Well, PREACHING can be compared with sowing seeds in expectation of an harvest. However, the seeds sown by PREACHING should go through different processes before they can produce an harvest. It is TEACHING which makes it happen.
Today, many denominations think that preaching the Gospel, (Good News) is all about EVANGELISM. Truly, preaching the Gospel is only the beginning of EVANGELISM. Nearly 90% of EVANGELISM is based on Teaching The Word of God to those the Gospel is preached. However, the experience of teaching the Word of God is not so pleasant as preaching the Gospel.
As a result, many churches try to preach even the Word of God on Sunday Services by abolishing teaching the Word of God. Truly, the Word of God cannot be preached, but a MESSAGE based on the Word of God. What we hear at a Sunday Service is mere a message based on the Word of God. I never say this message is not necessary. It is essential to communicate to the congregation through messages in common on a regular basis. But this kind of message would not be fully absorbed by those who have not been guided through a process of learning the Word of God by a systematic teaching method.
I know some churches conduct classes similar to Sunday School for Children, even to newly converts. It is good, but not effective to impact a new soul. There are many disadvantages associated with this method. For example, majority of the people tend to miss these classes as they are conducted on the same day that these new converts are coming for their weekly Sunday Service. On the other hand, many new souls are not bothered to commit themselves to this extent, right at the beginning.
In order to teach the Word of God, some denominations follow a method of gathering converts in houses in small groups on a weekly or monthly basis. They call these gatherings 'Prayer Cells' or 'Cottage Meetings'. This concept is more effective than Sunday School Classes. However even this method inherits its own disadvantages. For example, when people from several houses gather together in a single house, some people may have a struggle with the Time Factor in the long run, because people may have unpredictable commitments with the time. On the other hand, very personal issues would not be addressed once again in a gathering of this nature although these meetings are comparatively small in quantity of attendants.
What is the way Jesus Christ has introduced to teach the Word of God?
Look at the below scripture:
(Luke 10:5-7)
And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
The above passage of Scirpture is taken from the instructions Jesus was giving His disciples before they were sent out to preach the Gospel and teach the Word of God to people. Let's try to understand what Jesus is telling in the above passage by taking it word by word.
"And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peach shall rest upon it:
With the above instructions, it is very clear that we can lead the people to the Lord only if the Lord leads them to us. Further it means that we should not wait until people come to us even though it is the Lord who leads people to us. In other words, we must go near people and see whether the Lord leads them to us.
This shows primarily the preaching of the Gospel which the present day church is actively engaged in.
"...if not, it shall turn to you again"
The disciples were not allowed to waste their time with people, who would reject the Gospel. This is further explained in the below scriptures:
(Matthew 10:14-15)
And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
In the present day evangelism, we do not see this kind of reaction from the church to those who reject the Gospel. They go begging behind people and try to convince them to receive Jesus. Again, we must not forget that unless the Lord leads people to us, we cannot lead them to the Lord. If we can meet the need of people through the Gospel we preach, people would willingly accept it.
"And in the same house remain..."
The above instruction shows the process of Teaching of the Word of God to people though a one-on-one encounter with individuals in their own houses. Further, it shows that the teaching process takes time as individual needs are diverse and the way they can absorb the Word of God in a way that they can implement it practically in their lives to find solutions through the Lord, differ from one individual to another.
In the present day evangelism, how do we apply this theology?
Even today, there are no exceptions to this method of reaching people. We must visit new converts who come to the church on Sundays, individually in their own houses. We must adopt a teaching system to guide them to perfection in Christ. This cannot be done overnight. This cannot be done by a pastor, with 50 junior pastors who work under him, and has 5000 believers in the church building . Then how can this be done?
Well, the answer is already given by Jesus Christ Himself even though we have not understood. Look at the below verse:
(Matthew 28:19-20)
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
We must teach others to do what we are doing. In other words, we, being the disciples of Jesus Christ must make disciples of all those who have received the Gospel, who then can disciple others in the same manner. Simply, this is the method of delegation of authority among people. Under this concept, there are no special pastors, or leaders playing 'ONE MAN SHOWS'. Remember, we are not called to make coverts, but disciples.
Today, as the church does not have a network of disciples with them in comparison to the speed of their preaching the Gospel to new souls, they are not able to shepherd individual families in this manner. In other words, they are not able to do away with 'group system'. What they have been able to do to is to bring down the biggest group in their SUNDAY SERVICE to smaller groups through their SUNDAY SCHOOLS and PRAYER CELLS or COTTAGE MEETINGS where the teaching of the Word of God is concerned.
"Go not from house to house."
Why did Jesus ask His disciples not to go from house to house?
He said so as it was not practical where the final objective was concerned. The final objective is the making of disciples. When you do it in the same house, spending time, without going from house to house, the disciple you are making in the same house would go out and do the same thing in other houses. Thereby, you need not break your head by going from door to door. Thus, only through this process, we can prepare nations for the Kingdom of God.
For example, if you disciple one person by teaching him the Word of God through a systematic teaching method, by having a constant relationship with him for six months, and then the disciple you make, continues to do the same thing by making another disciple, then, in sixteen years, we can reach more than one billion people which no mega church under the Sun, would be able to reach through their modern system of evangelism. Even if it does not happen exactly the same way, it can have a greater impact much more than the method of just preaching the Gospel would do.
Truly, we must concentrate on the approach given by Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, the modern church does not like it as they are more interested in QUANTITY than QUALITY.
Today, every denomination must start to disciple people through a proper teaching system. We cannot have people come near us to teach them. We must go to them and understand their needs in the first place. Then we must help them to receive the deliverance of their current problems whatsoever. We have to shepherd them until they reach the solution in the Lord.
Then we must carefully start to perfect them in the Word of God by teaching them through a systematic approach. This has to be done continually on a regular basis by visiting them in their own houses at times convenient to them. There will be a lot of dedications we have to make in the process. One person cannot accomplish it. We need a group of disciples to produce a new disciple as one person may not be able to follow up with a new soul in the expected manner. We have to be patient to see the results. But still we do what Jesus has told us to do. The Lord has promised that He is with those who do what He told them to do, until the end of the World.
(Matthew 28:20)...lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen
So, let's make disciples instead of coverts. Let's start with one person today and make a greater impact in a few years to come.
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