A Suggested Format for an Evangelistic Service
What kind of worship service is conducive for preaching an effective evangelistic sermon? I believe such a worship service should begin in corporate prayer. It is good to invite people to gather at the front of the worship center for a time of prayer led by the person who will be preaching the evangelistic message. The musicians should play softly while the people pray along with the preacher as he leads them. The musicians should select a song that the minister of music or the pastor can lead the congregation in singing immediately after the prayer is finished.
After prayer, a brief time of welcoming guests should follow. The preacher or someone else who is warm and enthusiastic should lead in the welcome time. It is best not to point out who the guests/visitors are at this point. Many churches do this, but I believe they are risking embarrassing their guests. Some ask their guests to sit while the members stand. Other churches even ask guests to wear lapel pins to indicate that they are indeed visitors. In my opinion, churches should not isolate their guests that way.
Instead, they should have a perforated piece of paper attached to the church bulletin which requests pertinent biographical information. Ask the guests to fill out these forms, tear them off the bulletin, and give them to an usher at the conclusion of the service. Tell them in exchange they will receive a complimentary packet that contains information about the church and a gift (perhaps a sermon tape/CD or a tape/CD of music by the choir and orchestra). Our church made these simple changes years ago, and the number of visitors who gave us the biographical data we requested more than tripled!
During the welcome time, the first song of the worship service should be played by the orchestra or the praise band. After the people have greeted one another, the minister of music should begin singing the song being played, asking the congregation to join in. This makes for a smooth transition from the prayer time, into the welcome time, and into the praise element of the service.
The service should then continue in an uninterrupted period of musical praise (between fifteen and twenty minutes). The songs that are sung should be a blend of the traditional hymns (teenagers and children need to learn them) and the newer choruses (adults of all ages need to learn them). Years ago I realized that God put a hymnal in the middle of the Bible. It is called the book of Psalms. But I noticed that He gave us only the words to these songs without also giving us the original musical accompaniments by which they were sung. In that way, every generation is able to "sing to the Lord a new song" (Ps. 149:1 NNAS) by singing the same biblical text while using different musical scores that are culturally relevant to both the singers and listeners.
Billy Graham, one of the greatest evangelistic preachers of all time, has always used a blend of the old hymns and contemporary music. Though Dr. Graham is over eighty years old at the time of this writing, he is wise enough to utilize contemporary Christian groups to sing special music at his evangelistic crusades. In one of Dr. Graham's recent evangelistic crusades, a group known as Mercy Me sang their popular song, "I Can Only Imagine." At the conclusion of the song, the audience, young and old, applauded with enthusiasm. In that same worship setting, the congregation also sang the old hymns, "Amazing Grace" and "Just As I Am." If we want to reach our children and grandchildren for Christ, we must use the newer songs as well as the older hymns.
The music that best serves evangelistic preaching should be aimed at the heart as well as at the mind. As a rule it is best for the musical praise to begin with songs that have an upbeat tempo and then taper to a slower pace as the singing draws to a close. All of the lyrics of the songs should be biblically based and theologically sound.
The congregational praise should be followed by a special song offered by the choir (and orchestra if possible). Again, soloists should not be introduced publicly. Their names can appear in the bulletin if people want to know who they are. It is more effective if the special music and the theme of the sermon are related. It is frustrating to get up and preach on the death of Christ immediately after the choir has sung about His second coming! A little communication between musicians and the preacher will go a long way toward solving this problem.
After the music is over, the preacher should enter the pulpit and deliver a warmhearted, winsome, biblical message. Preferably, it should last between twenty and thirty-five minutes. Again, the preacher should engage as many of his listeners' senses as possible by using overhead screens to display his sermon title, text, and major points. He should use appropriate humor as well as relevant, engaging illustrations. He should maintain as much eye contact with his listeners as possible. If possible, he should at times leave the pulpit area and step to the level in the room where the people are seated, talking with them on their level physically as well as intellectually.
The evangelistic sermon should conclude with an open invitation to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. The listeners should be exhorted to make that decision public by coming forward to meet the pastor or a designated counselor at the front of the worship center. The preacher should share the gospel with the listeners, then lead them in a prayer a phrase at a time if they wish to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. After that time of prayer, the preacher should invite those who have accepted Christ and those who would still like to do so to come to the front and meet him for further counseling. The choir or the congregation should sing a hymn of commitment at this point to allow people time to walk to the front of the sanctuary to register their decisions for Christ.
Some preachers balk at such procedures. They say that "sinners' prayers" and public invitations are not biblical or necessary for people to be saved. I disagree. To preach the gospel of Christ without giving the listeners the opportunity to receive Christ as Savior and Lord on the spot is unthinkable! It is like telling a thirsty man about water but then denying him the opportunity to drink. To preach evangelistically is to preach persuasively for an immediate verdict. Our listeners should be asked either to receive or to reject Christ at the end of every message we preach.
The invitation is the most important time of the worship experience. No person should leave the sanctuary during the invitation unless there is a legitimate emergency. I also advise the preacher not to shut his Bible just before he extends the invitation. Closing one's Bible sends a nonverbal message that the important part of the sermon is over. We must preach all the way through our invitations.
Once the invitation is completed, financial offerings can be received and church announcements can be made. These should never come during the service itself because they tend to interrupt the flow of the Holy Spirit. Worship services should not be "choppy." There should be a natural progression from one phase to the next.
The pastor is the leader of the worship service. He and the minister of music should plan the order of service during the week and work out all details so there will be no surprises. Once the worship service begins, the pastor should be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leadership. He may feel led to have a special time ol prayer during the time of congregational singing or just before he preaches. He might even feel led to give an invitation for people to be saved before the sermon is preached. I have done this with great responses on several occasions.
Conclusion
An evangelistic sermon that is focused on Jesus Christ, culturally relevant, proclaimed in a worship service filled with heartfelt, biblical worship and praise, followed by a passionate, persuasive, polite, public evangelistic appeal is still a valid and vital means of winning lost people to Jesus. The setting of that evangelistic message is very important. Remember, the food is the most significant part of a meal. But how and where you serve it is crucial if you want to feed the masses with the eternal Bread of Life! And does that Bread still satisfy? Yes, indeed. Sinner, "Taste and see!" (Ps. 34:8 NNAS).
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