It is hard to trace the history of the term gospel meeting since few, if any, records exist that chronicle its history. The gospel meeting, as we know, likely springs from revival events taking place during the westward expansion of 1800’s America. As communities began springing up, many had no dedicated evangelists; thus, preachers would travel to remote locations and hold multi-week tent meetings to bring the gospel to the frontier. As churches began to be established, the revival effort moved indoors as facilities were built to accommodate church meetings. Still, these events would often last several weeks due to the continued lack of preachers working in a local capacity with the churches. With the lack of other “entertainment” options, many from the community would attend, regardless of their religious beliefs.
As churches began to support evangelists in their own communities, and as organized Bible classes began to be offered on a weekly basis, the time length of the revival shrunk. Even the term revival was debated; how could a healthy church really need reviving? It is likely in answer to this question that the term gospel meeting began to be employed. As time continued, these efforts shifted in focus from evangelizing the community to providing more intensive Bible study for Christians.
The concept of the modern gospel meeting is quite ancient. Whether this was the Water Gate meeting held by Ezra (Nehemiah 8), or Paul and Barnabas strengthening churches (Acts 15:36), the preaching of God’s word to God’s people is both approved and encouraged. Indeed, the Apostle Paul wrote, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (II Timothy 3:16-17). Still, it is important for churches to have purpose behind these efforts, just as it was important for those in times past.
A gospel meeting is an investment of both the congregation’s money and its membership’s time. Modern churches have proven to be financially generous in making provisions for the preacher invited to share his knowledge. As well, money is spent for advertising in hopes to find support for the effort from Christians outside the congregation and non-Christians who might find the topic interesting. Members are asked to change their schedules to support what is typically a three- to six-day series of meetings to bolster their spiritual knowledge and growth. With the investment of both money and time, churches should evaluate their efforts by answering questions, such as:
- What is the goal of this meeting? A tradition of having gospel meetings is certainly laudable; having gospel meetings out of tradition is not. For any such effort, a church should determine if its goal is evangelizing the community, seeking a better understanding of a particular Bible topic, or inviting a good Bible student to share his knowledge with the group. Once this question is answered, all members should be aware of the intended goal.
- Will the church support this effort? Poorly supported gospel meetings can often create the unintended consequence of discouragement. While most churches have struggling members who likely will not attend additional opportunities to learn, most of the congregation should be willing to change schedules, if possible, to make the effort a success. Dedicated shepherds should offer encouragement to the group to support such learning opportunities. Stronger members should encourage others not only by their own attendance, but also by gentle appeal to weaker members to take advantage of such opportunities of growth.
- How will we make the meeting a success? Certainly, robust attendance is an essential part of a successful gospel meeting; however, other factors are also necessary. Members should not only attend, but also display enthusiasm in worship and participation in the sermon. Prior to the meeting, members should make a concentrated effort to invite associates to join them for a night or two of the meeting. Every visitor should receive a warm reception from the congregation and follow-up contact made for any who are either non-Christians or struggling Christians. Most importantly, a congregation should pray about the effort, both before and after the meeting. Beforehand, prayers for success are essential. Afterward, prayers should be offered, asking God to allow the words spoken to have their intended impact.
While there are other questions that can be added, answering these will help in determining the desired outcome of these times of Bible study. With prayer, forethought, sobriety, and excitement, the gospel meeting can be a time of great learning and encouragement.
