A passion for souls

The last time Billy Graham held a crusade in Indianapolis I attended the School of Evangelism that always accompanied his North American crusades. It was a week-long event with speakers throughout the day after which we would attend the crusade. Dr. Graham spoke in one of our daily sessions, and each member of his team and others spoke at the other sessions. It was one of the most enriching weeks of my life.

One of the things I remember about that day was the power that seemed to radiate from Dr. Graham as he entered the session in which he would speak to us. There was an authority about him that is not found in many people. He was humorous, down-to-earth, and at the same time, intense as he invited us to be soul winners.

Although the other speakers came from a variety of ministries and denominations they all held one thing in common. They sincerely believed that people without Christ were lost, and they were committed to doing whatever it took to reach as many as possible. They had a passion for the lost that permeated everything they said and did.

I'm not sure the church today shares that same passion, and that makes me wonder if many Christians still believe that people without Christ are lost. When I look at church budgets and planning I see little being done in the area of evangelism. We have "outreach," but it doesn't seem that much of it is focused on reaching people for Christ. More often, it's an attempt to get people into our churches. While that's a good thing, if this is all we mean by outreach we are not fulfilling the Great Commission.

IF we are people who believe the Scriptures as we claim to be, then we must accept the fact that persons without Christ are lost. And, if we truly believe that then we must become much more intentional about evangelism than many of our churches currently are. Eternity awaits every person, and we need more men and women like Billy Graham and his team who have a passion to reach every person for Jesus Christ. My prayer is that you are such a person.