"The fruit of the righteousness [is] a tree of Life, and he that winnet souls [is] wise" (Prov.11:30)
The primary task of Christians and every ministry in the world should be soul winning, to go into the world in order to preach the Good news to all creatures, a command which was given by Jesus Christ. (Mark 16: 15-16). And one of the greatest joys that we have as Christians is the joy of leading someone to christ, And you and I can be God's instruments in the salvation of others.
Unfortunately, many churches have lost focus on the mission of winning souls for christ. Most churches are not winning souls for christ because the leaders of these churches have lost their passion for lost souls.
I was honoured to be one among many who met Pastor David Oyedepo(Jnr) an embodiment of humility, on the high street of London winning souls for christ. Pastor David Oyedepo (Jnr) is the Resident Pastor of Winners Chapel London. He is also the Regional Pastor for the European network of Churches. His life reflects that life in spiritual leadership is life devoted to God without restraint. It is tragic that today's pastors are losing the vision of soul winning. And I strongly believe that frequent examples of his lifestyle of evangelism also speak volumes to the ever increasing London's winners chapel assembly.
A Healthy church is where the church body is active in seeking the lost, sharing their personal faith and the Love of Christ as exhibited by Pastor David Oyedepo (jnr). He has been the catalyst to the overall success of the church growth in the UK and its outreach program. His desire as Pastor of the church to see the ministry as a Christ-honoring and kingdom building succeed can not be over-emphasised, at a time many Pastors and Christians have neglected their roles in the society of winning souls for Christ but rather towards fulfilling their own will to the detriment of the gospel.
There is no burning desire in most churches of today to see lost souls or sinners come to christ, which is largely due to the fact that soul winning is not on the forefront of most churches agenda, but rather has been put on the back burner that sinners are not reached for salvation.
Sadly, so many London pastors tend to stress the importance of fishing for members instead of fishing for souls. Every Church should strive to be a soul-winning church like the London winners Chapel. A church is successful in the eyes of God If its pastors, leaders and members are equipped to soul winners.
However, the process of becoming a soul winning Church starts with leadership. And in order to be a soul-winning church, the pastor must have the passion to be a fisher of men in and out of the pulpit.
Every pastor should evangelize the community. The strategies will differ from one man to the next, depending upon his gifts and opportunities. As a fisher of men, he must go where the fish are. He must leave dry land, sail out into deep waters, and cast his net. Pastors must venture out into the community, like Pastor Oyedepo (jr) is doing, to share the gospel, and urge people to believe upon Christ. Community outreach involves building bridges to unbelievers. A pastor who just wants a church desk job in order to get away from the front lines is not fit to be a pastor. Whatever the strategy, making such inroads requires going where unconverted people are and unashamedly sharing Christ.
There is no burning desire in most churches of today to see lost souls or sinners come to christ, which is largely due to the fact that soul winning is not on the forefront of most churches agenda, but rather has been put on the back burner that sinners are not reached for salvation.
Sadly, so many London pastors tend to stress the importance of fishing for members instead of fishing for souls. Every Church should strive to be a soul-winning church like the London winners Chapel. A church is successful in the eyes of God If its pastors, leaders and members are equipped to soul winners.
However, the process of becoming a soul winning Church starts with leadership. And in order to be a soul-winning church, the pastor must have the passion to be a fisher of men in and out of the pulpit.
Every pastor should evangelize the community. The strategies will differ from one man to the next, depending upon his gifts and opportunities. As a fisher of men, he must go where the fish are. He must leave dry land, sail out into deep waters, and cast his net. Pastors must venture out into the community, like Pastor Oyedepo (jr) is doing, to share the gospel, and urge people to believe upon Christ. Community outreach involves building bridges to unbelievers. A pastor who just wants a church desk job in order to get away from the front lines is not fit to be a pastor. Whatever the strategy, making such inroads requires going where unconverted people are and unashamedly sharing Christ.
It has been rightly said that the greatest joy is knowing Christ and the second greatest is making Him known. May every pastor enter joyfully into this privileged task of doing the work of soul winning for christ.
If soul winning is not a joy or passion in the lives of the leadership, then it most likely will not be in the lives of the followers. this may not be in all cases but surely in many instances, as members have a "follow the leader" type mentality, meaning they do what the pastor does and what he or she teaches.
Jesus was a master soul winner, Jesus said in Mark 1:17, “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” The above are piercing words in Scripture that spells out the necessity of evangelism in the Church and in our world. It is only when the word of God is proclaimed to people that church growth can come about. This is evident in the episodes that ensued in the Acts of the Apostles. As the Apostles preached the word of God in the midst of opposition they turned situations of communities around including the face of politics, social structures were also affected and with time, many cultural beliefs were transformed for good. The council that met at Jerusalem in C.49 A.D (Acts 15) on the issue of circumcision is one glaring example. Evangelism in the Christian Church today is passing through a great challenge and that challenge is the call to true discipleship
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