A NEWSLETTER FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE GREENWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST

VOLUME 2 NO. 31                                       September 18, 2005

WAS IT A GOOD MEETING?

BY STEVE NIEMEIER

This has to be the number one question asked by members and visitors from other congregations at the conclusion of a gospel meeting.  There are so many facets of gospel meetings that must be considered when answering a question such as this.  As a member of this congregation we need to take a look at our recently completed gospel meeting and see if it was a good meeting or not.

1. PREACHING --- Bro. Shouse did an outstanding job of speaking the truth from God's word.  He addressed issues that each of us may have in our lives and gave us Biblical application of how to improve and stay stronger in our service to the Lord.  He spoke clearly and used examples that we could all relate to while not deviating from the text of the Bible.  Was it a good meeting pertaining to the preaching of the gospel?  YES!
2. PREPARATION --- Many of the members here addressed personal invitations to their friends, family members, co-workers and neighbors.  We had several to attend that were not members of the chruch of Christ because of this effort.  We had a sign made and stationed out front of the building and we had visitors come in because of that sign.  We sent invitations to all the surrounding congregations of the church of Christ and had many visitors from these invitations.  We sent invitations to the denominations in the area and had a couple of visitors from those invitations.  Was it a good meeting pertaining to the preparation?  YES!
3. ATTENDANCE --- As mentioned above we had many visitors because of our preparation and that was very good.  However, we must remember that this meeting as is every gospel meeting this congregation has is also for the edification of our members here at Greenwood.  We still have work to do on being committed to the effort of the Lord's work in this congregation.  We had several members that made it to every service.  We had some because of illness missed one or two services and that is understandable as is those whose normal work schedule prevented them from attending every service.  Then we had some members that just did not attend as they should have.  Maybe they did not make the effort or the commitment that Bro. Shouse spoke about.  Was it a good meeting pertaining to the attendance of visitors?  YES!  Was it a good meeting pertaining to the attendance of our members?  JUST FAIR!
4. WERE WE A GOOD HOST? --- Many times we overlook the fact that when we conduct a gospel meeting that we also become hosts for our visitors.  We spend time in inviting them and we want to make sure the preacher is prepared.  Just how much thought goes into what do the visitors see when they do visit.  When we invite folks to our homes (a lost art anymore) we usually make sure that they have a place to sit and that we have cleared the area of clutter and debris that might hinder their comfort.  We also would make sure that we were there when they arrived and had the house open and ready to receive them as our visitors.  We would be dressed appropriately for their visit and would be welcoming their conversation.  Several of us still have some work to do on our promptness as we seem to struggle to get to our services on time.  Also, we seem to be lackadaisical in our concern for the neatness and cleanliness of our building.  This is noticable at the church building just as it is at a house.  We spend endless hours trying to make our house our home and sometimes we need to evaluate our dedication to making our house of worship a home to worship also.  Was it a good meeting pertaining to us being a good host?  FAIR!
5. OVERALL --- We would have to answer that overall we had a very good meeting.  The congregation here is on the move and that is noticed by many.  However, we must not be complacent and we must continue to improve.  We should have the desire to be the most faithful and zealous congregation for the Lord that we can be.  When the Lord revealed to John in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 what to say to the seven churches of Asia He was very clear about their weaknesses and that they should take immediate steps to strengthen themselves.  The church at Philadelphia was considered to be the faithful church of those seven.  If the Lord was writing to the churches of the Indianapolis area what would he say about us here at Greenwood?  What would He have to say about the success of our most recent gospel meeting?  This is Who we have to please and this is Who died for us.  We pray that our efforts were pleasing to Him as He petitions to God on our behalf.