The most effective way to preach the gospel is to open our homes for the gospel. Therefore, I am burdened to “push” the elders and co-workers to urge the saints to open their homes. Many saints have not yet opened their homes. We need to speak until everyone is restless and rises up to preach the gospel. In the past I was not willing to push people, but my concept has changed. I will push the elders and co-workers to ask all the saints to open their homes. Because we were too “spiritual,” the elders and co-workers merely asked the saints to pray and seek the Lord’s leading concerning opening their homes. As a result very few homes are open. Therefore, we must help the saints to open their homes.
After the saints open their homes, they do not need to hold a big gospel meeting or to invite many people to hear the gospel. The saints can invite eight to ten relatives, neighbors, and friends to hear the gospel. Every night there should be eighty to a hundred homes that are preaching the gospel in the church in Taipei. There can be eight to ten people in every home. It should not be a religious worship service. Our relatives and friends who come should feel comfortable to speak with one another. In such a warm atmosphere it is easy to preach the gospel. All the saints in the church in Taipei and in the Lord’s recovery need to open their homes for the preaching of the gospel.
We should even be willing to miss the regular church meetings in order to preach the gospel in our homes. Suppose we may have a relative who is free only on Thursday. We should be willing to invite them to our home on Thursday, even if we need to miss a meeting of the church. The elders should not expect the saints to be in every meeting. However, when the saints are not preaching the gospel in their home, they should be in the meetings.
In addition to the regular church meetings, we should open our homes to preach the gospel at least one evening a week. There are advantages to opening our homes. On the one hand, our cold hearts will be burning. On the other hand, we can lead our friends or relatives who are not saved to receive the gospel. Moreover, it will benefit our neighbors.
Suppose we open our homes to preach the gospel every week of every month of every year. Every home will be able to lead at least three people to salvation a year. If there are 1,200 to 1,500 homes in Taipei, there will be an increase of 4,000 people in a year. This is a solid and effective way to gain people, because people will be gained gradually. It is not too much for an open home to lead one person to salvation every four months. Every person we gain is a new branch that can easily bear fruit. He can lead people to salvation. Hence, it is easy for us to have a twofold increase in a year. After listening to this word, we should all rise up and take action before God by opening our homes for the gospel. The saints who receive this word and are willing to open their homes can invite people over at least once every three weeks. Every opened home is a gospel station. If every gospel station gains three people yearly, we will have a considerable increase.
The sisters are key in opening the homes. The responsible brothers who want to promote opening the homes need to fellowship with the sisters. The husbands usually work. Many sisters, however, stay at home and are not occupied by so many other things. Therefore, the responsible brothers should encourage the sisters to open their homes. According to the New Testament, sisters tend to love the Lord more than brothers do. The Lord Jesus was anointed twice by sisters (Matt. 26:6-13; Luke 7:36-39). The brothers were in their mind, and asked, “Why this waste?” (Matt. 26:8). They also calculated that the ointment “could have been sold for much and given to the poor” (v. 9). Brothers tend to be in their mind whenever they speak about the Lord. Sisters are not so much in their mind; they are more emotional. When they love the Lord, they are willing to spend for the Lord.
Therefore, to promote preaching the gospel in the homes, we must begin with the sisters. If the sisters do not respond, we will not succeed. The sisters must rise up and respond to this move. The refreshments we prepare make it easy for people to open their hearts so that the gospel can enter into them. The refreshments are prepared by the sisters. Hence, we must rely on the sisters if we want to preach the gospel in the homes. The sisters should not be frugal when they serve those who come to hear the gospel. When we serve those who come to listen to the gospel, we are serving the Lord Jesus. It is good to spend our money for people to be gained.
We need to take this way to open our homes willingly. We do not need to rely on the help of certain brothers when we invite gospel friends to our homes. We must preach the gospel ourselves. We may not know how to preach the first time, and we may still lack experience the second time, but as we continue to practice, we will learn. I did not know how to ride a bicycle when I was young. It was not until I was in my thirties that I learned to ride a bicycle, because I was assigned to work for the Lord in Tientsin. When I first got on the bicycle, I fell, but after falling, I got back on the bicycle. Eventually I learned how to ride a bicycle by trying. As long as we fail but continue to practice, we will learn. The leading brothers need to let the saints preach the gospel, especially the saints who do not know how to preach the gospel. Otherwise, only a few saints will be able to bear responsibility in spiritual matters. We need to let everyone preach the gospel. When someone opens his home, he should preach the gospel and nourish the ones who are saved. Then the Lord will have a way to spread.