Charles and Martha Morgan and their three children decided to develop a soul-winning project around their gift of hospitality. Martha loved to cook, and the family enjoyed entertaining company in their home.
At least once a month Martha would provide for company when preparing Sabbath dinner. Their 250- member city church frequently had visitors. When there were no non-Adventist visitors, the Morgans would invite a family in the church with whom they were not well acquainted. This by-product of the plan alone proved to be a tremendous blessing to the Morgans, as well as to their guests.
In many cases the Morgans' hospitality was responsible for a visitor returning to their church. This was true of Ron and Celia Thomas, who hadn't attended church since their marriage. Ron had an Adventist background, so when Celia expressed a desire to go to church, Ron agreed, provided it would be an Adventist church. The Morgans spotted the visitors and invited them home to dinner. This gesture of friendliness brought the young couple back the next Sabbath and the next, until they grew to be part of the church family. This newly established relationship was made official in a beautiful service of baptism, with Charles and Martha Morgan standing as the Thomases' spiritual guardians.
Ron and Celia Thomas were by no means the only fruitage of the Morgans' hospitality evangelism. In the city where they lived was a technical college at which a small number of Adventist students from other parts of the state were enrolled. The Morgans opened their home on Sabbath afternoons to these out-of-town students. They encouraged the Adventist young people to bring their non-Adventist friends for refreshments and social activities on Saturday nights. These contacts often led to Sabbath dinner invitations, coupled with attendance at Sabbath school and church. Each year there would be two or three baptisms resulting from the Morgans' hospitality evangelism.
The gift of hospitality can be cultivated in many Adventist homes. It is a form of soul winning in which every member of the family can participate. One couple I know has been very successful in winning neighbors through hospitality. Even when their children were small, one of them was called upon to offer the blessing when non-Adventist guests were present at the table.
"Thank you for these new friends in our home. Thank you for the food we have, and may hungry people everywhere have food also, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen." Such would be the child's prayer. Hearts were touched, and more than one credited the children's prayers as the influence that awakened their interest.
Natural and appropriate subjects for conversation when guests are in your home include family, occupation, and religion. And often there will be opportunity to share your testimony of God's goodness and grace.
Hattie Johnson was a widow. For some time after the death of her husband she dreaded going to church to sit alone. Then she developed her own hospitality project. Hattie would go to church early, sit near the back, and watch for a lady visitor sitting all alone. Then she would move forward, sit beside the visitor, and offer a friendly smile and a warm handshake. After the service, in the foyer or outside the church nonverbal communication would give way to verbal. Often Hattie would invite her new acquaintance home for lunch. Beautiful friendships developed, and Hattie's ministry eased her loneliness and that of many others as well. Not only that; more than one person says, "I'm a member of the family of God today because of Hattie's hospitality."
And then there is the physician and his wife who reserve one evening each week for a fellowship dinner in their home. They invite patients, neighbors, FiveDay Plan contacts, et cetera. Dinner is followed by an informal, unstructured Bible discussion on whatever themes are of most interest to the majority present. Several baptisms result each year.
Perhaps you will want to consider some form of hospitality evangelism as a possible project for you or your family.
Tactics for the Timid
Matilda Maxwell was a quiet, unassuming Adventist housewife and mother whose small children required her to stay close to home. The Maxwells lived in a neighborhood where there were many young couples with children about the age of their own. Sewing was one of Matilda's talents. She made virtually all her children's clothes. As the children proudly told their playmates that their mother made their clothes, Matilda became the object of admiration on the part of many of the other mothers who did not possess sewing skill.
Matilda offered to share her sewing know-how, and several of the women and older girls in the community accepted the offer. Friendships developed around the sewing machine. Questions about a tune Matilda might be humming, or some objects she was preparing for her primary class at Sabbath school, made it easy for her to invite mothers to bring their little ones to Sabbath school, "just for a visit." That first visit was usually the kind that made them want to come back for more.
Matilda's willingness to share won the confidence of her neighbors, many of whom turned to her with problems and perplexities in areas other than sewing.
oblems and perplexities in areas other than sewing. If you asked Matilda Maxwell if she had ever given a Bible study she would probably say no. And perhaps she had not given a formal study, although her Bible answers to neighbors' questions have served the same purpose. In spite of her natural timidity she found she could pray with her neighbors about their problems once they became acquainted. In her first two years of sewing-machine evangelism Matilda was responsible for three baptisms.
Audio-Visuals
Joe Lindell invested in a video projector. So pleased was he with his purchase that he took it to work with him to show the boys. Joe was a square-shouldered, muscular man who worked in a warehouse. During a lunch break he proudly displayed his new machine, which looked like a portable television set and combined the features of a projector and cassette recorder.
"I've got some videos about the Bible," Joe explained. "Some of them explain the prophecies of Revelation and have a lot to do with what's happening in the world right now. If any of you would like to have me bring the machine over so you and your wife and family can see these pictures, just let me know."
In no time Joe's enthusiastic offer resulted in his being booked up five nights a week for Bible studies though he did not call them that initially. He just talked about showing films featuring the prophecies. Several of the families were so pleased they invited neighbors in to share the treat. One family asked if they could invite their pastor. The Protestant pastor was so pleased with what he saw that he invited the Adventist warehouse man to take over the Sunday evening meetings in his church for twenty weeks. The result? Baptisms, including that of the non-Adventist pastor and his wife. Joe's machine gave the information, but Joe was willing to give of his time with a warm and friendly spirit.
Admittedly, every soul-winning attempt does not result in a baptism. Even Jesus Himself did not succeed in winning all the people He contacted. So we must learn the lesson of perseverance. We must also strive to develop the ability to discern genuine interest. There are some valuable things we can learn about receptivity and indicators of interest.
This reading may trigger some, perhaps all, of these responses:
- You will think about a personal or family soulwinning project.
- You will catch an inspiration of what that project might be—something in harmony with your gifts and talents.
- You will experience feelings of inadequacy.
- You will feel the need to draw closer to the Lord.
Sometimes the inspiration gained from reading a book or attending a lay congress or seminar heightens a burden to see every one of your fellow church members working for souls. What can one individual do in such a situation? Perhaps the answer is found in this inspired statement: "When churches are revived, it is because some individual seeks earnestly for the blessing of God. He hungers and thirsts after God, and asks in faith, and receives accordingly. He goes to work in earnest, feeling his great dependence upon the Lord, and souls are aroused to seek for a like blessing, and a season of refreshing falls on the hearts of men. The extensive work will not be neglected. The larger plans will be laid at the right time; but personal, individual effort and interest for your friends and neighbors, will accomplish much more than can be estimated"—Christian Service, p. 121.
Let us take a closer look at what we've just read: One person who earnestly seeks for the blessing of God can bring revival to a church. He must act in faith. He must go to work for God, not waiting for others to join him. He must feel his great dependence upon the Lord.
The result: other souls will be aroused to seek for a like experience. Larger plans will be laid involving more of the members when they are ready to participate. All this will begin when one soul who hungers and thirsts to see a church moving makes personal, individual efforts for friends and neighbors. Remember: Revival can begin with one sincere person.
George E. Knowles writes from Chula Vista, California.
