How to Give an Honest Invitation

The Word did everything. I did nothing. The gospel simply ran its course.
Martin Luther

At a small-town community Thanksgiving Eve service attended by only a handful of church pillars, an evangelistic invitation might be superfluous. Yet the same community’s Easter sunrise service, attracting the curious, the civilly religious, and those catching an early service for appearances, is hardly the place for vague talk and a dismissal. People need a way to respond to the message before blankets and chairs are returned to car trunks and a perfect opportunity is wasted.

Preachers laboring to convince worshipers about the most important topic — salvation — have long used the invitation as a way to solidify decisions. But when is the altar call appropriate and when is it not? How can it be done with integrity? Are there better ways for seekers to walk the sawdust trail?

Leighton Ford, long associated with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, has witnessed and conducted thousands of altar calls. He, too, has cringed at the misuses. For Ford, the altar call is more than simply a means to end a preaching service; it is a pointed tool to be used with skill and care.

Not a few of us have been turned off by public invitations that offended our theology, our integrity, our sensitivities.

Some “altar calls” I wish I hadn’t heard, and I doubt they altered anyone. I recall a healing evangelist during my younger days who cajoled and threatened his audience until the number of people God had “revealed” to him came forward that night. But I also recall another man with a gift of healing who laid his hands gently but with authority on those who came to kneel at the altar of an Anglican church.

I remember an evangelist in the Wheaton College chapel whose finger swept the audience like an avenging angel; his invitation was so broad we felt we should come forward if we hadn’t written our grandmother in the last week! He squeezed and pleaded as if Jesus were some kind of spiritual beggar rather than the royal Lord. But I have seen Billy Graham stand silently, arms folded, eyes closed, almost a bystander, as a multiracial throng of Africans, Europeans, and Asians surged forward in South Africa to stand together at the Cross.

How do we give an honest invitation?

The Real Inviter

First, we must be honest before God. The only right we have to ask people to commit their lives for time and eternity is that God is calling them. The gospel message is both an announcement and a command: It tells what God has done and calls people to respond. “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:19-20). God is making his appeal through us.

I am to present his message faithfully and give his call, trusting him with the response and giving him the glory. My part is to be faithful; his part is to produce fruit.

During a series of meetings conducted by R. A. Torrey years ago, there was no response the first several nights. Homer Hammontree, the songleader, came to Torrey in distress. “Ham,” the evangelist replied, “‘it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.’ Good night; I am going to bed.”

Then came a service with tremendous outpouring of the Spirit and a huge response. Hammontree was exultant. Again Torrey said quietly, “Ham, ‘it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.’ Good night; I am going to bed.”

I find it hard to be as cool as that, but I do admire Torrey’s sense of honest faithfulness to God.

Why Am I Doing This?

But then I must also be honest with myself. Why do I give an invitation? Because it’s expected in my church or tradition? Because I need the affirmation of seeing people respond visibly?

Or, on the other hand, do I not give an invitation because I fear embarrassment if people don’t respond? Or criticism because it’s not part of my group’s tradition?

The only proper reason to give an invitation is that God calls people to decision. From Moses (“Who is on the Lord’s side?”) through Elijah (“How long will you waver between two opinions?”) to Peter (“Repent and be baptized, every one of you”) and Paul (“I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds”) —the scriptural tradition is crisis preaching that calls for a decision. It has been noted that almost everyone Jesus called, he called publicly. Picture him directing James and John to leave their boats … Zacchaeus to climb down from the tree … the cripple to rise and walk.

None of us has completely pure motives. We are a mixed people. That is why I must continually pray, “Lord, let me not give this invitation because I need to see results. Let me not shun it because I am afraid or because someone might criticize. I must give it solely because you love these people, you want them to know you, and you have told me to tell them that.”

Up-Front and Open

Then I must be honest with the audience. Many people would like to know God, but no one has ever asked them clearly.

Tony Campolo, a Philadelphia sociologist, was seated at a state prayer breakfast next to the governor and found that he was sympathetic but had never committed himself to follow Christ.

“Why not?” asked Campolo.

The governor honestly replied, “No one ever asked me.”

