Baptism Challenge

I hope that he's thinking there'll be 1 million true conversions this year, otherwise it could easily turn into a Longview Baptist Temple/FBC Hammond kind of thing

 

And why would'nt there be 1 million conversions a year?I have noticed over the years that more people get saved through Evangelistic soul winning churches then through most others.We are commanded to go preach the Gospel to every creature.

 

I think a possible Biblical answer to your question could be found here:

Matthew 7:13-14

 

Just as good a witness for the Lord would be putting Mark Dever on a bus that said, "discipline 5 million 'members' this year". Our poor understanding of Christian conversion and discipleship is killing the church.

Nevertheless, praise be to God for every genuine new believer that trusts Christ this year. I rejoice whether it be one, or one million!

 

Is there any reason to believe Welch wasn't referring to baptisms as a result of "conversions"?

 

Maybe instead of a focus on 1 Million baptisms it would be better to focus on the enormous drop out rate of those already being baptized in SBC churches.

 

Is there any reason to believe Welch wasn't referring to baptisms as a result of "conversions"? </font>[/QUOTE]I don't know, and I'm not saying that Welch is desiring anything other than true conversions, I just think when you set a goal like that, it seems a little ridiculous. I don't know that Hyles or Longview ever set out to get false conversions on their bus ministry, but that was certainly the result with their emphasis on numbers.

I heard someone say onetime that he and a friend determined to win a person to the Lord each day before they ate. It wasn't long before they would find some kid to "repeat after me" at 3pm so they could hit up a McDonald's and settle their stomachs.

Is it good to win a person to the Lord everyday -- yes, but to make it a challenge like these fellows did proved a bit foolish.

Personally, I'd like to see Dever's bus roll into town than Welch's (of course I have some friends who would probably be on the bus helping dever, so maybe I'm biased.)

And as I've heard one person to say with all honesty when discussing this, "there's nothing wrong with numbers, there is even a book of the Bible called numbers."

Also, how many people are sitting in a pew in FBC of Hereville that now say "I guess if we're trying to reach 1Million this year, I'd better get out and win someone to Christ"?

 

I would prefer if our convention and local churches would, for once, focus on preaching the Word of God as our method of evangelism.

Joseph Botwinick

 

The function of the church should be, for equiping the believers for the gaining of knowlege in spiritual understanding, and growing in the Lord, and for evangalizing. The church should be for those already in the faith and where babes in Christ are nourished.

 

In other words we are to introduce people to Christ, and then plug them into a church. The church is for believers. Feeding biblical truth to unbelievers is fraught with difficulties. A new convert has the Holy Spirit inside to help disseminate doctrine. The unbeliever does not.

 

Is there any reason to believe Welch wasn't referring to baptisms as a result of "conversions"? </font>[/QUOTE]I don't know, and I'm not saying that Welch is desiring anything other than true conversions, I just think when you set a goal like that, it seems a little ridiculous. I don't know that Hyles or Longview ever set out to get false conversions on their bus ministry, but that was certainly the result with their emphasis on numbers.

</font>[/QUOTE]While I agree in principle about the numbers game, I have reservations about the ability of people like me deciding if any given persons salvation experience is "real" or not.

 

carpro

I would agree that I am not the final judge in matters of salvation. However, we can be fairly certain that leading everyone in a "follow after me" prayer and then counting all of them as converts is fraught with error. The problem is, playing the numbers game more often than not leads to this type of activity (we are all fallen beings afterall).