The beginning of our gospel meeting is just two weeks away and it will provide so many opportunities for us to serve the Lord. Let me remind you that this effort is the primary tool of outreach we have. Every program we have is tied to evangelism, but the entire focus of this one is to reach the lost and bring them to Jesus.
We are counting on each of you to step forward to insure that this effort surpasses any we have had in the past. Sometimes, when we are involved in an effort we have tried before, there is a tendency to pull back and not to put our heart and soul into what we are doing. Just being aware of this tendency can help us avoid this pitfall.
Over the next several days you will be challenged in many ways. It may seem that what you do is insignificant, but when all these small contributions are added together they have a tremendous impact. The strongest ropes are made up of thousands of tiny threads working together for a common purpose. The same is true of the work of the church. Success comes because so many are working for a common cause.
Don’t think that the day of the gospel meeting is over. This past weekend I conducted a meeting in a small Tennessee town where there are about fifty members of the church. In the three weeks before the meeting they had baptized six. During the three days of the meeting there were two others baptized and a brother was restored who had been away from the Lord for 45 years. One of the ladies baptized was someone who had never had an organized study with anyone before the meeting. She learned the truth and responded to it during the meeting. The day of the gospel meeting is not over!
The other lady baptized was someone whose husband had been a member of the church for years, but she had never made the commitment. There were so many tears of joy when they saw her respond. The day of the gospel meeting is not over!
The brother who was restored pointed to the baptistry and recalled his baptism 45 years ago. You should have seen the joy he now has.
Are there individuals like these we know who could be touched just two weeks from now? Think about it. Pray about it. The day of the gospel meeting is not over!