A gospel meeting gives us the opportunity to invite friends and neighbors to hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ so that they might gain a faith that will lead them to salvation. We will not engage in worldly humor, but humble learning of the Bible for “it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
We need to invite our friends and neighbors so that they will have an opportunity to hear a faithful, seasoned gospel preacher teach them all “the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11). We have called upon a preacher, now all of us need to put forth the effort to invite lost souls to hear the message that he will bring from the word of God. Our primary purpose for having a gospel meeting is to win souls to Christ. This is accomplished by teaching the truth about salvation which teaches us how we should live righteous lives (John 8:32; Titus 2:11-12).
In addition, a gospel meeting will strengthen all the Christians that attend it. We are built up by the preaching and teaching of the will of the Lord. A gospel meeting can also create enthusiasm among the members of the local body. When we all become enthused about what we are doing, we then want to do it even more. By listening attentively to the word preached, we can take inventory of our own lives to ensure that we are doing all we can for Christ. Paul wrote, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates” (2 Corinthians 13:5)? Here are some suggestions that we can do to make our upcoming gospel meeting a success.
- Pray about the meeting and the souls that may hear the gospel.
- Be present at all the services and be prepared to study and learn.
- Invite others to hear the gospel preached.
- Sing with the spirit and understanding.
- Be friendly and get visitors names for follow-up.
- Speak words of encouragement to all.
The value of a gospel meeting is to save souls and edify the saints. But this can only be done if we invite others and attend every service. Of course, the faithful members of the Loop 287 Church of Christ want you to be here, but most importantly, can the Lord count on you to be here?
Kyle Campbell