“Well, I’m asking you.”

To his surprise, the governor responded, “OK, I will.”

The Scriptures use many metaphors to describe the step of faith: coming, following, kneeling, opening, receiving, turning. An invitation is a symbolic expression of that spiritual reality. It is nothing more, nothing less — and we need to explain that.

When I ask people to come forward at the end of an evangelistic meeting, I try to make it clear what I am asking them to do. At the beginning of the sermon I may say something like this: “Tonight at the end of my talk I am going to ask you to do something about it, to express your decision. I am going to ask you to get up and come and stand here at the front. This is an outward expression of an inward decision.

“Just as you make a promise to someone, mean to keep it, and shake hands on it … just as a young couple come to love each other, want to give themselves to each other, and then openly express that covenant in a wedding … so I am asking you to express your commitment. There is nothing magical in coming forward. Walking down here doesn’t make you a Christian. You could come down here a thousand times with your feet, and it would make no difference at all if that’s all it were. But as you come here with your feet, you are saying with your heart, ‘God, I am coming to you and leaving behind those things that are wrong and sinful. I am trusting Christ as my Savior, and I am coming to follow him in his church from tonight on.'”

People need to know what responding to your invitation means and what it doesn’t mean. They need to know that they must be open Christians, not private believers, and that this is a way of expressing that. It is also important that they know it is not the only way. While confession is required (Rom. 10:9), nowhere does Scripture demand that people raise a hand, come forward, or sign a card to confess Christ.

In my evangelistic invitations, I usually say so. “You don’t have to come forward to be a Christian, but you do have to confess Christ and follow him openly.” Some people are almost too shy even to come to church or be part of a crowd, let alone ever to come forward. Some overscrupulous souls live all their lives with a scar because they didn’t come forward at some particular invitation. They need to know they can come to God in the quiet sanctuary of their own hearts and then express it in the faithfulness of their living. But they also need to know there is something about the open expression that clinches and seals that inner faith.

Others need to be told honestly that they must not put off God’s call. “Not to decide is to decide” may be a common saying, but it is true. To hear the Shepherd’s voice and shut ourselves to the sound is spiritually dangerous. An honest invitation will say with tenderness but seriousness, “Now is the day of salvation.”

Some need to hear that Jesus is an alternative, not an additive to the good life. Through the Cross, he offers free grace but not a cheap grace that has no cross for us. Our Lord is not the Great Need Meeter in the Sky. Our invitation is not “You have tried everything else. Now put a little Jesus in your life.” Mickey Cohen, the Los Angeles racketeer, wanted to know why, if there were Christian politicians and Christian singers, he couldn’t be a “Christian gangster”! It was news to Mickey that Jesus didn’t come to ratify his sins but to save him from them.

More than One Method

How then to give the invitation? It should be prepared as carefully as the rest of the message and the worship.

Should an invitation be given at every service? Each pastor and evangelist will need to settle that according to circumstances. I think an invitation should be given regularly in churches of a size and situation where numbers of visitors and non-Christians are likely. Almost every Sunday morning at Hollywood Presbyterian Church, Lloyd Ogilvie says, “I know that in a congregation of this size, there are those whom God is calling.”

Other preachers may need to sense the leading of the Spirit and extend the invitation at the times and seasons when pastoral work and visitation seem to indicate people are ready. Some churches, particularly in England and Australia, schedule monthly guest services, perhaps the first or last Sunday morning of the month, when members bring friends to whom they have been witnessing. They know an evangelistic presentation and appeal will be made.

Every invitation should be surrounded with specific prayer that the Holy Spirit will direct people to Christ. Both the preacher and praying people in the seats should cultivate a spirit of prayer throughout the entire service. Evangelism is a spiritual battle, and I am convinced that unbelief and indifference can create a field of resistance. Faith and prayer, on the other hand, can contribute to an atmosphere of expectancy and response.

An honest invitation, in my judgment, should begin at the outset of the message. People should know what is going to happen rather than having something sprung on them. Billy Graham begins giving the invitation with his opening prayer. I have already explained my approach. Then the invitation is repeated throughout the message as the truth is applied. I do not mean people are told over and over to take some action, but repeatedly they are asked, “Is this you? Has God been speaking to you about this and this? Are you sensing that God is calling you?”

