It’s Sunday night and the end (unfortunately) of an absolutely awesome (and tiring) weekend. Wow! Friday we ended the second week of evangelistic meetings in Veszprem and presented the topic of baptism.
We decided to use a decision card on this one. How could I present baptism and then not give people the opportunity to respond in some way? The church wanted me to use a decision box on the registration table. At the end of the sermon, the decision cards would be distributed and I would review it with them. Then people would turn in their decision cards by placed them in a beautiful box on the registration table. I was a little unsure about this because i wondered if people would turn them in. But they did. In fact, they turned in quite a few. I am still waiting to hear the results.
Then Sabbath and Sunday the Duna conference held their annual lay training conference where lay people throughout the conference (which is the western part of Hungary) come together for training and fellowship. They rented a school gymnasium for the morning worship and it was filled to the brim. Then the afternoon training was done in the Veszprem church. The church also was filled to overflowing in both the sanctuary and the balcony. Awesome! I presented 4-5 sessions on how lay people to preach a short and simple sermon. We covered how to use study tools, how to make notes, how to write a short sermon, and how to present it. I was amazed how closely they paid attention, most of them anyway. I spoke for about 5 hours on Sabbath.
Then after sundown the pastor and I joined the youth for sport and recreation. They had rented a local gym. So they played basketball to accomodate me, even though they don’t normally play it. Then the played their favorite sport which is soccer. So I played soccer since they played basketball. Now personally, I really don’t like soccer.
It doesn’t float my boat, if you know what I mean. I don’t like sports where I can’t use my hands (I should have played goalie). I felt a little out of place because I don’t know the strategies behind soccer (the different kinds of defense, the positions, etc). But we just played for fun– and believe it or not, I actually scored two goals.
Then the lay training continued Sunday morning. The devotional began at 8am and my part began around 8:30am. I thought there would be less people there that early on Sunday morning. Wow, was I wrong! The church was packed when I arrived, even in the balcony. It was so encouraging to see people so interested in receiving training.
Believe me, ask any speaker, it fills us with more energy when we know the people are passionate and serious about being trained. I wish I could experience that every Sabbath in the USA.
LESSON– The key to successful evangelism and church growth is lay involvement. It is imperative that lay people be given ministries they can conduct. Pastors cannot finish the work themselves. If we are going to have an Adventist presence in cities, towns, and villages all over the world (or communities all over St Louis), then there are going to have to be small groups, church plants, or seminars conducting by lay people. There are not enough pastors to do it all.
Lay ministry is why the early New Testament church grew and why the early Adventist church grew in the 1800s. And it is how the church in the last days will grow as well. Do I hear an Amen?
P.S.– If you would like to view other video clips about our work in Hungary, I find a website that is easier to navigate. Go to………
http://www.videosvallenatos.com.co/David+Klinedinst/
