great expansions of spiritual life which seems now to be at hand.”
In its relation to the Christian it is equally valuable. By it the fallow ground is broken up and those who have grown indifferent, worldly, or sinful are reclaimed, and by the ministry of service are once more led to close fellowship with Christ. By it men are often discovered to themselves, too timid to speak or work in the regular meetings, suddenly in the midst of a gracious awakening they discover a talent for soul winning which transforms their entire Christian experience. Blessed as may be the influence of the special service in behalf of the unsaved, it is if anything even more beneficial to him who seeks to be a channel of God’s grace for the lost
Men plead for revivals in business, in literature and in art, why should we not pray, plan and work for a revival of true religion in the community.
Let no man delude himself with the thought that because his own Church may be a success and his obligations to his own people have been met that therefore he has no responsibility for the lost of the city or town where he may live, who because either of prejudice or indifference may be unreached by his Church.
For every lost individual in the community every Church has a measure of responsibility from which it cannot be freed until at least every legitimate means has been tried for his salvation.
For the leadership of these meetings a trained evangelist need not of necessity be called though experience in the past would as a rule justify such an action; why should this not be true if the evangelist is a man of God. He ought to sustain the same relation to the Church at large as a specialist in the medical profession. His study, his talents and his experience all would fit him for such leadership.
If the Church would give him his rightful position before the world, give him her support and her encouragement in his labors, a consecrated evangelist with a message would be an untold blessing to any community, but if the evangelist is impossible for any reason, then any pastor called to preach believing God’s word, accepting the statement therein, made that without Christ men are lost, while with him they may be saved, relying upon the Holy Ghost for power and having a love for souls ought to be able to lead the campaign; if he is not then there is something wrong with his training, his experience or his spirit.
It would be well if the minister who finds himself powerless to be the leader of such a work as this should stop and ask the question as to whether he has been called to preach at all, and if called whether the Church has fulfilled her obligation to him in giving him the proper training in the theological seminary.
Wherever the meetings may be held whether in the city or the rural district, the measure of blessing as a rule is the thoroughness of the preparation. More meetings have been unfruitful because of poor preparation than for any other reason. Many an evangelist has been censured for failure when the responsibility should rather have been placed at the door of those who were leaders of the local churches.
Mr. Moody used to say that if a man had only ten days in the community it would be wise to give five days of the time to the Church and five to the world. This is a true statement and it is as sad as it is true. However, could not the preparation be made before the special meetings begin. This in many instances has been entirely possible. I once had an invitation in a Western city to conduct a series of meetings, and six weeks before the meetings began there was started a Union Bible Class taught by the several pastors; concerning this preparation one of the pastors has written, Six months before the union meetings there was started a Union Bible Class, taught by the several pastors. We followed the Sunday-school lessons, in order to arouse and enlist the teachers in the coming campaign and prepare them to act as pioneers in this aggressive undertaking. This study of the Bible brought together some of our best equipped Christians and made them acquainted with each other, one of the best of meeting-places, God’s word for God’s work. The very first eflTort to prepare ourselves to push forward our Church work was to quicken and enlarge our faith, to awaken our expectations, and to stir our souls to go out in search of the lost.
“We then went to work to see what we could do with what we already knew, three months before the evangelist was expected. The city was divided into districts, with a supervisor over each district. From fifteen to twenty visitors were assigned to each supervisor, who were given from ten to fifteen houses to look after. The visitors went as friends, not as canvassers. They established a friendly relation with the strangers and those who did not belong to any Church and with the poor who needed help. They came together occasionally to report what they had done and seen. The result was a revelation. A state of spiritual destitution was uncovered in our church going city, which we had not dreamed of and could scarcely believe. But in discovering the destitution, we found that we had broken through the barriers that had blocked the way to reaching and remedying it. Prejudice began to melt away as the outsiders saw us interested in them. The churches sprang to the rescue in hearty cooperation. The coming union meetings became the town talk.