Many good methods have been used. The simple, straight-forward appeal to walk to the front and stand or kneel during the singing of a hymn is often effective. Following the example of some English evangelists, I sometimes use an “after-meeting,” in which the congregation is dismissed and requested to leave while all interested people are invited to remain for a ten-minute explanation of how to make a Christian commitment. In some Lutheran churches, people are invited to come kneel at the altar or to take the pastor’s hand as they leave and quietly say, “I will,” if they are responding to the gospel appeal.

I have seen Vance Havner ask people to stand one at a time and openly say, “Jesus is my Lord,” particularly in an invitation for rededication. At some evangelistic luncheons or dinners, blank three-by-five cards are on the tables, and everyone is asked to write a comment at the same time. Those who have invited Christ into their lives during a prayer are asked to include their names and addresses as an indication of their decision. It may be helpful to have those persons bring their cards to the speaker or leader, which could then open up personal conversation and counseling.

At First Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, worshipers who desire prayer for healing or problems are invited to come at the close of the service and kneel at the altar rail for prayer. It would be easy to add an invitation to those who wish to become Christians to join them.

There is no one way to extend the invitation, but in every situation there is surely some way. The essential elements are opportunities for (1) directed prayer and (2) simple biblical counseling. In a large evangelistic meeting, those who come forward may be led in a group prayer, but that is not enough. They need to express their faith to God individually before leaving.

In my crusades, counselors are instructed to come forward at the beginning of the invitation. Why? Not to prime the pump but to assist people, for it can be scary to walk forward publicly and particularly to stand alone. So there is no misunderstanding, I explain openly that these are counselors who are coming to lead the way. Lloyd Ogilvie often has selected elders stand at the front during the closing hymn to welcome those who respond. In any case, counselors should be trained ahead of time and provided with simple literature on the basics of the Christian faith and walk. Their interaction with people deciding to follow Christ can happen at the front of the church or in a quiet room nearby. Quick and dependable follow-up in the next forty-eight hours both by telephone and a visit in person must also take place.

Some Do’s and Don’ts

In giving the invitation, do pick up the feelings of those in the throes of decision. Empathize with their fear of embarrassment, of not being able to follow through, of what others will say. Hear the inner voice that tells them this is too hard, or they can wait — it’s not important. Don’t berate or threaten. Do explain very simply what it is you are asking people to do. If you want them to get up, walk forward, stand at the front, face you, and wait until you have had a prayer, tell them exactly what will happen.

Don’t use “bait and switch” — asking them only to raise their hand, and then only to stand, and then only to come forward. This is not to say we should never give an invitation in two steps, but it does mean we must not trick people or make them feel used.

Do make the meaning of the invitation clear. I don’t think it’s wrong to give an invitation with several prongs: salvation, rededication, renewal. I do think it’s wrong to make it so vague that it’s meaningless. Don’t, on the other hand, overexplain so you confuse.

Do wait patiently, giving people time to think and pray, knowing the inner conflicts they may be facing. Sometimes those moments seem agonizingly slow for you, but be patient. Don’t, however, extend and prolong when there is no response, saying “Just one more verse” twenty times, until the congregation groans inwardly for someone to go forward so you’ll stop. Do encourage and urge people gently, repeating your invitation once or perhaps twice. But don’t preach your sermon again.

Do give the invitation with conviction, with courage, with urgency, with expectancy. But don’t try to take the place of the Holy Spirit.

To find balance in these matters is not easy. I find it helps if I ask God to speak to me as well as through me.

What if no one responds? Do you feel embarrassed? Have you fallen flat on your face? You may. I have felt that any number of times. But the embarrassment passes, and what remains is the conviction that you have given an honest invitation to the glory of God, and even if no one responded, they faced the decisiveness of confronting Christ. Who knows when what they have seen and heard will be used to bring them to faith?

And if people do respond? You can rejoice and pray that they will follow Jesus in the fellowship of his church and the tasks of their daily lives.