411. When To Bring a VIP to GPS

Many people attend church without fully understanding how to become Christians, and many believers don’t know whether they are Christians or not. To solve this issue, we offer Gospel Presentation Sessions (GPS) at our church. Since the launch of The Seed in 2016, 33 sessions of GPS have been held, and all 42 who attended received Jesus. It is one of my greatest joys and privileges as a pastor to watch people hear the Gospel and receive Christ in front of my eyes.

The more I lead the session, the more I realize that there is power in the Gospel. (Rom 1:16) So when presented clearly, almost all receive Christ upon hearing it. But I have also realized something odd. Those not part of a house church or have never experienced house church almost all stopped coming to the church after receiving Christ at GPS. Though I have a few possible theories, this is still a mystery. But what is certain is that without belonging, belief is difficult to sustain.

The nature of faith is communal, so it is naturally confirmed, fostered and strengthened through community. We already know this from our experience. We grew up naturally believing the same things that people around us believed. Our belief was birthed and sustained in the place where we belonged. So, even after “individually” deciding to receive Christ, we need our faith to be confirmed and assured “communally” for it to survive, let alone thrive.

There are some occasions when vips come to GPS prematurely, when they are not even part of a house church. When that happens, I get a bit concerned. As their eternal destiny hangs in the balance, I do my best to help them receive Christ. But even if the person receives Christ, I cannot shake off the feeling that I gave birth to a spiritual orphan. They become children of God, but they don’t have a spiritual family to celebrate and cheer their decision and a shepherd to help them nurture their newfound faith in Christ. On the other hand, those who are part of a house church are often celebrated by their shepherd and members of their house church after receiving Christ.

So, unless someone is in a special circumstance, such as returning to their hometown, where it is unlikely they will find a church, ask VIPs to attend GPS when they have at least attended house church meetings a few times or have a house church they belong to.

Also, if your vip or house church vip is attending GPS, try your best to wait outside the meeting (it takes more than an hour, so you can time it to arrive after an hour). This way, you can celebrate their decision to receive Christ when the session ends. It might be a regular occurrence for many of us, but it is their once-in-a-lifetime decision that alters their eternal destiny and deserves to be celebrated immediately.