Is your church a soul-winning church?
I was attending Greater Portland Baptist church and heard Pastor Rick Adams make a statement that was an eyeopener to me. I may have his terms backward, but I have the definitions correct. He said an evangelistic church is one that the services are centered around reaching souls. While the soul-winning church’s services are meant to teach and bring the saints to perfection during the services. Then the church goes out and soul-wins during the week. I would like to expand on this from my experience.
We have to remember that the primary reason for the body of Christ coming together is the edifying of the Saints (Ephesian 4:11-12). If the pastor spends all his time trying to win people to Jesus he will neglect the growth of the church. I once heard that a pastor primary job is to fill the pulpit and the member’s job is to fill the pew.
Evangelical Church
The evangelical church is one that had good Bible teaching and preaching but has no organized outreach. The members are just encouraged to witness on their own. We should witness all the time, but Christ calls His church His body and a body needs to work together. Effective soul-wining requires a group of willing disciples.
Evangelistic Church
These churches often grow fast and are the talk of the town or conventions. However, after a time they fall apart with as much noise as they made going up. Many of these churches condemn modern churches because they tailor their services to draw in the lost, and yet that is exactly what these churches do. The Christian sits Sunday after Sunday getting nothing but milk that is meant for a new baby. As a result, the members have little growth and soon problems arise.
Soul-Winning Church
A soul-winning church is a balanced church. The services are meant for the believer and little emphasis is on making it palatable for the lost person. The emphasis is on holiness and sound Bible teaching. Only those who have the Holy Spirit working in their life will experience its blessing. On the other hand, this church is organized to go out and reach souls. It is not just left to the individual, the body works as a whole. This is a healthy church. When people are reached with the gospel as a result of outreach and then attend the gathering of believers they will start to understand what it is to be a Christian and how that will benefit them.
So take a minute, even if you do not agree with all that I have said, and evaluate your church. What kind of church do you have?