I wrote a post last week about our schedule while we are here at Hodgenville Pentecostal Church during Music and Ministry Month. In that post I made a statement that has produced some questions. We like questions, especially questions we can actually answer. 😊
Here is the statement I made. Music and Ministry Month "...is a fantastic way for us to expand on our second tenet of evangelism, which is to edify, encourage and equip the local church."
Some are wondering what in the world that means and where did it come from?
Where Did That Come From?
Let me answer the second question first. That statement came from years of preaching revivals and discovering by trial and error what works for us and does not work for us. Not only what works but figuring out what we are supposed to be accomplishing out here on the road.
Think of it this way. There is no measuring stick for evangelists. If the electrician does not do his job correctly, you have no lights OR your house could burn down. If the mechanic does not do his job correctly your car will not start.
What is the measuring stick to gauge whether we are doing evangelism correctly? Do we measure by whether or not people clap their hands during the singing, whether or not people say "Amen" during the preaching or even by the size of the offerings?
Do we measure by how many revivals we preach, how many miles we drive or how far in advanced we are booked?
None of those things or a dozen other things give me any satisfaction as to whether I am doing a proper job of evangelism. They are not accurate measurements at all.
So I talked to Pastors and church members. I searched the scriptures and I prayed. I wanted some kind of yardstick we could lay down next to our efforts to see if we were actually doing any good at all.
In order to do that then I needed to figure out what in the world we were supposed to be doing out here in the first place. That is how our three tenants of evangelism came in to being.
They are as follows.
1. In every revival we purpose to encourage the local Pastor.
2. In every revival we purpose to edify, encourage and equip the local church.
3. In every revival we purpose to give the Gospel message to the lost.
You can read our whole philosophy concerning evangelism on our Evangelism page or by clicking HERE.
These three things give us a measuring stick to be judged by. I sometimes randomly ask Pastors to read what I have proposed to do as evangelists and to lay the yardstick next to us and read the tape without any bias. We need to know if we are productive or not. We need to know where we are falling short. This lists will let us know where to focus our attention in order to improve.
What Does It Mean To Edify, Encourage and Equip?
During Music and Ministry Month at Hodgenville Pentecostal Church we are doing our best to live up to the second tenant and hopefully complete a little of tenant number one along the way too.
But here is tenant number two.
2. In every revival we purpose to edify, encourage and equip the local church.
We have been invited into a great church. The talent level is really good across the board. They have great musicians and singers. They are a worshiping church. It is a tremendous challenge to us to share anything at all that can boost what is already going on.
Hopefully our few weeks in Hodgenville, Kentucky will strengthen the saints at HPC to follow Pastor David Webb's vision, worship the Lord in song and music, rise up to the challenge in our generation and win the lost here for years to come.
If Pastor Webb and the church have been uplifted in their work, if the saints are even more emboldened in the service of the Lord and if the singers and musicians are better equipped to create an atmosphere of worship, then that will be a mark of success in our book. May God grant it as we work toward it!
Thank you for reading today.
Davy
