In Defense of Big Days
(Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of articles on “big days” and “special events” in local churches.)
2020 has been a year like no other! When we began the year most of us had plans for our churches and ministries. I saw several pastors use the theme “2020 Vision,” meaning the year 2020 was to be a year of renewed vision and activity in their churches. The year looked like it was going to be one for the “record books.” Little did we know how true that would prove to be! Things started well; the economy was booming, our people were working, church attendances were up, and many churches reported that their mission giving was better than ever! And then…COVID hit! People were sick, the government-held daily “updates” to tell us bad news. The economy came crashing down, businesses closed, and people lost their jobs. Sporting events, both college and professional, were canceled and entertainment venues were closed. Everything that Americans normally used to fill their time was canceled or closed. Everything was turned upside down. No section of society was spared from the effects of the pandemic.
One of the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the limitations placed upon our churches and ministries. When the pandemic began, and when the CDC and local, state, and federal government most pastors were not sure how to proceed. These were unprecedented events and there was no manual to instruct us on how to handle the multitude of difficult problems. Pastors and ministry leaders are by nature caring people and their priority is the well-being of their people. As society began to respond to the pandemic pastors and ministry leaders desired to keep their people safe and still have a functioning ministry. At first, we (pastors and ministry leaders) listened to the advice of the “experts” and closed our buildings and shifted our church services and ministries to online only. We shifted our Christian schools to online-only, parked our buses, canceled our weekly scheduled outreach programs, and for the most part, contact with our people stopped. We continued preaching, but instead of speaking to people face-to-face, we spoke to a camera in an empty room. Our people were locked down in their houses with nowhere to go. We had no altar calls, no choir practices, no Sunday school classes, no revival meetings, no mission conferences, no camps or retreats, just “virtual” services. Another result of the move away from in-person services was that we did not bring in evangelists, missionaries, or guest preachers to preach to our people as we would do normally. None of this was what we wanted, but it was what we thought was necessary.
As the “pandemic” has progressed we began to get a clearer picture of the nature of the virus and the threat it posed. Most pastors acted out of an abundance of caution as we limited our ministries. We now know much more about the virus than we did in March. As States began to loosen their restrictions pastors began to rethink their plan. We are now seeing churches open their buildings and begin to return to in-person services and ministries. (Except for those in the states ruled by tyrants – California, Nevada, Maryland, and New Jersey. Those churches are under severe persecution for their obedience to the clear command to “not forsake the assembling of yourselves together.”)
One of the things that define us as Baptists is our focus on reaching people with the Gospel. We major in dealing with people in a personal and direct way. As I have spoken to pastors around the country, I have noticed a trend. Even as churches have begun to have public services, most have not returned to their normal practice of weekly soulwinning and bus ministry. Not many churches are doing “big days.” By “big days” I mean, special events that are designed to gather crowds so that we might reach as many as possible with the Gospel. I believe there are a few reasons for this:
Fear - We allowed the fear that permeates our society to affect us. Many are afraid to get back out into the world and interact with people. I am not discounting the seriousness of COVID-19. I know that people do get sick and people do die, but we have seen from the real numbers that this is not the devastating illness that people feared it would be. People with underlying health conditions do need to be careful, but healthy people are returning to work, shopping, and even to regular leisure events. As Believers, we are reminded in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” This world needs to see Believers, and especially Pastors, live and act in faith.
Complacency – After several months of hearing, “stay home – stay safe,” we have gotten used to the “new normal” of just staying in our homes and doing everything online. We have become used to sleeping in and not going anywhere. Many have begun to accept the thinking of the world that all of this is out of our control and there is nothing we can do, so why try? We should try because we have been given a mandate, a commission; to win souls, baptize converts, and disciple Believers. We are not to just “host” an online service, but we are to be reaching into our communities and to turn the world upside down.
Laziness – I am concerned about pastors and church members who have become comfortable with just one “live” service per week and the rest on Livestream. Many have become used to not having any ministries other than the preaching in the auditorium. As I speak to pastors, I am finding churches and pastors have gotten used to not having many ministries of the church. In many cases buses are not running, Sunday School teachers are not teaching, choir members are not meeting for choir practice, and are not singing in the services. Church members and church leaders are out of the habit of their ministry activity and have filled their time with other things. Many have enjoyed not having to do the work of the ministry.
