Would you like your church to lead more people to Jesus? You can see your church become more gospel-minded using these eight ways to preach to reach your city.
There are a lot of ways to help your church be more evangelistic, but the foremost is you, leading from the pulpit.
Every week, more people come to Christ through hearing the gospel in church than any other means. That makes Sunday morning, at 11 a.m., the most evangelistic hour in America.
I think it’s easier these days to be a bold evangelist.
As the people in your city worry about the chaos they see in the world, and with revival flickering around us, let’s lean into this ripe time, and see our churches become places where people come to know Jesus every weekend.
What are the benefits of preaching to reach your city?
1. The church worries less about itself.
As your church becomes more outwardly focused, there is less energy for inward indulges and pettiness.
A church that is learning to care about the lost is less interested in disagreeing over the peripheral things like worship style, dress code, or the color of the bathroom. As you explain the gospel and invite people to Christ, you’ll find less criticism and complaining about things in general — and that includes less complaining about you — and more enthusiasm and involvement church-wide.
2. People grow spiritually when they talk about Jesus.
Explaining the gospel is a virtuous cycle — an upward spiral.
It takes a step of faith to intentionally initiate a spiritual conversation. Having that conversation builds more faith, more boldness, and more commitment to Jesus which builds motivation to have another spiritual conversation.
It’s a virtuous cycle of discipleship.
3. Momentum builds.
Momentum builds in your church when members see others reaching out, talking about Jesus, and inviting people to church. It’s the best kind of spiritual and church growth.
What are the ways you can preach to reach your city?
Here are eight ways I preach to reach my city. Which ones would work for you?
1. Teach your church members to have spiritual conversations.
A spiritual conversation happens any time you talk with people about spiritual things. It doesn’t have to be lengthy or a full presentation of the gospel. It’s just turning the conversation to explore what they believe, or ask if you can pray for them, or mention something about church or Jesus. Eventually, they will want to know what you believe.
I heard a great message last week at Living Stones Church in Kona, Hawaii. The Associate Pastor, Daniel Lehmann, preached from Matthew 28:18-20. He told us to GO… all the way to our next door neighbor this week and offer to serve them, pray for them, and invite them to church.
I thought his message was an inspired example of preaching to reach your city.
2. Give an invitation every week.
D. L Moody gave a gospel invitation at the end of every message regardless of the topic of the sermon. He believed that salvation in Christ was the most important thing he could preach and the Gospel invitation was the most important part of the sermon.
You may have heard this story about his motive for a weekly altar call:
D.L. Moody, the great evangelist, was preaching in Chicago on October 8, 1871. Before him was the largest congregation he had ever addressed in the city. He concluded his sermon with a blunder that he called the biggest mistake in his life, one he vowed he would give his right hand to take back. D.L. Moody gave the people a week to decide for Christ. That night the great Chicago fire broke out and many of the people who were there were killed. Moody said that was the last time he ever told anyone to postpone a decision for Christ. (Source unknown).
What if your sermon is the only time, or the last time, your visitor will hear the way of salvation?
I rarely miss a weekend to give an invitation to receive Christ. Sometimes it’s a big part of the message; sometimes I have a nice segue to the gospel; other times, I make a right turn and just say something like, “Of course, applying what we’ve talked about is almost impossible without the help of God.” Then I explain how they can have the power of God, through Christ, in their life every moment, starting now.
Because our church is used to it, and because God knows he can depend on me, we see a hand or two go up nearly every service.
See how to preach an altar call here.
3. On high visitor weekends make a compelling Gospel presentation.
On big visitor weekends, like Christmas, Easter, and Mother’s Day, I make a big deal of the gospel.
This past Easter we saw forty-five people raise their hands indicating salvation, with an unusually large number being men. My message was more logic-driven than usual, and that seemed to speak to men.
4. Be aware of the kinds of people in the audience and preach to each one.
On the big holidays, like Easter, you can be sure there are four kinds of people in the audience: church family, church fringe, cultural Christians, and skeptics. Speak to each group in a way that draws them nearer to Jesus and back to church next week.
On a regular Sunday, you might find these visitors in the chairs: the desperately hurting, a friend or neighbor, the visiting family members, or the infrequent attenders. As you prepare your message think about these people, and determine the facet of your message and the gospel that speaks to them. Shine a light on Jesus for each group of people in the audience.
5. Ask those who receive Christ to acknowledge it publicly.
It can be uncomfortable to ask people to raise their hand if they receive Christ in a service. What if no one does? You may be tempted to skip it.
Here are three reasons why it’s important:
- Jesus tells us that we need to acknowledge him before men.
Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. ~ Matthew 10:32-33
You’ll remember that Matthew 10 is the chapter when Jesus sends out the Twelve. He’s coaching them to preach the gospel. If he told it to the disciples, it definitely goes for us, too.
- It helps make the inclination of the sinner’s heart, and the whispered prayer, more real. If the young woman raises her hand in the service, and talks with a Next Step counselor right then or at the info booth after church, she will leave knowing that she made an important, real decision that morning.
- It’s inspiring for the rest of the congregation when they see people coming to Christ during the service. They see how you value leading people to Jesus. Your example week after week helps them see how to do it. It shows them what could happen when they bring a family member, friend, or neighbor to church. And it gives them a sense of being part of a church that is on mission to lead people to Christ.
6. Tell a testimony of a changed life in your service.
We’re back to having testimonies in church once or twice a month.
We look for people we know have a story, and we ask them to tell how Christ changed their life. It may be a testimony about their salvation, or about starting to tithe, or about what happened when they started serving, or when they brought a friend to church. Or it may be the story of learning to have spiritual conversations.
We may record it and show it as a video. Or sometimes the person writes it in advance, we help them edit it, and they read it during the service. We steer away from letting them speak extemporaneously, or without notes. Inexperienced speakers can get off topic, and when they do, sometimes they say something we wish they hadn’t. And polished speakers who give their testimony without reading it make others feel like, “I could never give my testimony that well,” so they won’t try.
The congregation loves to hear the authentic stories of the people sitting next to them.
7. Preach an evangelism series every year.
By evangelism series, I mean teaching your church members how to share their faith.
I did a three-week series on sharing the gospel last fall. I sensed that our desire to see others come to Christ was growing cold; or maybe it gets squashed in our you-do-you, whatever-you-believe-is-fine culture.
So I taught them how to make real friendships with people who doesn’t know Jesus, how to have spiritual conversations, and how to invite friends to church.
You can get this sermon series here.
8. Equip the other teachers in your church to preach to reach their age groups.
Coach your children’s director and your youth pastor to be evangelistically intentional in their departments.
You want them to give a clear gospel presentation with an opportunity for the students and children to invite Christ into their young lives regularly. Your leaders may need you to help them figure out how often and what to say. That’s double ministry: you’re bringing the next generation to Christ in your church right now, and you’re teaching your leaders how to do ministry that actually brings people to Jesus for the rest of their lives.
If this is a shift in mindset, there may be resistance, so start small and be happy with any progress. When there are salvations, celebrate them with everyone.
What’s Next?
Which of these eight things are easiest for you to implement right away? Do that!
Get the sermon series Habits of a Contagious Christian and plan to preach it in the next twelve months.
Further Reading
- I Need Help to Lead People to Christ
- Will More Invitations Result in More Salvations?
- 10 Proven Strategies for an Effective Evangelism System
Hal Seed is the founding and Lead Pastor of New Song Community Church in Oceanside, CA. He mentors pastors who want to lead healthy, growing churches with resources at www.pastormentor.com.
Start Here to learn more about the resources available for you at PastorMentor.
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