Why Doesn't PCC Do an Invitation or Altar Call?
by Dr. Brian C. Hughes
Senior Pastor
It is a question that many people have asked me through the years. I get asked this question regularly, especially from those who have had significant exposure to church, since most traditional churches do an ‘invitation’ or ‘altar call’ every week. The answer is a reflection of our understanding of the culture we live in today. Let me explain.
Let’s say that you could plot someone’s spiritual journey on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the moment when that person crosses the line of faith and accepts Jesus as the Lord of their lives. Forty or fifty years ago, most every non-Christian in the United States had lots of exposure to Christian teachings. They not only had heard of Jesus, but they had been to church, to Sunday School, to revivals. Everybody went to church, even if they weren’t Christians. That was just what people did. So, the average non-Christian was probably a 7 or an 8 on that scale. It wasn’t a long journey to get from where they were spiritually to the place where they were ready to commit their lives to Christ. A passionate plea from a respected pastor following a moving sermon accompanied by a moving hymn was effective. Or a church revival service. Or even a knock on their door and a visit from a deacon or the local preacher. Non-Christians just didn’t have that far to go to become Christ followers.
Things are different today. People don’t go to church and aren’t expected to go to church. There is no peer pressure. The result is that we have at least one generation of folks who have little or no exposure to church, to Biblical teachings, or to Jesus Christ. They aren’t unspiritual. In fact, they are often very open to spiritual truth and they are often asking spiritual questions. However, on the over-simplistic scale, they are more likely to be a 2 or a 3 or a 4. They have a lot farther to go to be ready to cross the line of faith and trust Christ with their lives.
Now, added to that, we know from extensive research (and from our own experience at PCC) that people today do not want to be put on the spot. Unchurched people want to be anonymous. They want to slip into church and slip out and check out claims of faith at their own pace and on their own terms. By singling them out, we turn them away and they are very unlikely to return. Unchurched people repeatedly say that they want a non-threatening, no-pressure environment to explore spiritual questions. If we pressure them or put them on the spot, they will not come back. And remember, because they are not as far along on their faith journey towards Jesus, it is very unlikely that they will cross the line of faith in one visit to church. If we don’t get them back repeatedly, for a long period of time, they are unlikely to commit their lives to Christ.
All of this is fine, and it answers the question ‘why don’t we have an altar call’, but it doesn’t answer the question, “how do we call people to commit their lives to Jesus”. Several ways.
1) Come to Jesus Sundays. Unchurched people tell us that they come to PCC for a variety of reasons. Our children and youth programs are outstanding and kids love being a part of the activities and events designed for them. Also, they tell us that they love the music, that church is not boring, and that the messages are relevant and meet them where they are. Consequently, they come back. We strategically plan times when we specifically talk about what it means to cross the line of faith and why they should commit to Jesus and become a Christ follower. Then, I will lead them in a prayer of commitment. Finally, I challenge them that, if they made that decision today, to not leave until they tell someone. I invite them to tell me and I tell them where I’ll be. I also point out other people on our staff or in leadership. And I tell them they can share their decision with a friend or someone else they know.
2) Baptism. I tell everyone that Believer’s Baptism is where you ‘go public’ with your decision. This is the Biblical model (see Acts 2, 8, 9, 10, etc.) There were no altar calls or church service invitations in the Bible, but simply calls to follow Jesus. (I’m not saying that it’s wrong to have an altar call, simply that it’s not wrong to not have one). The place where that new believer tells the world is at their baptism.
3) Small Groups. This is where real community happens. Small Group leaders are the real pastors of our church. And Small Groups are the real church. We say this is where you can ‘know and be known, love and be loved, serve and be served, celebrate and be celebrated.’ It is here that people often explore spiritual questions in safe, intimate settings, and where they often are guided to faith in Jesus.
4) Personal Invitations. This is how it worked when Jesus was here and how it worked in the early church. People were excited about their faith in Jesus Christ and they invited those around them, at opportune moments, to also know Christ. We won't change the world with church services. We'll change it when people who say they love Jesus place themselves strategically in places, friendships, and situations where they can share their faith in natural, non-threatening ways without coercing and pressuring people. This is what Jesus had in mind in Matthew 28:18-20.
The bottom line is that what we do works. It works not because we’re right and everyone else is wrong, but because we’re doing exactly what God has called us to do. We believe that Jesus understood and responded to the culture of his day, not changing his message, but constantly changing his method. He said that He came for the sick, not for the healthy. In six years, we’ve baptized almost 300 people, most of whom were adults and most were not going to church anywhere when they came to PCC. In fact, half of the people in our church each week weren’t going to church before they came to us.
So, I hope this gives some insight to why we do what we do, and why we do things a little differently.
