The Devil hates the GOSPEL!!! The gospel is what saves a man from hell and changes a sinner from the inside out. Satan will not contend with a church or a believer for their own worship in the same manner that he will battle the church that preaches the gospel of Jesus. The greatest act of kindness one can show their neighbor or family member is to share this gospel with them.
COVID19 has changed the way we think about church and the ministry of preaching the gospel. Our safety and health has been elevated to a place where some would hardly dare to hand out a gospel tract at the gas station or on the sidewalk. We say that the souls of men are precious to Jesus and that His name must be preached to the ends of the world, but we are hunkered down in our bunkers while teeming thousands have died without Christ these last several months.
Our church in Florida is a wonderful body of believers, and in many ways has been a good pattern for other churches to follow during this time of pandemic. The church house is commonly filled, the offerings are up, the Christian school enrollment is the highest ever, and people are excited about worshipping God like has rarely been seen in our history. However, with all the blessings seen in these past nine months as we have navigated through the coronavirus as a local church, something is tragically down. What is it you might ask? It is so few number of soulwinners that we see out preaching the gospel weekly. We are lagging behind every year statistically in the numbers saved and baptized as a church in 2020 when compared to the previous 28 years. We have seen fewer souls saved through our local outreach than in any given year over the last three decades. Fewer converts have been baptized this year than ever before. This has not been by a slim margin, but by more than a 60% reduction.
Now to be sure, we are still seeing people saved and baptized almost every week. And we are always thrilled to see the Lord praised even when "one sinner repents". However, this is not normal for us. This is not a plateauing. This is not a slight falling off. This is the most devastating decline of any figure that matters to the heart of God. This number matters more than any offering amount. These numbers represent the eternal salvation of boys, girls, and adults in our three-county community.
If this is happening in our church, I wonder how many churches elsewhere have similar signs of decline in their weekly and monthly evangelism? Someone has said that there are approximately 30,000 independent Baptist churches in America. I do not know how accurate that might be. However, let's suppose that it is close. Our salvations will drop by nearly 600 this year compared to the last 34 years during which my father has served as pastor in Middleburg. Let us suppose that our church has been in the past more affective than many Bible-believing churches in America in winning people to Christ in their own Jerusalem. Rather than likeminded churches declining by 600 souls saved annually, let's suppose that their average falls off by only 300 (that may still be a larger number than in reality). If the average IFB church were to decline by 300 fewer people saved this year than in the past years, this would mean collectively 9 million fewer people would have gotten saved in America than in previous years through IFB churches. I realize that these numbers are making a lot of suppositions, but it should also be noted that this number would not include all the other evangelical and Bible-preaching churches nationwide who proclaim the gospel in their communities as well. Neither would it include all the other gospel-preaching churches of every stripe internationally.
If the trend in other churches is like that of our church in Florida, it would mean that Bible-believing churches have done less preaching in the highways and hedges in 2020 worldwide. This has resulted in numbers of people never hearing the "old, old story". Only eternity can tell the awful affects this has had on the gospel as pastors have chosen to back off during COVID19. Truly, "hell hath enlarged herself". More people will die without Christ due to a "mask" than those who might have been lost eternally because of the many woes we rail against.
In I Thessalonians 2 we find Paul urging the church concerning the coming Christ. In verse 4 he explains to the church which he planted in Acts 17 how that God has "trusted us with the gospel". God's message of hope and forgiveness was not placed into the hands of those who desired profit or the elevation of their lifestyle or personal recognition. He trusted the local church with the GOOD NEWS. Then as we read down through this rich chapter of God's Word, we find in verse 18 that "Satan hindered" the great Apostle Paul. If Paul was hindered in the calling God had placed upon him, should we not think that the Devil desires to hinder the work of God in 2020?
Fear of the unknown has hindered the gospel these last 9 months. Uncertainty of possible consequences has paralyzed the church of Jesus Christ. We finally realized after numerous lockdowns that "Church is Essential". Our evangelistic efforts have stumbled over the threat of being demonized by those who might misunderstand our intentions. May we learn from our stepping back. May we open our doors once again. May we set our eyes on eternity and never let our safety and personal protection keep us from obeying the Greatest Commission that God ever gave His people. "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature". Keep the church doors open! Keep the pulpits hot! Return to our zeal for the souls of men around us! Let's never again allow fear to make us into eunuchs when it comes to preaching the GOSPEL!!!
