Getting Sheep To Win Souls
Title: Getting Sheep To Win Souls
Category: Evangelism Issues
Subject: Witnessing
SOUL WINNING
Jim Mastin
Getting Sheep to Win Souls
All of us have brought sermons on how Jesus is the Great Shepherd, the pastor is the under shepherd, and the people are the sheep. And we emphasize how the sheep (church membership) should follow the shepherd (pastor). We talk about how we are obedient in our tithing, our church attendance, our lifestyle, in an effort to get our people to follow us and pattern them selves after us. Sheep do follow shepherds.
In reality, that really does work. I have had the privilege to be in over 350 churches in my ministry and generally the church has taken on the personality of the pastor. A pastor that loves people and is kind to others, generally has a congregation that act the same way. A pastor that is militant in certain convictions generally has a church that feels the same way. Sheep do follow shepherds.
So, when we are critical of our church members, we need to examine closely to see if we have led them in the direction of our criticism. I had a pastor one time that complained about his Sunday evening services being poorly attended. I got to know some of the members and found out that the pastor's family was very haphazard in the Sunday evening attendance. The pastor made excuses of home work, hard week, etc. when defending his family. That may or may not have been legitimate, but it did affect his church because sheep do follow shepherds.
Now, I have never met a pastor that did not want to have people walking the aisle in his church at the invitation. Yet most of our churches are dry Sunday after Sunday. "I just can't get my people burdened for souls", says the pastor. "They won't bring lost people." "They won't witness to others." "They aren't concerned about the lost." Sheep do follow shepherds.
The best year my church in Wisconsin experienced in salvations was in its fifth year of existence. That year we averaged 22 people per Sunday walking the aisle at the invitation and we baptized a little over 700. Oh, that year the pastor personally won 150 people to Christ. Sheep do follow shepherds!
Jim Mastin
Getting Sheep to Win Souls
All of us have brought sermons on how Jesus is the Great Shepherd, the pastor is the under shepherd, and the people are the sheep. And we emphasize how the sheep (church membership) should follow the shepherd (pastor). We talk about how we are obedient in our tithing, our church attendance, our lifestyle, in an effort to get our people to follow us and pattern them selves after us. Sheep do follow shepherds.
In reality, that really does work. I have had the privilege to be in over 350 churches in my ministry and generally the church has taken on the personality of the pastor. A pastor that loves people and is kind to others, generally has a congregation that act the same way. A pastor that is militant in certain convictions generally has a church that feels the same way. Sheep do follow shepherds.
So, when we are critical of our church members, we need to examine closely to see if we have led them in the direction of our criticism. I had a pastor one time that complained about his Sunday evening services being poorly attended. I got to know some of the members and found out that the pastor's family was very haphazard in the Sunday evening attendance. The pastor made excuses of home work, hard week, etc. when defending his family. That may or may not have been legitimate, but it did affect his church because sheep do follow shepherds.
Now, I have never met a pastor that did not want to have people walking the aisle in his church at the invitation. Yet most of our churches are dry Sunday after Sunday. "I just can't get my people burdened for souls", says the pastor. "They won't bring lost people." "They won't witness to others." "They aren't concerned about the lost." Sheep do follow shepherds.
The best year my church in Wisconsin experienced in salvations was in its fifth year of existence. That year we averaged 22 people per Sunday walking the aisle at the invitation and we baptized a little over 700. Oh, that year the pastor personally won 150 people to Christ. Sheep do follow shepherds!
