We know that people didn’t walk the aisles of the churches in the first 300 years of the church because there were no church buildings – so there were no aisles. There is debate over the exact origins of the practice, but most do agree that it came into prominence in the late 1830’s under the leadership and influence of Charles Finney. He popularized this approach through what he called “the mourner’s bench.” Now, prior to him, it was only used here and there—just occasionally.
Others in history that followed: Billy Sunday, D.L. Moody, Billy Graham… contributed to the widespread acceptance of it. And I think that most would say that, when it comes to the contemporary form of the altar call we see today, that Billy Graham would be the one who’s most related to how it’s been used today.
Personally, all my life I’ve given a “come-forward” invitation. I’ve also not given “come-forward invitations” each week. I’ve also given creative and varieties of styles of invitations. I heard Manley Beasley in an old revival meeting one time say, “Now, if you would like to have Christ in your life, you go home tonight and think about it, and if you’re sincerely ready, you come back tomorrow night and we’ll see.”
Traditionally, churches ask people to make the most important decision of their life in front of a bunch of other people they’ve never met. We forget how intimidating that can be. So many of us have said, “Let’s make it easy to come to Christ, and then make it more difficult for them to join the church.” Now, I know what you’re thinking – “If they’re not coming forward, where is their public profession of faith?” My answer to that is to look in the New Testament. Baptism is the public profession of faith in the New Testament. Here’s a thought: I wonder if we’ve made “coming forward” a sacred cow in our churches and have fallen into the belief that it is the only way to proclaim a public commitment to Christ.
Now, I’m not against a “come-forward” invitation at all. There’s nothing wrong with them. I’ve had success with them for years, but I’ve also had success with a card being filled out after they pray in their seat to let us know. I’ve also had success letting weeks go by and building up to a great harvest day with an intentional invitation. So, I don’t think it’s an either-or but a both-and creativity for the greatest effectiveness. Might it be that there are many people who would become a Christ follower sooner if we didn’t urge them walk down in front of a bunch of strangers. Their public profession will come later during baptism.
