Whatever happened to the altar call?

When I was doing regional ministry I often preached in churches when the pastor was away on vacation or when the church was seeking a new pastor. I was amazed at the number of times people would come to me after the service thanking me for giving an altar call. Evidently, this was something that had not happened in their churches in some time.

During a recent Bible study in the church I currently serve as Transitional Pastor the topic of altar calls came up. One person mentioned that the church where her son attends there is seldom an altar call given. While some in the study were surprised by that, others said they had experienced the same thing in churches they had visited.

Maybe it's a sign of my age, but I cannot imagine preaching and not giving an altar call. I never know how God might be touching some person sitting in that congregation, and I need to give him or her an opportunity to respond to that touch.

Does a person need to walk an aisle to be saved? No. But, I remember how Billy Graham would tell his audience that he was calling them to make a public decision because Jesus always called people publicly. There is something that solidifies that decision when it is made publicly.

In my altar calls I invite people who want to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior to come and allow me to pray for them. I also invite persons who might want to rededicate their lives to Christ and those who are interested in transferring their membership to our church to come. I invite persons to come who want prayer and explain that I am always glad to pray with people. I also mention that, for some reason, many Baptists have forgotten about the old-fashioned prayer altar. Sometimes a person doesn't need to talk to a preacher; he or she just needs to do business with God. I invite such persons to come to the altar and pray. We've been seeing people do that more than we used to, and it thrills my heart to see it.

Pastors, don't complain about the lack of converts in your churches if you do not give people an opportunity to respond to your messages. Yes, I know, it's old-fashioned, and in many churches it's not considered cool to have an altar call. But, I'm not nearly as interested in being cool as I am in giving people an opportunity to respond to God. As long as I'm preaching I'm giving an altar call.