We don’t do Gospel Meetings anymore. In fact it’s been probably 5 years or more since the church I attend had a Gospel meeting, and it was more of a homecoming for a former preacher.
Gospel Meetings, for those uninitiated, are a half a week’s worth of Sunday night’s evening service replayed Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. During my elementary school years I can remember having to rush to get my homework done to attend each evening service. My family was still is a good family and would faithfully attend each evening service whenever the church doors were open.
I think that what church leadership has found is that Gospel Meetings don’t convert people. It might be a way to reach out to get potential converts. But it is very rare that lost soul will wander into a church during a Gospel Meeting who will then automagically make their life right with God.
The bottom line is that conversions are made through, say it with me: R-E-L-A-T-I-O-N-S-H-I-P-S. Which is why it is so important to invite your unconverted friends to both religious and social activities where they are surround by Christians. It’s not just Friends Day or a Gospel Meeting. It’s ski trips, retreats, scrapbooking night and the like.
Faithfully attending church should be easy in this day and age. And please note I’m not discounting the contributions and hardships of early Christians. I’m just saying that in this day and age when people are earnestly trying to provide for their family, working late and missing a Gospel Meeting shouldn’t make one a less than spectacular Christian.
One has the look at the fruit of a Gospel Meeting vs. the fruit reaped by other means. Which is why things like small group meetings should be implemented by church groups.