“Our next move was to start a union prayer-meeting every Sabbath afternoon in one of the Churches, and a neighborhood meeting in each district every Friday evening. The supervisors arranged for the places and leaders and the visitors invited the families under their care. These prayer-meetings struck at once the foundation of all our preparation, deep, earnest, honest praying. The resiJt was the beginning of the revival. Families that never spoke to each other met in each others’ houses to talk of their mutual interests. Church members who never dared to speak in public, sang and spoke freely in their own homes. Our prayer-meetings began to fill up and to speak with new tongues. Our Sabbath-schools began to show new life. Our Sabbath congregations became recruiting stations, rallying points for active service. Conversions followed as a matter of course, and before we expected it, we were realizing what we believed, that God waits to save.” It is needless to say that in that particular city hundreds of people were brought to Christ. Suppose the minister should begin a course of sermons on such themes as the following:
First: “The need of an awakening.” Surely there is abundant material on every hand to make the preparation of this sermon very easy.
Second: “Do we want an awakening?” It would be only necessary for him to tell his people what a real revival would mean; it could then easily be decided whether it was wanted in the community.
Third: “What hinders an awakening?” It can easily be proven that the indifference of the world does not hinder it, the sins of unregenerated men cannot hinder it; this ought to be a solemn service because as a matter of fact only God’s own people can hinder it. Could there be any other result than that which would mean the uplifting of the Church and the winning of many souls. Suppose special services for prayer be called in the homes, in the shops, in some unoccupied store building in the city, or in the Church, when the burden of the prayer should be, “Oh, Lord, revive thy work.”
Suppose the minister or his Church officers should begin after the manner of Paul, to go from house to house beseeching men to be reconciled to God, could there be anything less than a commotion in the community? I know this is unusual but it has the advantage of being a scriptural method and is at least thoroughly in harmony with our belief whether consistent with our practice or not. These are a few hints as to the methods of preparation, they may be multiplied almost indefinitely.
There is one danger of failure in such work, however, which surmounts all others, our evangelistic campaigns are too brief. This is the supreme weakness of modern evangelistic effort The work of Finney and Moody partook rather of the nature of a siege than the cavahy dash. Many a meeting has been dosed when it really ought to be just beginning.
Regarding the work in large cities, the problems which confront city pastors as they consider evangelistic campaigns are almost insurmountable.
The busy Ufe of the average Christian makes him a poor subject to work upon for a great forward movement
The iniquity of the city unconsciously to the Church member lowers his spiritual tone and he does not easily respond to the call for helpers. This is through no indifference of his and certainly because of no opposition to the work.
The counter attractions, pleasurable, questionable or sinful, appeal with alluring charms to the half-hearted Christian, while he, because of these things, whether consciously or not, depresses the life of the Church and hinders the work of the minister.
The story of Achan and the defeat at Ai have been repeated in many Churches during the past few years.
If the campaign proposed is to be union in character the difficulties are only multiplied in the city. There is the problem of securing a leader of sufficient reputation to command a hearing, and unless the meetings are at least commensurate with the size of the city they fail in their purpose.
If the meetings prove successful there is the problem of securing a church or hall sufficiently large to accommodate the people who ought to come, and yet as a matter of fact no speaker can to any great extent move with power a much larger audience than four or five thousand people. It is my firm conviction that as a rule the most feasible way to move a large city with all evangelical denominations cooperating is for each Church, or possibly each denomination, to hold its individual services in the evening in its own way, only letting it be known that these services are a part of a general plan in operation throughout the city, then let union services be held in the morning, at noon or in the afternoon, when all the Churches are federated for this purpose. This will preserve the union character of the efTort and will reach by far the larger number of people, and at the same time when the meetings are over each individual Church will be in a better condition spiritually to take care of the results.
