Quit thinking that Bible prophecy meetings are about teaching prophecy. They’re not. Prophecy meetings are for connecting with people.

One misconception that a lot of members have is that an evangelistic series focused on Bible prophecy is simply for teaching prophecy. And while that does happen, that’s not the primary purpose. The primary purpose is to connect with people in your community.

Stop and think about church for a second. Yes, church is about connection with God and it has this vertical theological component to it. But church is fundamentally a social experience with these horizontal connections with other believers. It’s about belonging to community. Jesus said, where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am with them. He didn’t say anywhere you are, I’m there with you. That may be true, but in that verse he said where two or three are gathered.

It’s fundamentally about the interconnectedness between believers. People have an innate desire to belong. God created us to bond with other humans, to journey through life together. Your church is a place to belong. And again, yes, there is this theological component. This isn’t a social club or a service group. This isn’t rotary.

As we bond with each other, we’re growing in faith. We’re seeking to be more like Jesus. But church still has this fundamental social component. You can’t have church by yourself. You may see where I’m going with this, but let me say it anyway. The purpose of prophecy meetings are not to teach Bible prophecy. We’re simply using prophecy as a topic that a lot of people are interested in to draw them into an in-person experience in your community of faith, where they can meet and interact with other believers at your church.

So the important part of a prophecy series is not the preacher talking about prophecy. The most important times are those minutes before and after the seminar when your guests are connecting with the church members. Those are the conversations that really matter. Yes, you need to talk about Bible prophecy in a prophecy seminar. And because all of prophecy is focused on Jesus, you should be talking about the Savior who can free you from the bondage of addiction, free you from pain, free you from yourself.

But the most important part of a prophecy series happens outside the meeting when individual members are having conversations with your guests. Get to know them. Learn about their family, their jobs, their hobbies. Don’t just appear interested in them, be interested in them. And then over time, you’ll learn about their pain. You’ll have an opportunity to share your own testimony of how God changed your life. And when you bond with your guests, you’re creating a place for them to belong. And that’s the purpose of prophecy meetings.

At Sermon View, we continue to see Bible prophecy as one of the most effective topics for drawing people to evangelistic meetings. And yes, pictures of beasts on the advertising still speak to the topic. They still help people understand the topic of the meetings. But fundamentally, the purpose is not to teach Bible prophecy. Yeah, that’s going to happen. But the true purpose is to get to know your guests and create a space for them to bond and belong. It’s about the people, not the prophecy.

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Thank you for being a light in your community. God has raised you up as a leader of your church. And I know anytime there are humans, there’s going to be some pain. Hurt people, hurt people, as the saying goes.

But God is bigger than that, and He wants to use you as an instrument of peace and reconciliation. So thank you for being faithful to your calling. God can’t do the work that He wants to do without you.

I’m cheering for you. We’ll see you next time.