An Economically Cost Effective Method of Evangelism
A mainline Pentecostal denomination revealed statistics on how much it cost on average to win a soul for Christ in their mission program—$15.00. That number is incredible really. Yet, when I held one of my first Massive Miracle Campaigns, I was curious how much it cost me dollar-wise to win a soul. In that specific outreach I had spent almost $20,000.00. That sounds like a lot of money, but consider the return—27,000 decision cards were given out. That is an average of 74 cents per soul. As I have said many times—that is a bargain!
Admittedly, some of these decisions may have been re-dedications to God, and some of them may have been merely requests for prayer—so these statistics are definitively not 100% accurate. Yet it gives us an idea of how Massive Miracle Campaigns are an economically cost effective method to win the lost to Christ.
I have discussed this with some fellow massive evangelistic outreach evangelists, or read their statistics. It appears that consensus is that it cost about $1 per soul.
The largest donation I ever received was from a guy in Tennessee named Ted. He was not rich. He was just an every day, hard working American—who happened to make some good money that year. He told me that it had been his prayer that God would bless him so big that he could single handedly sponsor one of my Massive Miracle Campaigns.
At the time I was working on an outreach in Nigeria with a budget of $40,000.00. “That’s exactly what I put aside for you Brother Joel!” he exclaimed. The Nigeria outreach never did materialize, but we held two outreaches for the price of one in India and Pakistan.
Ted was going to join me on that outreach, but ran into health problems and couldn’t go. He rejoiced to hear the report of thousands upon thousands of souls that were reached to Christ, and I sent him video footage—even a part where I asked the crowd to wave at the video camera yelling “Thank you Ted!”
A few months later a letter I had sent him was returned with notice on it something to the effect of “Return to sender. Box closed…” I have no idea what happened to him. I was hoping that I would receive a call or a letter from him, but it has been years now. I just wanted to know if he was okay.
I have sort of accepted the possibility that he may no longer be alive. If that is the case, there are some very important and powerful lessons to learn from this scenario. As for one, none of us know where we may be tomorrow—whether we will be dead or alive. And no matter how much money we may have stored up—we cannot take it with us, “…for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Timothy 6:7.) Ted was able to make a huge investment into souls before (I suppose) he went to be with the Lord. I wonder how many Indians or Pakistanis may have come up to him in heaven already, saying Thank you, for giving to the Lord…
Ted had no idea that he would die a few short months after—yet he had made an eternal investment into souls. He could have done nothing better with his money.
Every dollar sown into souls is an investment into eternity. And each investment into God’s Kingdom will always yield a return. The reader may, as I have, invested financially into real estate and other ventures and at times enjoyed a profit and at other times suffered loss. However, when we invest into God’s Kingdom—we win each time—no matter what the earthly result. God sees the seed we sow, and once it is sown unto Him there will always be a harvest—in this world or the next. Jesus’ words still ring with power and urgency:
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and were thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-20.)
Massive Miracle Campaigns:
The Logistics
Anyone can easily draw 100 or 200 people to any event in developing countries. Just go to a population intensive area and play some music on a small sound system. As a curious crowd gathers, open the Bible and start preaching, make an altar call for salvation and make sure you pray for the sick and afflicted afterward. This is a great way to spread the Gospel on a low budget, and we have done so many times. But to put together a mass crusade is much different. I will outline the steps very briefly, because it would take a 100 page manual to contain the details.
First, I make a contact with someone in the country. This person visits or phones the different leaders in a certain city and feels them out whether they would welcome a massive evangelistic outreach in their city. They typically do. A date that does not conflict with elections, sports events, school exams or weather challenges is chosen. Several committee meetings are arranged. Committees are organizational groups that take care of details such as an advertising committee, music committee, security committee, etc. Permission is secured from the local authorities. A location is selected where the event will be held.
About a month before the event a massive advertising campaign is launched. Thousands upon thousands of hand bills are distributed. Thousands upon thousands of wall posters are pasted in public places. Telephone pole posters are set up throughout the city. Cloth banners are displayed in traffic intense areas.
Several eye catching bill boards are set up in those areas too. Advertising artwork is done on plywood, and then attached to jeeps. These jeeps are equipped with PA systems, and for a few days they drive through town announcing the crusade. A powerful sound system is rented because what’s the point in drawing a big crowd if they can’t hear the message?
Many lights are set up in the field. Five powerful generators supply electricity, because many times we cannot trust the city’s electrical facilities. A large platform is hammered together and many giant carpets are laid on the ground for people to sit on.
The event is announced on radio, television and in the newspapers. Sometimes trucks are rented to bring villagers to the event.
The night before the event, a special meeting is held with many pastors, leaders and dignitaries from the city. The evangelist encourages them and thanks everyone for all their hard work. We enjoy a meal together.
The first evening of the outreach draws a good crowd. I preach the Gospel and make very sure that the Gospel is presented in its simplest form and that I preach it with power and great conviction. They indicate their decision to accept Christ by raising their hand. I lead them into a prayer of salvation, in which they repeat the words after me—accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I make sure they understand that Jesus would now become their only God—not just another demi-god alongside many others. Later they are given a decision card which they fill in so that they may be followed up by local ministries. It is the responsibility of the local churches and ministries to invite them to their churches, have them baptized and discipled.
I also make sure I pray for the sick and trust God to do some notable miracles in the first night of the crusade. At least three or five special miracles will show them that they have to do with something real here. The word spreads, and the crowd is twice as large on the second night.
Momentum continues to build and on the final night we typically have our largest attendance. Thousands upon thousands of souls come to hear the Word, receive salvation and to be healed of their diseases.