As to the time of the service there can be no better time in the city than the lenten season, and while this may be questionable possibly in the minds of those who are not Episcopalians, yet all must agree that during these days there is less attention paid to social obligations, and people as a rule are in a more receptive frame of mind, but it should be constantly remembered that God is not confined in his giving to times and seasons. The fact is every minister must be his own judge as to the time when it seems best to enter upon a forward movement, but there is one thing that must never be forgotten, namely, that the special meeting is a means to an end and never an end in itself. It is because so many have looked in this way upon the evangelistic service that the after effect has been bad and prejudice against revivals has grown rapidly.
In the smaller cities the union meeting cannot be too strongly commended. If the principles of the present-day evangelism be observed, namely that the union meeting is but an integral part of a greater plan, and if a carefully planned campaign be inaugurated which would include the service in the individual Church, the union effort and the return to the several Churches in due time, all this having been distinctly understood by pastor and people, the benefits would be lasting as eternity. For such work the preparation must be carefully made. The suggestions made with reference to the preparation for city work will hold with equal force in connection with the smaller cities and towns. It is well to have both day and evening services, the former may be moved about from Church to Church, to move the latter is frequently perilous to the work. For the former services there may be a succession of speakers, if the pastors alone are leading the meetings, but for the latter it is a mistake to change too frequently. Very few men can accomplish much in this work in less than a week and a longer time is greatly to be desired.
It is well to have during the meeting a day of fasting and prayer. Sometimes the places of business may be closed for half a day: at such a time as this the impression thus made upon the community is profound.
It is absolutely essential if this work is to be crowned with success that those inquiring the way of life should be immediately called upon by the pastor if possible, if not then by some member of his church in whose good sense and consecrated zeal the pastor has full confidence. Failure here often leaves the last state of the man worse than the first. A typewritten letter expressing interest in the one whose name you may have will not answer. To wait for him to seek out the minister is often fatal to his conversion. Just a helpful call prompted by real interest in the one who is seeking, a brief prayer, a tender exposition of the Scripture in which may be found the way of salvation, and an impression honestly made that you care for the soul of the one to whom you go, and the results will be all that could be desired.
With reference to the work in the smaller towns and the rural district. It would hardly seem at first thought that the instructions for these two fields could be identical, yet if you eliminate the distances to be travelled in the country and the fact that services may not so frequently be held and must as a rule be so planned as to escape the busy season of the farmer and his household, then a message for the one will apply to the other. It is not necessary that the Church should be either large or prosperous to claim a blessing from God. Many a minister has grown discouraged because he has had so few people in his Church upon whom he could depend for sympathy in an evangelistic effort, but the experience of Nehemiah should be remembered when he went to view the destruction of the City of Jerusalem he did not take all the inhabitants with him, for if he had he would have made a fatal mistake. They would have unanimously decided that the walls could not be rebuilt and the temple could not be reclaimed. There is a significant text in connection with his visit which is found in Nehemiah 2: 12, “I and some few men with me.” When Nehemiah with this little company following him beheld the destruction of the city and he turned to them to say, “Let us rebuild,” his enthusiasm awakened a quick response in the hearts of the others and they in turn were able to stir all the inhabitants of the city, and in a little time all the wall was joined together, for the people had a mind to work. But all the movement started with the few. There ought at least to be found in each Church a few consecrated Christians, if not ten then five and if there should be only five or even less we have enough to start with. If the minister’s heart should be burdened for the lost then let him begin with earnest prayer for the outpouring of the spirit of God upon the people. In this he may surely expect hearty assistance from his chosen few. Let him increase the circle only as he may be sure of those who may be added to it, and then let him call upon them to miake some such effort in behalf of the unsaved. It may be only an oversight of some one who is still away from Christ, it may be only special assistance given in the prayer service, or it may be that they shall simply promise to join their prayers in his behalf as he preaches on the Lord’s Day. With just a few loyal souls pledged to the minister and to God a work of grace ought to be possible in any community however small or however remote.