Chapter VI: Personal Evangelism

In addition to all these methods, personal evangelism should be greatly emphasized. Here is perhaps the greatest weakness in the method of the churches of Christ today. On this point, we are allowing some advocates of error to run circles around us. Here is a great unworked field which, when properly worked, will bring results of which we have not yet dreamed.

The Bible does not command people to come to our public meetings. If we can reach them by these public meetings, that’s fine. If we can persuade them to come so that we may preach the gospel to a large number at once, that’s fine. But what will we do for those who don’t come? The Bible says “Go.” We have not fully discharged our duty when we invite people to come to us. And we haven’t always invited them! There are, I am sure, hundreds of people living almost in sight of this building who have not received a personal invitation to attend the meetings at this place.

They ought to receive at least a personal invitation. But even then, that’s not sufficient. If they still don’t come, it becomes our duty to go to them. Have we obeyed the great commission, even in reference to East Nashville, until we do so? It will help a great deal if we have a prospect file, both general and individual. Every good insurance agent in this town has a prospect file. He knows to whom he will try to sell insurance in the next few days. And we ought to use the same practical common sense in executing the work of the Lord that men use in selling insurance.

I went to a place one time to hold a meeting where they had made very elaborate preparations. They had appointed many committees. They had an advertising committee, a publicity committee, a parking committee, a flower committee, and an ushering committee, and everything else you can think of except one little item. They had failed to consider who might be saved during the meeting, and when I asked one of the elders whom he expected to be baptized, he hesitated, thought for a while, and finally named one of the boys who had been coming to the services. They expected to have forty or fifty additions, but they had never thought about who these additions would be.

What would you think of an automobile salesman with no prospects in mind, who went in on Monday morning and told the sales manager that he was going to sell five automobiles during the week? The sales manager would probably ask, “Well, to whom?” The agent would reply, “Oh, I don’t know; I just believe there must be five people in town who’ll buy from me this week.” Do you think the sales manager would be encouraged? Why he would realize that the salesman didn’t know what he was talking about. Every congregation ought to have a prospect list, and every individual worker in the Lord’s kingdom ought to have a prospect list. Whom will you try to save during the next twelve months? Every Christian should be a soul winner for Jesus, and you can lead someone to Christ if you are willing to be used by him in so doing. There is much more that could be said along this line if time permitted.

One congregation has used very effectively the method of community Bible classes. When the members could not get people to come to their meeting-house, they carried Bible classes to the communities where the people lived. Some good Christian who had the respect of his neighbors invited those neighbors to his home for Bible study and had the preacher there to help with the teaching. At Richmond, Virginia, most of the additions which they have had during the last six months have come from just such a source. If this little method were put in effect in the city of Nashville by all the congregations, it would revolutionize this town in just a few months.