Lack of Faith – I have spoken to many pastors and even church members who just do not believe that having a special event is possible. Their reasoning is that because people are afraid and not used to going to events that inviting them to a church service just will not be effective. Many have expressed to me that they do not believe that going door-to-door will work because people will not answer the door or respond positively. That is a lack of faith! Faith is taking God at His Word. It is simply “believing God.” Jesus often exhorted the Disciples, “O ye, of little faith” or “Wherefore didst thou doubt.” He told Thomas, “Be not faithless, but believing!”
I am happy to report that not everyone has these attitudes. I am thankful for the churches that have returned to active outreach. I have been a part of churches in Michigan, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania who have started “door-to-door” soulwinning and have found that people at the doors are very receptive. People seem excited to actually speak to someone in person and we are seeing people trusting Christ at the door. On one Saturday, my soulwinning partner and I spent two and a half hours to cover both sides of ONE block. People answered almost every door and they were happy to talk with us. We were able to open the Scriptures and give a complete presentation of the Gospel at several doors.
I have recently been involved in two “big days” in two different churches. One was in South Carolina and the other was in Michigan. One is a church that was running about 140 before COVID, the other was running about 400. The pandemic shutdown has affected both churches. Each church had gone to “online” only services for a while and have gone back to a mostly normal schedule of services.
INCLUDE PHOTOS OF THE DAY & PROMO MATERIALS
Trident Baptist Church, Goose Creek, SC
During the week of August 30, I was privileged to be in Goose Creek (Charleston), South Carolina with Pastor Eric Tharp and the good people of Trident Baptist Church for what can only be described as a “Big Day!” The church had raised the money to build a “Patriot’s Park” with three large flagpoles, a beautiful brick patio constructed of “Charleston Brick,” and includes park benches. They used the date of timing of this weekend to commemorate the 75th anniversary of ending of WWII. The church members worked very hard to identify and invite every veteran and veterans’ group that they could find. Special invitations (tracts) were designed and printed. Banners for use both inside and outside the church were created, and a commemorative coin to be given to all veterans in attendance was ordered.
Pastor Tharp and his people spent weeks contacting the Mayor, local military leaders, police and fire departments, and every other group they could think of to come. Many visits were made to military and veterans groups. Letters were sent, tracts were distributed, banners made and hung up inside the church and along the road to promote the event. (The banner next to the road by the church produced much interest and many contacts for the event.)
Because of the concern for “social distancing” the decision was made to hold the service under a tent. Pastor Tharp was able to secure the use of a 40’ x 60’ tent, chairs, large fans, and cooling systems. Contacts with the fire department resulted in two fire trucks from two different fire companies being present on the day of the event. A good representation of the local police department, the local mayor, his predecessor, and an active-duty colonel from Joint Base Charleston were in attendance. As part of the promotion of the day Pastor Tharp was able to find a WWII veteran who lived in the community. Pastor Tharp connected with the veteran and his family and arranged for him to be the guest of honor for the event. He is somewhat of a local “hero” and as a result, the owners of a local military museum and many of their friends “wanted to come.” They did come and brought an incredible array of military items, many from the WWII era. This added tremendously to the atmosphere of the day. (Who doesn’t like WWII vintage Jeeps, uniforms, weapons, and memorabilia?
On the day of the event, the church had eighty veterans in attendance with scores of first-time visitors. The tent was packed (with social distancing rules in place) and many had to stand outside. The well-orchestrated service included the presentation of the colors by the local honor guard, pledge to the flag, the National Anthem, recognition of all veterans, honoring of the WWII hero, special gifts for all active-duty military and veterans, and a clear Gospel message. Thirteen people responded to the invitation to receive Christ! And THAT is why we do big days!
Faith Baptist Church, Warren (Detroit), MI
I was asked by my Pastor, Tim Berlin, of Faith Baptist Church in Warren, MI to create, organize and implement the plan for the “Public Servant Appreciation Day” on Sunday, October 4, 2020. The theme of this event was “Honoring those who serve.” We recognized and honored our first responders (law enforcement, firefighters, EMS, dispatchers) and elected officials. Our plan consisted of preparing and printing 5,000 special tracts for the event. A matching postcard was sent to the church mailing list. The list included all church members, visitors for the last year, every family who has students in our Christian school, and any other prospects we had. (We included every church member because a little over twenty percent of the pre-COVID attendance has not come back since the church has returned to a normal schedule. It was a good opportunity to provide a “reminder” that the church is still here, and we want them back!) We had two Saturdays of door-to-door outreach to hand out invitations. We began visiting in the neighborhood around the church and worked our way outward. We prepared special maps and follow-up forms to track where we had visited and plan for the next week. Our people also took stacks of tracts and invited people during the week. Some took maps to cover assigned areas during the week because they were not able to attend the Saturday outreach.
