Soul Winning
Good Morning,
Matthew 28:19 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
As a young Christian, I wondered if this command was not just for the Apostles; but in their short lives, they could not reach the world. The world continues to grow, and the need for the Gospel only increases with each generation. The command was to all believers, not just to a few.
The "Great Commission" is given several times in our New Testament. When our Lord was about to leave the earth, He left a clear direction that we are to go everywhere!
Acts 1:8 "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
This is a command to go – locally, nationally, and globally.
Paul told Timothy to do the work of an evangelist. (2 Timothy 4:5)
Thinking about people in our church, I can recount the stories of folks hearing the Gospel and trusting Christ. The stories often begin with a person they knew talking to them: a parent or a friend, but, at times, a stranger. For me, it was a high school friend who was taught to witness at church, and he, in turn, told me about the Gospel. One of our staff men just retired after more than twenty years of service, and his story began with me knocking on doors. I met a widow; in turn, she invited a neighbor who invited her brother from out of town. He came to church and was saved. It began with door knocking, then friends, and then a family member. I spent time with him on several occasions before he made the choice to put his faith in Christ.
Soul winning is the job of the church, but also the job of each member. I am certainly not spectacular at reaching people, but I have been out soul winning basically every week for over forty years. That much time spent on the streets ends up reaching some, who reach some, who reach some more.
The flesh does not like soul winning: it is humbling, it risks rejection, it risks embarrassment, and there is little or no pride in wandering around town talking to people who do not wish you to talk to them. The flesh would rather play in a praise band or dance around the platform under the eyes of envious listeners and gain the accolades of church friends.
Go to the rest home and bring church to the elderly and forgotten; watch them fall asleep while you speak, or call out, "Speak up." Humbling times continue when you go to a jail and bring the Gospel to those who are incarcerated. Inmates might thank you, challenge your doctrine, or criticize you.
Soul winning is not an option, it is commanded. The same Book that says do not kill or do not get drunk, also says to go and tell.
When I began attending Hyles Anderson College in 1978 we were sent out soul winning; it was mandatory to go weekly. It helped to develop habits and trained us in reaching all kinds of people. Any single guy who came home from his bus route before 8 or 9 at night was considered a little soft and carnal. We were in an atmosphere of passionate ministry. I fear our Bible colleges today are not pushing soul winning enough. We have missionary candidates who say they have witnessed to one person a month and won a few to Christ during the past year, and those were in a Sunday school class. I am concerned we are becoming "inviters" rather than "soul winners." When I was in college, singing groups and sports were for the soft and casual students. I know they were fine upstanding people, but college is like boot camp; it is time to push, to discipline, and to deny the flesh. When we leave college, we might slow down some, but hopefully not trade soul winning for music and sports. (Regarding slowing down – after four decades of ministry, I work more hours now than I did when we started.)
We have young people from our church in four different Bible colleges right now, and one of our boys said he had trouble getting anyone to stay out longer with him than the required couple of hours. He said, "No one wants to start a church or be a missionary– they all want to be a youth director or school teacher." Those are fine, but where has the passion gone?
I love our big days, our weekly soul winning, our meeting people on the street, and hearing stories of our public school kids winning friends to Christ in school. I was only in college a few months before I was sent with a teen bus rider to preach on city buses. We had a big day, and we preached all over Chicago. After decades of ministry, we still have those big days at our church when we preach out in public and hold church services in parks and vacant lots – and I love it! I love to watch my men and ladies speak to small and large groups about the Lord. That is New Testament Christianity.
Pastor