ALTAR CALL: Part 1

I was once asked why we have no altar call at Stonemill Church?

A good question I get from time to time. Let me expound: I grew up in a S. Baptist church in southern Louisiana and every Sunday we had an altar call with “Just As I Am” playing in the background. I have very fond memories of people walking to the front and giving their lives to the Lord, so I want you to know I’m not opposed to altar calls at all. I have done them during our services at Stonemill from time to time.

But here’s the reason we don’t do one every Sunday (and, by the way, this isn’t a criticism of churches that do . . . it’s just what we believe God has called us to do).

One of the great needs of this region is biblical depth. I have found that the average person attending Stonemill is illiterate concerning the Word of God. So, one of my primary hopes in the service is to expose people to the magnificence of God’s Word and give them an encounter with the Lord. The Bible says that worship services should be places where the entire Word is preached so that it will penetrate the hearts and minds of those who hear it:

[2] preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 2 Tim. 4:2 (NASB)

[12] For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)

So, one of our main goals is to expose everyone that comes, not just the lost, to God’s Word plus sincere worship and make way for the Spirit of God and the Father to use the Bible to draw folks to Himself

[44] No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:44 (KJV)

[8] The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." John 3:8 (NIV)

I guess what I’m saying is that we believe that evangelism is a natural overflow of discipleship. In the great commission, we’re told to make disciples, not just converts.

[19] Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)

We don’t believe a person’s salvation depends on an altar call. We believe it depends on the Spirit of God drawing people to Himself via the preaching of the Word, worship, discipleship, and direct encounters with Him.

Check out my next post on Altar Call: Part 2