Most Southern Baptist Pastors Offer Weekly Gospel Invitations
If you walk into a worship service at a Southern Baptist church, chances are you will hear the pastor offer a Gospel invitation. More than likely, they’ll also ask you to respond in person, not digitally.
According to a Lifeway Research study of Southern Baptist pastors commissioned by the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, 74% say they provided an opportunity for people to respond to a Gospel invitation within their weekly Sunday morning worship service every week in the past year. Another 11% say they offered such opportunities two to three times a month, while 3% say once a month.
Few Southern Baptist pastors asked worship service attendees to respond to an invitation less often, including 2% who say they did so seven to 11 times during the year, 3% who say four to six times and 6% who say one to three times. Just 1% say they never did so.
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“Southern Baptist pastors, on the whole, firmly believe in the power of the Gospel, the responsibility of sharing the Gospel and the importance of offering a time for a response,” said Steve Parr, evangelism strategy director at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.
“They understand that a response gives opportunity for counsel of the person making a commitment and a benchmark to advance the discipleship of those who respond, including follow up for baptism.”
Pastors’ practice lines up with their plans. Almost four in five (78%) say they plan to call people to respond to a gospel invitation at all their weekly worship services. One in 10 (10%) say they plan to do so when the Spirit leads them.
Additionally, 8% say they plan on calling people when the main Scripture passage includes a clear Gospel message, 7% when they know there are guests or non-believers present and 5% when they are not calling for another response, such as serving or forgiving.
Few say they plan to offer an invitation at a few special services a year or other times (2%). Just 1% say they never plan to make such a call after their weekly worship service.
Two in three Southern Baptist pastors (66%) say they regularly call their congregations to respond to a truth in the sermon, but it is not always a Gospel invitation. Around three in 10 (30%) disagree, and 5% aren’t sure.
What pastors believe
Asked to volunteer their thoughts and opinions about including a gospel invitation in the worship service, one in five pastors (20%) say it is important to allow time and opportunities for response.
Similar numbers (19%) point to the work of the Holy Spirit and the need for it to be Spirit-led. Around one in seven (15%) believe it should always be offered, and one in 10 (10%) say it is necessary and absolutely must be in every service.
Other pastors say it is an essential or useful practice (8%), should not be manipulative (5%), requires a clear Gospel presentation (4%), is a biblical practice (4%), depends on the church or context (2%), should not be offered every week or is not required in every service (2%) or challenges people (1%).
Just 1% believe having a Gospel invitation as part of a worship service is not effective. One percent also say an invitation still works or is effective. The same percentage (1%) believes it is not biblical. And 1% say an invitation provides an opportunity for discipleship. One in 20 Southern Baptists (4%) offered no additional thoughts.
“While Southern Baptist pastors share a commitment to extending invitations, they are diverse in their means of doing so,” said Parr. “What each method holds in common is the opportunity to respond to the Gospel message.”
Concerns about invitations
Most pastors (66%) offer Gospel invitations in their weekly Sunday morning worship service without any reservations.
Others, however, note some concerns that cross their minds.
One in 5 (20%) worry about emotional manipulation with invitations. Around one in seven (15%) believe salvation only occurs through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, so that causes them to be concerned about worship service invitations. One in 10 (10%) say only church members are typically present in their services.
Fewer say they believe the practice leads to false assurance regarding salvation (7%), their church uses other methods to connect with people who are interested in learning about salvation (7%) or they prefer to call people to respond individually rather than in a worship service.
For 3% of Southern Baptist pastors, they don’t believe the Bible affirms the use of gospel invitations in worship services, while 1% say the practice distracts from the worship experience. Some (6%) say they have other concerns.
“The lack of concern among Southern Baptist pastors speaks to their conviction that God is working, the Gospel is essential and pastors and churches have a responsibility to identify and disciple those who come to faith in Jesus Christ,” said Parr.
How pastors offer invitations
Most pastors provide multiple ways to respond to a Gospel invitation in their worship services.
Around two in three say they ask people to walk forward to speak with someone at the front during the service (65%) or ask them to talk with the pastor after the service (64%). Half of that (32%) ask those responding to speak with specific leaders after the service.
Fewer Southern Baptist pastors typically direct individuals to submit a printed card to indicate a decision (12%), ask them to go to someone in a location other than the front during the service (11%) or ask them to go to a location after the service (10%).
Few pastors want those responding to use a QR code to indicate their decision online (3%). Similarly, few ask people to make the church aware of their decision by text (3%), email (3%) or going to a website (2%). Around one in eight (12%) say they use some other means.
“This is a good reminder that discipleship is based on relationships,” said Parr. “Pastors much prefer to directly speak with someone making a decision, as opposed to other means that lack a face-to-face conversation.”
Asked to rate the effectiveness of the invitation methods they use, Southern Baptist pastors believe physical calls to respond are more effective than those given through technology.
Among its practitioners, going to a specific location after the service is the most likely to be seen as at least moderately effective (79%), with 10% saying it is extremely effective.
Other methods that are seen as effective by those who use them are talking with the pastor after the service (76% at least moderately effective), talking with specific leaders after the service (70%), filling out a printed card (68%), going to someone in a location other than the front during the service (67%) and walking forward to someone at the front during the service (65%).
Among the few pastors who use technology to solicit gospel responses, many don’t believe those methods are very effective.
“Pastors don’t expect that there will be a response every time, but it is easy for them to conclude that a method is not effective if no one ever responds,” said Parr.
“It is important that pastors are making these judgements so long as it propels them toward seeking ways to be effective, to grow in their implementation of their preferred method, and to pray for a move of God in calling people to salvation.”
When asked to provide (or list) training or resources that have helped them in leading an effective Gospel invitation, 10% of Southern Baptist pastors say Scripture. Other leader responses are experience and practice (8%), seminary or college courses (6%) and books, articles or other similar resources (5%).
Invitation responses
Around two in three Southern Baptist churches (65%) baptized five new believers or fewer in the past 12 months, including 18% who didn’t baptize anyone. The median church baptized three individuals, while the average church, driven up by larger churches, baptized more than eight.
Pastors at Southern Baptist congregations of fewer than 50 in attendance are the most likely to have baptized no new believers in the past year (37%). Those who lead churches with 250 or more in attendance are the most likely to say they’ve baptized 25 or more (51%).
“Baptism numbers are not the measure of a healthy church in and of themselves, but they cannot be ignored,” said Parr. “When no one is coming to faith or being baptized, it should drive church leaders to prayer and to evaluate their ministries and methods. That evaluation must first and foremost be centered on biblical theology, but it should not ignore best practices that can be gleaned from those churches seeing a greater response.”
Few Southern Baptist pastors (11%) say they have offered a spontaneous baptism opportunity in the past year, where people are called to come forward, profess their faith to a church leader, and immediately be baptized in front of the congregation. Larger congregations with 250 or more (20%) are the most likely to have done so.
When a pastor offers an invitation and no one responds, some feel discouraged for themselves and their congregation.
Two in five (42%) say it is discouraging for them when no one comes forward during a gospel invitation in a worship service, while 53% disagree. Fewer Southern Baptist pastors (31%) believe it is discouraging for the congregation. Half (51%) disagree, and 18% aren’t sure.
For more information, view the complete report.
Aaron Earls is the senior writer at Lifeway Research.