The Gospel Invitation

Book excerpt: An essential guide in the art and instruction of issuing Christ's invitation to the lost. Historic denominations are dying. Church memberships and baptisms plummet with every passing year. Pastors and church leaders are concerned about their churches plateauing. Why? One of the major reasons is because congregations aren't being publicly called to faith in Christ. A growing number of evangelical pastors have opted for non-confrontational approaches to calling people to faith in Jesus. Some seminaries have removed evangelism classes from their curriculum and pastors aren't being taught how to give an effective, God honoring public invitation, void of manipulation. Authors O.S. Hawkins and Matt Queen are asking church leaders to reconsider and rediscover the effectiveness of asking people to publicly decide to follow Christ. O.S. Hawkins is a respected pastor who has led thousands to faith in Christ in both church and public settings. Matt Queen is a trusted and gifted professor of evangelism who has consulted multitudes of pastors in personal and congregational evangelism. Together, they wrote The Gospel Invitation to assist others in successfully issuing a public appeal to receive Christ. The Gospel Invitation covers: A brief history of public gospel invitations The biblical justification for gospel invitations Practical and proven instructions for incorporating invitations into sermons Best practices The Gospel Invitation will equip pastors, seminary students, and anyone who evangelizes with the confidence to share the gospel and help more people come to Christ.