We sent personalized letters to our police and fire departments, and our elected officials to give the details of the event and a more personal invitation to these groups. We then followed up the letters with personal visits and phone calls to these individuals and groups. A special video invitation was created and posted on all of the church’s social media platforms. This was made so that our members could share it on their social media pages and allowed us to spread the word quickly and in a wide-ranging way.
We also held two special prayer meetings for the event. First was a men’s all-night prayer meeting on a Friday night. The second was a church-wide prayer meeting held on the Wednesday night before the event. We also encouraged people to sign up for the 24-hour prayer chain. For the 24-hour prayer chain, we divided the day into 15-minute increments and asked our people to commit to praying at the same time every day for two weeks leading up to the big day. Our goal was to have someone before the Throne of Grace at all times of the day and night. The emphasis on prayer helped our people to understand the spiritual warfare that accompanies any effort to reach people with the Gospel.
On the day of the event, we had many visitors. There were representatives from law enforcement, fire departments, several elected officials, and those running for office. The service consisted of patriotic music, special recognition of the “public servants” and a clear Gospel message. During the invitation, four individuals prayed to trust Christ as their Saviour. After the invitation, while we were instructing people on how to fill out the “pew decision card” we distributed a booklet, “Salvation, Life’s Greatest Decision.” We encouraged those that had trusted Christ or who desired more information to take one. An eight-year-old boy, sitting with his grandmother asked for one. He read it while we were making announcements to close the service. He leaned over to his grandmother and said, “I need to know more about Salvation.” His grandmother took him to one of our Sunday school teachers and she led him to Christ!
Observations:
Church members were involved in the organization and support efforts of the event.
Church members enthusiastically participated in the outreach. Thousands of tracts were distributed, and people went out of their way to find people to invite.
People in the community were very receptive to the idea of a special event.
Public officials responded positively to the special events and attended them.
People in the community came when they were invited. (Each church had MANY visitors as a direct result of the invitations from church members.)
People responded to the preaching of the Gospel. Souls were saved!
Follow-up visits were very effective. People were saved during the follow-up visits.
Pastor Tharp has been invited to speak at multiple veterans’ organizations as a result of the military and veteran’s emphasis on the big day. He is building momentum for his Veterans Day event in November.
As we consider these observations, I would submit that it is time for our churches to get back to work! It is time to stop hiding. It is time to stop being afraid. It is time to act in faith. It is time to be obedient to the great commission!
Let’s get back to being what Jesus intended us to be. Let’s get our buses running again. Let’s get back to soulwinning. Let’s get back to revival meetings. Let’s plan some big days!
Closing Thoughts
Big Days do not just “happen.” They require planning, participation, perspiration (work), prayer, and the power of God.
One of the helps we offer to churches is the assistance in planning and conducting special, evangelistic events. A major part of my personal ministry has been the planning, conducting, and preaching at big days and special events. Whether working with my father, Children’s Evangelist Carl Brandenburg, traveling with Evangelist Dr. Joe M. Boyd, as an assistant pastor, or as a senior pastor, I have witnessed and participated in hundreds of special events. I have seen effective ministries in every size and type of community. They happen in large, urban areas in the southern United States as well as in the north. They are effective in small towns in America, and in villages and towns in Papua New Guinea, Australia, and Mexico. The Gospel is the same everywhere. Biblical methods can be applied in every community and culture. We would love the opportunity to come alongside you and your church to be a part of your big day or special event. Contact us if you would like to schedule us.
Soulwinning, evangelistic meetings, revivals, missions, and special events are what independent, fundamental, soulwinning Baptist churches have always done. We have always been on the streets and lanes of our cities. We have always gone door-to-door with the Gospel. Let’s get back to who we are and what we have always done. The harvest truly is plenteous!