The Sad Truth About Modern Day ‘Revivals’

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A very large, or a major denomination of the United States which has 11,500 churches throughout the US – in 1991, their first year of what they called “the decade of harvest,” they got 294,000 decisions for Christ. They found that only 14,000 remained in fellowship. That is, they couldn’t account for 279,000 of their decisions for Jesus. And this is normal modern evangelical statistics when it comes to crusades and local churches. -True and False Conversion, Ray Comfort

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While I’m a bit put off by the grammar- certainly Comfort could have phrased it all better- the fact is, what he says is true.  Most people converted at large evangelistic gatherings seldom take any further steps in Christian faith or life.  But that’s simply because evangelism was never intended to be a mass experience, it was intended to be a personal experience.

Real, meaningful, and lasting religious experience comes in the wake of personal friendship and personal engagement.  Lifestyle evangelism, in other words, is the only evangelism worth the name.

9 thoughts on “The Sad Truth About Modern Day ‘Revivals’”

  1. Agree, agree. When we look at the history of Evangelicalism, indeed the relationship of the biblical text, and the believers reading of that text (The Bible), is central. Also, we might add that wonderful “biblical” word – “mystery”! The real Christian life is always mystical, i.e. deeply spiritual, and yes very personal and interior. The so-called new-birth, is a real regeneration “from above” (John 3:3). It begins, lives and continues unto the glory, and that personal glorification! But here in this life, there are many up’s and down’s, and no human perfection. But All is grace!

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  2. Pingback: The Sad Truth About Modern Day ‘Revivals’ | eChurch Christian Blog

  3. Which is precisely not what Ray [dis]Comfort is shoveling. I can’t believe you sullied your blog by quoting him Jim? Next thing you know your banner will have a giant banana on it! 😀

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  4. Frank,

    Jim let’s us both “shovel” it, all the time! There are no perfections in any man or ministry. Take the good and leave the not so good, that’s what we all can only do!

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  5. Jim,

    while I am not fan of Ray Comfort either, I wonder if we have a bigger issue than a methodology of evangelism. The problem in the modern church is not methodology, but fear. Most evangelicals are content with their cuddly Jesus, but rarely engage anyone outside the church with the gospel in any fashion. Until that changes, we should be careful to not throw massive rocks at those who try to do something. According to that report there were 14,000 people who followed Jesus beyond initial conversion…

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    • no rocks here at comfort or anyone else including the evangelists. my stones are reserved for those halfhearted landed in the weeds and among the rocks and eaten by birds ‘believers’ who flock to emotionalized mass events and have an ‘experience’ which equates to nothing more than a fuzzy feeling that dissipates as soon as the event is over.

      percentage-wise, those ‘rallies’ do quite poorly in instilling in the ‘converts’ the necessity of baptism and connection with and rootedness in a local church.

      let’s face it, for the most part traveling full time evangelists are far more interested in the numbers than in the reality.

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  6. Sadly, we should re-classify the word ‘Evangelical’. For there has been an historic Evangelicalism that is lost today. The classic Evangelical Revival of the 18th century, while not perfect, as nothings ever is, was still a work of God, etc. And we can see also renewal movements in the 19th, even 20th century Christianity. Both British and American, and some Reformed in Europe also.

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  7. Jim,

    you missed my point. The problem the church faces is that people are not “gossiping the Kingdom news.” They sit in the pew and wait for their pastor to do it. While most pastors are not equipped to have salty conversations with people around them either. Do a quick survey on this blog asking people how often have they talked to anybody about Jesus just this year, be it in mass or life-style fashion as you put it.

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