On one of the final nights I like to also emphasize the baptism in the Holy Spirit. During the day time we also hold a pastors and leaders conference—edifying the local ministries.
Massive Miracle Campaigns:
A Sample Set of Expenses
Of course expenses vary from country to country and city to city, but this expense report may serve as a very good rule of thumb. I am not including the cost of the items on this blog.
CRUSADE PREPARATION:
(1) Committee planning sessions
(2) Invitations, badges, etc:
(3) Permission and permits:
CRUSADE ADVERTISING:
(4) 20,000 wall posters
(5) 175,000 hand bills:
(6) Newspaper ads:
(7) Television ads:
(8) Bill boards:
(9) Art work and material on jeeps
(10) 300 Back boards on light poles
(11) Cloth banners:
CRUSADE EXPENSES:
(12) Stadium rent:
(13) Platform:
(14) 220 lights of 1,000 watts each
(15) Sound System
(16) 2,000 chairs
(17) 120 carpets for attendees to sit on
(18) Rent 5 generators for 4 days and 1,000 liters of diesel
(19) Rent 4 vehicles for 20 days:
MAN POWER EXPENSES
(20) Orchestra and Choir honorarium and meals
(21) Transportation:
(22) Meals for volunteers for 20 days
(23) Translator’s honorarium, meals and lodging:
(24) Bible school volunteers:
(25) Petrol for crusade director:
(26) Crusade director food and lodging:
(27) Joel air ticket, hotel and meals
OTHER:
(28) Miscellaneous (Follow up decision cards, etc.)
(29) Pastors and leaders conference
(30) Bless an orphanage
Each city and country has its own unique expenses. We have also learnt that at times we spent too much on one expense and too little on another. It is a constant learning curve.
It is also very important to make sure that the contact we work with in another country is legitimate. There are those who have almost developed a little business out of unsuspecting evangelists. They would promise them the world, and then put together an outreach that may have cost only 20% of the budget. Who knows where the rest of the money went… In my case I have always tried to make very sure that who I work with was legit and I have also diligently inquired about the itemized expenses. Most of the time it is not possible to obtain receipts as we would here in America, but it is still possible to get a general idea.
Massive Miracle Campaigns:
Financial Support
When we hold a massive evangelistic outreach, we cannot treat it like a conference in a Christian environment. Many, if not the majority of those who come to a massive evangelistic outreach may be unbelievers, and some may have been lectured by the enemies of the Gospel that the Christians are after their money.
That is why not much emphasis can be placed upon the joys of giving during these outreaches, so that the Gospel may not be hindered. Yet we give those who come to an outreach an opportunity to contribute financially. Even though thousands of people would attend an outreach, very little money actually comes in. We have to sponsor the outreach with the help of our friends and partners at home.
Not only do we not place much emphasis on the offering during an outreach, but the offering is also much smaller because most people in third world countries simply make much less money than those in developed countries.
80% the world’s people live on less than $10 a day, and half of the world lives on $2.50 a day. (http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats)
It is among this demographic that we hold our Massive Miracle Campaigns. World Bank statistics show that “…an American having the average income of the bottom US decile is better off than 2/3 of world population…The top 10 per cent of the US population has an aggregate income equal to income of the poorest 43 percent of people in the world, or differently put, total income of the richest 25 million Americans is equal to total income of almost 2 billion people…” (The Economic Journal, page 50, Branko Milanovic, 2002.)
Interestingly, globally the top 10 % of adults own 85 per cent of global household wealth. The top 5% owns 71%. The top 2% owns 51%. And the top 1% economic elite owns 40% of the world’s wealth. The bottom 50% owns only 1% of the world’s wealth. To be considered in the top 50%, you need to make only $2,161 a year. To be a member of the top 10%, you make $61,000 a year, and to be a member of the top 1%, $500,000 (The World Distribution of Household Wealth, page 25-27, James Davies, Professor of Economics at the University of Western Ontario.)
Some uninformed people may make the statement that we hold these outreaches because we are after their money. Someone who makes a statement like that about an evangelist who holds Massive Miracle Campaigns in poor countries has no idea what he is talking about. Not only are such events financial losses, but the evangelist typically makes great sacrifices himself.
These Massive Miracle Campaigns are typically held among the poorest of the poor and the evangelist goes there with the knowledge that the event will be a financial loss. For example, in one outreach my expenses were about $20,000.00, and although many thousands of people attended the meetings the donations received there amounted to a total of about $660.
Had it not been for our friends and partners in ministry who make great financial sacrifices, many of these events would simply not be conducted.
The motivation and driving force for a massive evangelistic event is the winning of souls, period. To use another larger ministry campaign that I had attended as an example—their expenses were about $800,000.00, and although literally millions of people came to the event, the total of the donations amounted to about $30,000.00.
This makes no business sense to hold such an event. What a financial loss, but the millions of souls won for Christ was well worth it.
Joel Hitchcock Ministries is a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization and can be supported by visiting:
http://www.joelhitchcock.blogspot.com/p/support.html
"Miracles for the Multitudes" is a combination of two focal points of Joel Hitchcock's Ministry, namely:
(a) Miracles, Signs and Wonders and (b) Massive Miracle Campaigns
This Blog is based on Dr. Joel Hitchcock's book "Miracles for the Multitudes".
To order Joel's eBook, go to http://www.joelhitchcock.com/p/product-store_4.html
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Permission to duplicate is hereby granted as long as the complete quote does not exceed more than 1,000 words and that due credit is given to the source.
For the website of the church led by Pastor Joel and Heidi Hitchcock in
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