God has given me many opportunities to share my burden for Brazil with many churches. It did not take me long to finger out every church is not like my church. One difference is that some churches do not have altar call. I wondered why not I always figured that the alter was something every church had to do; so I decided to study
The preaching of God is the center of today’s service in a Baptist church. Whenever the Bible is opened and a message given it should call for a response from the audience to change their lives. The alter call is not important however, but on the other hand a response time must be given. Weather it is the invitation or not.
Dr. D. L. Moody never gave invitation until the Great Chicago Fire. One night Dr. Moody preached and at the end he gave no invitation. That night many of the people that sat under him died in the great fire. From this point forward he always gave and invitation. On the other hand however, Dr. Surgeon never gave a invitation at all in his entire life. Countless people were influenced by him and his preaching changed many live. Both these men are great men of God, one gave an invitation and the other did not. Why did they both have success in their preaching? The answer is they both made their listeners make a decision. The decision to follow God or not.
While the invitation is not mandatory it is a good idea. It is the best way to call for a response from the people. Many people make decisions to follow God in the invitation. The pastor of Surgeon’s old church never gives invitations, but he does call for a decision. At the end of the service he simply says, “If you need help, or need to talk to the pastor about the sermon after the service go to his office.” After the service people wait in line for two to three hours to have a response.
In conclusion, the invitation is the best way to call for a response but not the only. As long as a change in life is called for the invitation is not needed. The Bible changes lives and so should your preaching. Therefore, a call for response must be made, and the best way to do that is through a public altar call.
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