The two fastest-growing church bodies in the United States and Canada, according to a recently published report, are ones whose beliefs are known to radically conflict with Biblical Christian teachings.
Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, regarded by many as cults and not Christian, year after year report the largest membership increases of any denomination, according to statistics gathered by the National Council of Churches’ and the Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches. Mormon numbers have more than doubled in just over 20 years; Jehovah’s Witness membership numbers have increased 75% in the U.S. in the last 20 years.
If their doctrine is wrong, clearly in conflict with what the Bible teaches, then why are the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons consistently wracking up new converts?
Maybe it’s their method of evangelizing... Door-to-Door. Face-to-Face. They quickly secure commitment for home-based Bible studies. They have frequent contact during the week with the “interested” person and family. They stay close with phone calls, emails, and they quickly involve the interested and curious in immersive fellowship activities.
Ask a Mormon or a Jehovah’s Witness what accounts for their consistent growth and they will gladly tell you... Door-to-Door Evangelism.
While very successful at attracting new converts, both Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons knock on a lot more doors than other traditional denominations who have experimented with door-to-door evangelism.
Mormons for example knock on 1000 doors to get one Bible study. Whereas more traditional Bible-based denominations who have tested the door-to-door concept, have a ratio of 18 to 1; 18 door knocks for every one Bible study started. In recent statistical drill-down analysis, some churches have found that on average, during their door-to-door campaigns, someone is found home for every six doors knocked. A Bible study is set up for every three doors where someone is found home. When studies are set up, one-half of these studies result in a baptism into Christ. This means that on average a conversion is made, a soul is saved for every 36 doors that are knocked These are amazing results, far surpassing the Mormon stats of 1000 to 1!
Here’s the nagging question: Why don’t traditional Bible-based denominations use door-to-door evangelism as their main method for proclaiming the gospel? Forget the occasional event-driven campaigns, and make door-to-door witnessing for Christ the mainstay strategy for evangelizing. With the potential converts that could be won to Christ... why not?
Truth rings true when it come from the Holy Word of God. Just imagine the growth that could be happening if Christians would get in the game, proclaiming “TRUTH" door-to-door! Real Truth, not the perverted and distorted gospels proclaimed by the aforementioned cult-like organizations. We should be ashamed and embarrassed by these proclaimers of false teachings garnering the growth that is occurring in the greater world of so-called Christian evangelism. Think about it... in spite of their relatively unfruitful door-to-door evangelism (1,000 to 1), the Mormon Church is one of the fastest growing religious bodies in the U.S. today, while Bible-based churches have had essentially zero or marginal growth in the U.S. for the past twenty years.
Excuses abound for not embracing what works! Some church denominations say that door-to-door evangelism doesn’t work. Christians... wake up, these facts don’t lie. They’re undeniable. Proclaimers of TRUTH should be ashamed!
Some church leaders have even stated flatly that they don’t want a lot of new babes in Christ. They don’t think the church can nurture an influx of new Christians properly. In other words, effective productive evangelism would be a bad thing! The “twelve” filled with the Holy Spirit on the morning of Pentecost were courageous and prepared to handle the first wave of new believers on that day... 3,000! Thankfully no one told Peter not to get carried away in his first sermon or the results might have been different.
Going from door-to-door proclaiming the gospel follows the example set by Paul in Acts 20:20 where he says that he did not hesitate "to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house." A similar statement is made that the rest of the apostles also did this in Acts 5:41-42.
Many believe that Paul is saying that he was merely preaching in house churches to small assembled groups of believers. There is no question that this is where Christians were meeting together (Acts 2:46). Acts 20:20 can be found frequently quoted as a proof text for both small group ministry in homes and for door-to-door evangelism to the unbeliever. If Greek means anything to you... the same Greek word is used to describe both actions. Consider the context: In Acts 20:21, Paul goes on to say that in doing this house to house teaching, he "declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must “turn to God” in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus." This clearly indicates that he was carrying out a ministry to “nonbelievers”.
Jesus said, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matt. 28:19,20). The disciples were commanded to "make disciples... baptizing them... and teaching them to obey everything..." Surely, those who were taught to obey everything the disciples were commanded to do were taught to teach others. Each of these who were taught by the disciples in turn made disciples, baptized them into Christ, and taught them to do likewise wherever and to whomever they could.
This command has not changed since it was first given by Christ. It has not been modified or altered in any way. Christians today are responsible to harvest this generation of truth seekers. We must be doing it as efficiently and effectively as Paul and the first century Christians did... door-to-door.
A common misconception about evangelism seems to be that only certain people are gifted to be evangelists. Most Christians would agree that there are certain members of a church who have the gift of giving, but no one who would say that other Christians are free from any need to obey God's commands in the matter of giving (2 Corinthians 9:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2) just because others may be better equipped to do so.
Evangelism is exactly the same. Some may be more gifted in public speaking and teaching than others, but that does not mean that the rest of us are free to ignore God's command to to preach... to teach... to baptize... to evangelize for His Kingdom. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16)
Christians are commanded by God to proclaim the gospel. We have a clear precedent established in the “first century” church of door-to-door evangelism. We know God’s Word of Truth... we have the Holy Spirit on our side... therefore we are already perfectly equipped to handle the fruits of door-to-door evangelism. We just need to move past the “excuses” and use the methods that work. The fields truly "are ripe for harvest" (John 4:35).
We can wait no longer. NO MORE excuses! House-to-House and Door-to-Door wins souls to Christ! There is no better way!
NEXT POSTING: Equipping a Congregation for Door-to-Door Evangelism
