Preaching Articles

When I talk about sharing the gospel every week I typically get resistance from senior pastors across the country. I hear excuses like:

“Well the church is for the Christians and not the unchurched.”

“I don’t want my people to get bored with hearing the gospel every week.”

“We have too many elements in our church services already to add another one.”

But I think that behind these lame excuses lurk the real reasons. Reasons like:

We are intimidated by the thought of having to risk the embarrassment of nobody responding to our gospel messages week after week.

We are worried that the congregation will complain if we give the gospel week after week after week.

Some of us may not feel confident in knowing how to share our faith effectively and giving people an opportunity to respond.

So why should you give the gospel every week? I’m going to give you three compelling reasons, starting with the least. First of all, when you give the gospel every week you inadvertently equip your congregation to evangelize. One of the reasons that more Christians don’t share Jesus is because they don’t know how. When they hear you explain the simple gospel week after week they are trained to share the gospel themselves. 

I’ll never forget Rich Sullivan. He is a UPS truck driver and was a member of Grace Church when I was pastoring. One day he told me how he was sharing the gospel with a friend of his. I asked him where he had learned to give the gospel. His response surprised and encouraged me. He said, “Greg, I’ve been hearing you give the gospel week after week after week in our church services. How could I not know how to give the gospel after attending this church for years?”

The second reason you should give the gospel every week is because you create what I like to call “psychological agreement” with your congregation. When members of your church know that sharing the message of Jesus is a non-negotiable for you, they are much more likely to bring their unchurched friends, co-workers, neighbors and relatives.

On March 12th, 1989 I made a promise in our inaugural church service that every week the gospel would be clearly presented in our weekend church services. I challenged the congregation to bring their unreached friends. They gladly complied. Since we started Grace Church there have been maybe two Sundays where nobody came to Christ.

When you commit to taking a few extra minutes to give the gospel every week you are giving your church members a big reason to invite their friends. Many of your church members may not feel ready to share their faith yet but they all can invite someone out to church.

The final and biggest reason to give the gospel every week is that it honors Jesus. When we give the gospel we are bringing glory to Christ in a very real way. If you think about it the whole of Scripture centers around the person and work of Jesus. The Old Testament points to Him, the gospels unveil Him, the epistles explain Him and the book of Revelation exalts Him. If the whole of Scripture centers around Christ and His cross then shouldn’t it be the “punchline” to every one of our sermons? Every subject we touch on makes more sense in the shadow of the cross. Maybe that’s why Spurgeon, when asked about his preaching style, said,

“I take my text and make a beeline for the cross.”

If you want to see Jesus honored, your congregation equipped and your community reached take a cue from Spurgeon and make a beeline for the cross.

(Image background by Joshua Pomeroy via CreationSwap.com: a site with free church graphics shared by thousands of Christian artists around the world.)

Greg Stier is the founder and president of Dare 2 Share Ministries. His website offers hundreds of resources (many of them free) for evangelism and youth ministry, including a field guide called Dare 2 Share. This practical book will give Christians the tools they need to share their faith with anyone, anywhere and anytime in a compelling and Biblical way.

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Ross Howard

commented on Jun 10, 2011

You hit the nail right on the head Grg, I been wondering why I been doing this for several years. Keep up the good work and God Bless you!

David Hodgin

commented on Jun 10, 2011

Loved the article. I too share the gospel each week. I love to tell of God's love and redemption. My folks, both churched and unchurched, seem to love hearing it as well.

Steven Crombie

commented on Jun 10, 2011

Great article! Great points! I couldn't agree more that it teaches your congregation how to share Christ on their own, and it is all about Christ and Him crucified!

Richard Flowers

commented on Jun 10, 2011

Great article! I couldn't agree more! Thank you!

Sterling Franklin

commented on Jun 10, 2011

Thumbs up!

Fernando Villegas

commented on Jun 10, 2011

The biggest reason is missing--because the Gospel is for EVERYONE in every stage of their spiritual journey. There is an assumption that many have, and that is even present in this article, that the Gospel is for the unchurched or unsaved. But the Gospel is not Christianity 101. If anything, it is actually more important for those who are ALREADY disciples of Christ. The Gospel is the story of how God has worked through history to restore creation that has fallen in sin. That story must be rehearsed every week because it provides the context in which we live our lives during the rest of the week. It shows us how to live our lives based on the new creation that we are now a part of as a result of Christ's death and resurrection. The question itself--Why do we have to share the Gospel every week?--reveals that the person asking the question does not really understand what the Gospel is.

Ralph Juthman

commented on Jun 13, 2011

excellent article. But another practical reason is simply there are any number of folk who may have attended church for years and yet still not be born again. As well, when visitors show up, we need to be able to give them the opportunity of accepting Christ.

Anonymous Contributor

commented on Jul 3, 2011

We can't think for a minute that the sermon is about our quality of life, healing our sickness, or fixing whatever wrong with our life. The root of everything we do is the Gospel and to preach it every Sunday and encourage member to share their faith, or even invite someone to church is the most beautiful way to honor our Lord.

Anonymous Contributor

commented on Jul 3, 2011

We can't think for a minute that the sermon is about our quality of life, healing our sickness, or fixing whatever wrong with our life. The root of everything we do is the Gospel and to preach it every Sunday and encourage member to share their faith, or even invite someone to church is the most beautiful way to honor our Lord.

E L Zacharias

commented on Apr 28, 2018

It's not an "Either / Or" situation, right? We are people "in Christ" speaking to people who are all destined to die, whether those who believe in Christ or those who do not. We speak as people who know the Lord and who live IN the Lord. Within our message is the hope that we have in Christ. If we are talking about marriage, the love of God in Christ will be there. If we are talking about giving, the love of God who gives all will be there. If we speak about auto repair or creation v. evolution or planting crops, can we not mention and give thanks to the God who designs all? If we are going over the text for the week, let us certainly acknowledge our salvation in and through Jesus, weaving the message of Christ. Make this an art, not a legal code to live by, as we see Jesus as the Way, the Truth, the Life.

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