Why We should attend gospel meetings

Since our Gospel Meeting is coming up at Campaign church of Christ this Sunday (October 26th), I wanted to talk about the importance of supporting and attending Gospel Meetings. These meetings are designed to help “revive” our love of God’s Word and to make us even more excited about worshipping Him. It is also a great way to meet other church members and to hear new speakers. I have always loved attending Gospel Meetings! I remember telling my husband when we would attend these meetings together while we were dating, that going to Gospel Meetings was “like a field trip.” The only difference to me between a Gospel Meeting and a field trip, however, is that a field trip is only temporary fun, but a Gospel Meeting helps me feel happy here and helps me find Eternal Happiness through God’s Word.

 It is important to attend Gospel Meetings for several reasons.  Two big reasons are to edify ourselves and others. By attending a Gospel Meeting, Christians can “recharge their batteries” through listening to God’s Word during the week. A typical week can become overwhelming at times, so getting a chance to hear a good sermon is an effective stress reliever! It allows the mind to focus on our Eternal Reward rather than the small issues we have here on Earth. It is easy to become discouraged when we face challenges in life. Attending a Gospel Meeting helps us remember that the real reason we are here is to serve the Lord, rather than focus on day to day problems that really do not matter at all. One does not have to wonder why they are here or the “meaning of life.” The meaning of life is to glorify God and to keep his commandments. Leviticus 22:31 states; “Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the LORD.” A Gospel Meeting is a wonderful reminder of this fact! “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9). 

Not only can we edify ourselves, but we can also edify others. Just as others can be a source of comfort for us during trying times, we can be a source of comfort for them as well. Gospel Meetings typically draw a large attendance, and a person can see many people they usually do not see on a regular basis.  Since we do not always have the ability to know what is going on in another person’s life, we should always make a point to be cheerful and friendly to others when attending a Gospel Meeting. This is especially true for women, who are usually seated while some of the men are standing at the entrance to the church building as visitors come in. Women should greet both men and women, but make a point to focus on making visiting women feel welcome. Women enjoy talking to other women, and I know that I always feel even more welcome when women from a congregation I am visiting talk to me. When a person walks into a Gospel Meeting, he or she may be facing many challenges in life, and have come to find comfort. We, as women, are nurturers by nature, so we should be willing to show ourselves to be friendly. Who knows, but ours may be the only smile a visitor sees that day! “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

Being hospitable to others not only means being pleasant and friendly but also attending to their physical needs as well. A visiting preacher always enjoys good fellowship and a good meal so he can feel energized and able to keep preaching the Word. Many congregations either have fellowship meals at the church building each night of the Gospel meeting, or individual members help feed the visiting preacher. This shows the Gospel preacher that he is welcome and appreciated by the congregation. When I was a child, my grandparents would let a visiting preacher and his wife stay at their house the entire week of the Gospel Meeting. The visiting preacher and his wife would eat breakfast and lunch at my grandparents’ house, and on each night of the Gospel Meeting, the church would hold a fellowship meal. This is the way visiting preachers were often treated years ago, and some congregations and its members still hold to this tradition. I think it’s a great way to show the visiting preacher the love that Christians should have for one another. . “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

            Another reason to attend Gospel Meetings is to teach others. The Gospel preacher holding the Meeting teaches us about the Bible and helps us keep our mind focused on God. We, too, can teach others how to be better Christians through our examples. We should invite as many as we can to the Gospel Meeting! Phone calls, cards, and handing out flyers are great ways of doing this!  If we invite others to attend a Gospel Meeting, we are showing them that living the Christian life is very important to us. If we do invite others to the Meeting, we must be sure to attend ourselves. I have seen cases where visitors will come to a Gospel Meeting and say that a certain person invited them, but that person was not there. This does not leave a good impression on those who are either not baptized or just babes in Christ. By attending regularly scheduled church services, supporting your home congregation’s Gospel Meeting, and Meetings held at other congregations, we are showing our love for God and for each other        Let’s all help ourselves and each other by attending Gospel Meetings! We do not have to attend every meeting held at every church of Christ, but we should want to at least support our home congregation! In doing so, we are helping ourselves and each other reach our reward in Heaven! 

            I want to invite everyone to attend our Gospel Meeting at Campaign church of Christ beginning October 26th and lasting through Wednesday, October 29th! Please see the flyer for service times!

     “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).