I have been
involved in a number of tent missions over the years. Some have been wonderful,
where I have seen many decisions for Christ and others where it has been hard
work to even get people to come along to the tent, let alone to sit in it while
someone preaches! Without a doubt they are great to be part of and working with
people on endeavours like this build character besides learning a lot about the
people you work with.
He said to them, “Go into all the
world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15
“How, then, can they call on the one
they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they
have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And
how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: (") ‘How
beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” Romans 10: 14
The
scriptures above both say something that is very important. The emphasis is on the
fact that a person either goes or is sent. This type of evangelism means
stepping out of our comfort zones and having to rely on the Holy Spirit for
guidance and direction. After all that is what He wants us to do isn’t it? We
never go on our own and neither will we be sent alone. The Holy Spirit will
always go with us.
Key Point: We must go to where the
people are and share the Gospel in word, action and deeds.
I am only
going into a little detail here because there is a lot of work involved. There
are many other practical jobs that need to be done on any mission of this type.
Without a doubt it needs to be led by someone with good organisational and
management skills. Recently I have worked with someone who is outstanding at
this. It makes everything run smoothly and I believe these people are as
important as the evangelist who preaches the Gospel, because without them it
won’t function properly.
The other
important aspect of a tent type mission is teamwork. Firstly in order to be
effective you will need sufficient team members to accomplish the practical
work. The planning and administration can
be time consuming. Depending on where you are holding the event you may need to
apply to a local authority for permission, set up health and safety policies, inform
the local police authorities and all that is besides things like catering if
you are providing food for events.
All of
this needs to be done before organising the putting up and taking down of the
tent. Decisions must be made on a specific
group of people who would perform ministries that would normally take place in
a church. These range from those who welcome people as they arrive, to prayer
teams, worship groups, and people who preach the messages.
The other
important element is a team of people who are willing to “Go” out and meet
people. This can take many forms, of course. The main aim is to go and talk to
people about Jesus. Here are some examples that I have been involved with and
used over the years:
·
Leaflet
dropping
·
Street
preaching
·
Street
entertainment
·
School
visits
·
Door
to door visitation
·
Events
such as barbeques and other related activities
·
Completing
questionnaires on the streets and house to house
·
Prayer
for the sick
·
Sporting
activities
·
Men’s
events
·
Women’s
events
Other
considerations are:
Commitment: This is important because it
often means a person taking time off work to be available. This means sacrifice
of time as well as money, for the good of reaching those who are away from
Christ. “And let us not grow weary of doing good,
for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galations 6:9
Prayer: For me this is one of the most
vital elements. More often that not there is a huge spiritual battle over the area.
Opposition needs to be broken down through the prayers of the saints. Without
it the job is made more difficult. “Again I say
to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done
for them by my Father in heaven.” Matthew 18: 19
Unity: This may seem obvious, but the whole team needs to be
pulling in the same direction and in agreement with the main objectives. When
that happens, the Lord always blesses it.
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together
in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head,
running down
on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his
garments. It is like the dew of Hermon,
descending
upon the mountains of Zion
Holding a
tent mission means going to an area, setting up and followed by going to where
the people are with the message of the Gospel.
I have
seen many people come to Christ through them, plus many miracles of God's grace.
Probably the biggest impact of them has been on my own life.
I highly recommend it.
