HOME MEETINGS
Read and pray: “And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mk 16:15)
THE NEED TO COOK AND TO TEACH (3)
Among the Protestant denominations, the Southern Baptists are the ones with the largest number of members. They depend mainly on their Sunday schools. Although their lesson books are not very deep nor very rich, they are very practical. Their Sunday school lessons were neither prepared nor written quickly.
Writing something in a general way is easy. Writing lesson books is not so easy. One must gather all the excerpts on a certain topic and then organize them economically. One cannot write many pages, nor can one list too many points; nevertheless, it is necessary to cover all the crucial points of each topic.
Almost all of us have received an education; however, after graduating from university, who can compose a lesson book? Those who studied mathematics know that it is not so easy to write a mathematics lesson book.
This illustrates that it is not easy to teach the saints so that they become adequate teachers. You may know something, but teaching it is not easy. We need practice.
The Southern Baptists appreciate their Sunday school lessons. Many do not want to miss the classes because of the benefit they receive. This is one reason why the Southern Baptists have a large number of members.
They emphasize three things. First, they preach the gospel. Second, they have revivals, and third, they teach in Sunday school using their lesson books. This does not mean that we have to follow them or imitate them. However, there is a principle here: if we depend on great speakers and good teachers to speak to us weekly, or we depend on eloquent speakers to stir us up from time to time, this will not work.
I will share a strong testimony that occurred recently in Taipei. During October 1984, while I was there, I did everything possible to help them change their way. I encouraged them to turn their attention from the big meetings to the smaller meetings, in the homes.
Then they took my word and established 399 small-group meetings that involved approximately 4000 saints. Now, about eleven months later, I received a phone call from Taipei.
First, a leading one told me that last weekend 1104 people were baptized. He emphasized that there had been no big gospel-preaching meeting nor any splendid activity. These 1104 people were brought in by the small meetings and their participants. From January 1985 until today, four hundred to five hundred students from the universities, preparatory schools, and high schools were also baptized.
Furthermore, in July, the church in Taipei sent out twenty gospel-preaching teams, formed through the small meetings, to preach in the villages and small towns. With this kind of move they baptized more than 800 people. Altogether, the church in Taipei baptized more than 2500 people this year.
This was not because of a great gospel campaign with some great evangelists, but due to the small meetings. If each small group brings one new person per week, there will be 400 new people weekly. At the end of the month there will be 1600 people. No wonder 1100 people were baptized last week.
This is the harvest of the work they did in the previous months. The total seems large; however, with 400 small groups, this reaches an average of less than three new people in each group per month. If each group brings three, the total will be 1200.
To practice a church life like this, the elders, the leading ones, the sisters, and the brothers will always be busy. Merely to take care of the baptisms will require much work.
In Taipei, in hall number one, aside from the general meetings, there are small training groups. The newly baptized ones are taught specific lessons for approximately seven weeks. I believe all the new ones should immediately receive some kind of training.
As we can see, it is necessary for someone to always carry out some specific service. In Taipei, due to the 400 active small meetings, all the saints are busy. The whole church is awakened, charged with something to do.
Until now I have received only confirming news that the small-group meetings work. Now I hope to hear how they labor in the Word and the teaching.
At home the mother must cook and teach. This is her part. The children’s part is to eat properly and to learn to study appropriately. I believe that when there is a good mother who is diligent and who cooks and teaches properly, most of the children will cooperate with her.
🌿 Enjoy more:
Hymn: Gospel Preaching – “The High Gospel”
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