I had a professor and pastor from India visit Burma last year for a week. He is an Indian-American who actually resides in the U.S. I was glad that he could visit our country. As it was his first time in Burma, I arranged all the programs for where he would preach or visit.
The first place I took him was to some families who were homeless and were our believers. Since he is a foreigner, some neighbors came to see him. He is taller than us, so he couldn’t stand in the small house, and he preached while sitting. There were around 20 people, and after his preaching, he did an altar call. I took him again to another church where both unbelievers and believers were present. He did another altar call after preaching. I also took him to a friend of a missionary, to a home-based church, and invited Buddhist and Muslim believers to listen. He did an altar call there too. On Sunday morning before he left Burma, he preached at our church and did an altar call after preaching.
After he returned, one of my professors, a pastor and Apologetics professor from India, who resides in India, asked me, “Did the pastor visit you?” I told him yes, and we had a conversation about how we do things here, eventually coming to the point of altar calls. The pastor said, “I believe altar calls are good, but our preachers here often forget to do that. A preacher from abroad, especially an American or European, usually does it, but we have to understand the context. There is a difference between their preaching and our preaching! They preach based on the Bible, but we preach based on the Bible while knowing our context and using our illustrations. For example, we know our youth and their problems, and we know about how Myanmar/Northeast India people live, including their food and clothing etc..”
Back in 2010, when I was in Bible school and before I knew how to speak English, foreigners from America came to our school, taught us English, and preached to us in the chapel. Every time after preaching, they did an altar call.
Recently, I asked an old classmate from Bible school, who married a Filipino lady and now resides in the Philippines, whether altar calls are practiced there. He said, “We only do them during special events such as conferences, Bible camps, Bible study classes, or special occasions. The pastor here doesn’t do after every preaching.” I was once in India, and I didn’t see Indian preachers do altar calls.
The story is, when the pastor visited us, he did an altar call after every preaching. After his preaching on Sunday, our members from his first visit, the homeless believers, attended our service. Some had already responded to the altar call during his first preaching (They promised him that after his preaching they understood the Saving of Christ or accept Christ). Our church is a small congregation, and we usually conduct a salvation camp at least once or twice a year, where all members must attend the salvation teaching class, which takes 3-5 days. We know our members well, and all have confirmed that they have received Christ. But when the preacher asked for an altar call, it was a silent moment for a few minutes. When there was no response, the congregation thought the preacher might feel bad or think his preaching was not effective. Or the preacher might be upset with us since it was his first time visiting. Then, one person raised his hand, another saw this and followed, and eventually, 4-5 people raised their hands. The preacher was so glad and prayed for those who stood up.
An altar call is an invitation for those who wish to make a new spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ and to come forward publicly. It is about receiving Christ as a personal Savior and Lord. Salvation is once and for all; there is no need to accept Christ over and over again.
We, Myanmar, especially Asian people, are mostly timid or too shy and afraid to come forward publicly. I experienced this before I knew a single English word in Bible school. A preacher asked us to come forward for an altar call, but we were afraid, even though we had all received Christ as Lord. There were 73 students in all the classes. The preacher expected someone to respond and waited a long time. It seemed the preaching wouldn’t end unless someone responded, and the preacher might feel bad. Our president, sitting in the back, scolded us in the local language, telling us to raise our hands and go forward. We were afraid of the president, so some of us raised our hands.
The same thing happened in our church when the pastor visited us. A certain one or two persons raised his hand twice just to impress the preacher. This had happened to us in Bible school as well. This seems to be common in many places, especially churches in Asia, as far as I know and asked them.
Therefore, I would like to discuss with you all: Is an altar call mandatory after every preaching? Do you practice it every Sunday or after every service in your church? What would be the best approach or solution for this? It feels like a white lie to the preacher, just to impress. I would say it is a sin to God too, accepting Him repeatedly. What would we do if we were in that position, or let the preacher get upset himself
?
Let us have a positive thought and please share your idea!
Thank you and God bless everyone!
The first place I took him was to some families who were homeless and were our believers. Since he is a foreigner, some neighbors came to see him. He is taller than us, so he couldn’t stand in the small house, and he preached while sitting. There were around 20 people, and after his preaching, he did an altar call. I took him again to another church where both unbelievers and believers were present. He did another altar call after preaching. I also took him to a friend of a missionary, to a home-based church, and invited Buddhist and Muslim believers to listen. He did an altar call there too. On Sunday morning before he left Burma, he preached at our church and did an altar call after preaching.
After he returned, one of my professors, a pastor and Apologetics professor from India, who resides in India, asked me, “Did the pastor visit you?” I told him yes, and we had a conversation about how we do things here, eventually coming to the point of altar calls. The pastor said, “I believe altar calls are good, but our preachers here often forget to do that. A preacher from abroad, especially an American or European, usually does it, but we have to understand the context. There is a difference between their preaching and our preaching! They preach based on the Bible, but we preach based on the Bible while knowing our context and using our illustrations. For example, we know our youth and their problems, and we know about how Myanmar/Northeast India people live, including their food and clothing etc..”
Back in 2010, when I was in Bible school and before I knew how to speak English, foreigners from America came to our school, taught us English, and preached to us in the chapel. Every time after preaching, they did an altar call.
Recently, I asked an old classmate from Bible school, who married a Filipino lady and now resides in the Philippines, whether altar calls are practiced there. He said, “We only do them during special events such as conferences, Bible camps, Bible study classes, or special occasions. The pastor here doesn’t do after every preaching.” I was once in India, and I didn’t see Indian preachers do altar calls.
The story is, when the pastor visited us, he did an altar call after every preaching. After his preaching on Sunday, our members from his first visit, the homeless believers, attended our service. Some had already responded to the altar call during his first preaching (They promised him that after his preaching they understood the Saving of Christ or accept Christ). Our church is a small congregation, and we usually conduct a salvation camp at least once or twice a year, where all members must attend the salvation teaching class, which takes 3-5 days. We know our members well, and all have confirmed that they have received Christ. But when the preacher asked for an altar call, it was a silent moment for a few minutes. When there was no response, the congregation thought the preacher might feel bad or think his preaching was not effective. Or the preacher might be upset with us since it was his first time visiting. Then, one person raised his hand, another saw this and followed, and eventually, 4-5 people raised their hands. The preacher was so glad and prayed for those who stood up.
An altar call is an invitation for those who wish to make a new spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ and to come forward publicly. It is about receiving Christ as a personal Savior and Lord. Salvation is once and for all; there is no need to accept Christ over and over again.
We, Myanmar, especially Asian people, are mostly timid or too shy and afraid to come forward publicly. I experienced this before I knew a single English word in Bible school. A preacher asked us to come forward for an altar call, but we were afraid, even though we had all received Christ as Lord. There were 73 students in all the classes. The preacher expected someone to respond and waited a long time. It seemed the preaching wouldn’t end unless someone responded, and the preacher might feel bad. Our president, sitting in the back, scolded us in the local language, telling us to raise our hands and go forward. We were afraid of the president, so some of us raised our hands.
The same thing happened in our church when the pastor visited us. A certain one or two persons raised his hand twice just to impress the preacher. This had happened to us in Bible school as well. This seems to be common in many places, especially churches in Asia, as far as I know and asked them.
Therefore, I would like to discuss with you all: Is an altar call mandatory after every preaching? Do you practice it every Sunday or after every service in your church? What would be the best approach or solution for this? It feels like a white lie to the preacher, just to impress. I would say it is a sin to God too, accepting Him repeatedly. What would we do if we were in that position, or let the preacher get upset himself
?Let us have a positive thought and please share your idea!
Thank you and God bless everyone!
