What is New is Old, and What is Old is New

The things that I am trying in evangelism and missions is not new. It's been around for a long, long time. I am always amused at those who think that some of these methods of ministry that are being introduced are new. They are not.

Opinion Polls for instance:
In the 40's and 50's many evangelistic churches were taking religious surveys in their communities. It was a very successful way to find out who was in their neighborhoods that needed a church home or needed to be saved.

Having 'invitations' at the altar:
Prior to the turn of the last century most churches would never have had an altar call much less an invitation. Spurgeon had the 'inquiry room' where serious inquirers (seekers?) were asked to meet him for further information regarding how they might be saved. But he strongly resisted the altar call.

Having an invitation is a traditional element that is quite new when you consider it only began in the last 100 years. (I have no problem with invitations).

"What is often shocking to many who use the modern invitation system is that the altar call is just that modern. The practice, although widespread, is a very new phenomenon in the Christian church. For nearly nineteen centuries no one had ever heard of the practice. Such well known evangelists as George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, and even John Wesley had never even heard of such a custom. And Charles Spurgeon, that passionate winner of souls par excellence, although well acquainted with the practice, firmly refused to adopt it and even criticized it severely.
Ironically, "the old fashioned altar call" was unheard of until the nineteenth century. It first came into being by the influence of Charles Finney, the pioneer of modern evangelistic methods. In Finney's crusades (c. 1830) seats at the front were reserved for those who, after the sermon, would respond to the challenge to come to the Lord's side. Those who were thus "anxious" for their souls were invited to walk forward to the "anxious seat" where counsel and prayer would be given them.
The following quote from Finney's Lectures on Revival explains his view well.
"Preach to him, and at the moment he thinks he is willing to do anything . . . bring him to the test; call on him to do one thing, to make one step that shall identify him with the people of God. . . . If you say to him, "there is the anxious seat, come out and avow your determination to be on the Lord's side," and if he is not willing to do a small thing as that, then he is not willing to do anything for Christ."
The practice was designed to force decisions, to get results. So it did, and with slight variations the new method spread with increasing popularity through Finney and, later, Dwight L. Moody, and finally into virtually all of nineteenth and twentieth century evangelicalism. Peter Cartwright, Sam Jones, R. A. Torrey, Billy Sunday, Bob Jones, Gipsy Smith, Mordacai Ham, John R. Rice, Billy Graham all employed the method with impressive success. The invitation system had come to stay."(by Fred G. Zaspel)

The old is the new and the new is the old.

David