As most here know, I’m away this week [October 17, 2004], working with the Port Hueneme congregation in Ventura County as they conduct a gospel meeting. I’ll be home just in time for our own effort during the first week in November, with brother Joshua Higgins from Dublin.

By coincidence, just last week I read an exchange between two brethren who were arguing whether meeting series still have an effective place in the work of the church. One brother contended that gospel meetings are a waste of time and resources. The other brother argued for the opposing view.

It probably won’t surprise you, given what I said in the first paragraph of this article, that I’m a firm believer in the value of concentrated studies, whether we call them gospel meetings, lectureships, or sermon series. I’m convinced that such efforts can deliver immense spiritual benefits, if well planned and enthusiastically supported by the host congregation. And, I think these events are worthwhile whether focused primarily on reaching those outside of Christ, as our meeting with Brent Willey last spring was designed, or on encouraging and edifying the saints, as is the case with the meeting I’m beginning today, and the one we’ll have in a couple of weeks here.

The problem with serial studies, if problem there be, is usually not with the concept but with the execution. Too often, churches do very little to prepare for a meeting, yet they expect sensational results. That system doesn’t work well with anything in everyday life, much less in the Lord’s kingdom. If you take a test without studying in advance, you expect to fail. If you open a store without adequate advertising and inventory, you should not be surprised by the paucity of sales. If you go to a job interview in shabby clothes, with poor grooming, and with no completed resume or application, you ought not to think the interviewer will hire you on your good will and charm alone.

So it is with an evangelistic effort. If no preparation takes place — urging people to attend, following up with encouragement to invitees, having a plan in place for meeting the spiritual needs of those who come — no one should be shocked if few results are evident. You have to till a lot of soil if you expect seeds to grow. Even Jesus had John the baptizer to prepare His path (Matthew 3:3), and disciples who went into communities before the Lord’s arrival to get people ready to listen to Him (Luke 10:1). We must get all things ready if we anticipate good results from our studies. I also believe that we too often have an incorrect expectation of what constitutes “good results.” One of the brethren I mentioned earlier said he was once speaking with a man who thought the local preacher should be let go. “He’s not doing enough good for the money,” said the man. When the other brother named a few people who had been baptized after being taught by the preacher in question, the contentious fellow said, “That’s still not enough.” “Not enough?” replied the brother. “Don’t you know how much those souls are worth? Say we only converted one person in ten years. Do you not suppose that one will be eternally thankful?”

The same can be said of our meetings. If only one lost soul is saved in a decade of meetings, is that one soul not worth the effort? Jesus said it was (Luke 15:7, 10). And if only one weak or struggling Christian is encouraged to soldier on more faithfully, is that one brother or sister’s soul not worth the resources expended? The Scriptures say it is (Galatians 6:1; James 5:19-20). I hope we all say so too!