We should promise the Lord that we will bring one person to Him each year. We may even sign and date a piece of paper to this effect. This will help us. If we do this, we can be assured that we will bring one or two persons to the Lord, but if we do not make such a promise, we may not bring one person to the Lord even in two years. I do not like to force anyone, but I am concerned, especially for the young brothers and sisters. The more I pray, minister, and teach as one of the Lord’s servants, the more I have learned not to put my trust in people; we are just not trustworthy. Therefore, as I have been speaking about the outreach, I consider whether or not the young ones will put this into practice. What will be the help if all this training becomes mere talk? Some may say that we should let the Holy Spirit do the work. The Holy Spirit will do His work, but we have to cooperate. When we are cooking, have we ever said, “I have to pray and let the Holy Spirit start the fire”? It is we, not the Holy Spirit, that starts the fire. I look to the Lord that after the young brothers and sisters receive this training, they would put it into practice.
In the past when I held trainings with the young people in the Far East, I told them that if they truly meant business to be trained, they should sign a paper saying that they accept all the regulations and rules of the training. After they signed, I treated them strictly as trainees. I gave them some assignments, and they did them. This truly helped them. In the same principle, we should put all the matters about which we have been speaking into practice. If we do not, they will mean little to us. The young brothers and sisters should do some “homework” on the matter of life. They can go to a concordance or another kind of help to select all the best passages concerning life. Then they should read, meditate, and consider them, try to use them, and check themselves as to whether or not they have the experience they speak about. They should deal with the Lord, learn these things, and try to experience these things. Then they should also keep their word before the Lord. They should say, “Lord, I have the burden, and I have told You that within one year I will bring at least one person to You.” When they pray about this and put it into practice, they will be burdened to care for two or three particular persons. Then to be sure, some persons will be brought in.
We have been influenced too much, even spoiled, by the background of Christianity. We must make a turn and start to preach the gospel in a new way. Then all the new ones who are brought in will go on in the same way that we practice. If we do not do this, we will have the old way of gospel preaching through a minister, preacher, evangelist, or campaign, not through the living members of the Body. The best way for the gospel to be preached is day by day through the living members. Then after a certain time, perhaps one or two months, the church will need to have a baptism, because ten, twenty, or even forty people will be ready. When more new ones are saved, the church will have another baptism. This is the right way.
Whether or not we have this turn depends on us. We must practice this living way of preaching the gospel. I hope that we will bring these matters to the Lord and make a decision before Him to put them into practice. We should not make excuses. We can always gain someone. When D. L. Moody was young, he made the decision to preach the gospel to at least one person each day. Once after he had gone to bed, he realized that he had not preached the gospel that day, so he rose, dressed again, and went out to the street. He could not find anyone, but eventually he saw a policeman and told him, “Sir, you must believe in Jesus.” The policeman was bothered but impressed. The next day he found out about Moody and went to talk with him, and eventually he was saved. There are many “policemen” on the streets. We should go there and catch them.