There seems to be some question as to whether decisions made by people at church services are real. On Easter we had 60 people indicate that they had prayed to receive Christ. There is a particular group out there that wants to question the authenticity of these types of movements of God. The web site is called Old Truth and the writer has a negative view of in service spiritual conversions.
Michael does a great job outlining where he stands on this issue so I won’t take the time to repeat it all. I would encourage you to read his response to what has been posted at the Old Truth site. Historically the oldest truth in Christianity is that people doubted the work and identity of Jesus Christ. So I guess this web site is named correctly. If I am going to err let it be on the side of people who step out on faith seeking real life change. It is this kind of high altitude criticism that has pushed people away from church. I choose people over religion!
Read any of Billy Graham’s books on his life and they are full of convert counts during the crusades. Do these not count as well? Was he wrong for mentioning them? I doubt he would be the target of these groups…even though it is exactly the same thing. The methods may change over time….The one constant is that the move of God can cause people to sell out and follow him. In a stadium or school auditorium the work of the Holy Spirit should always be celebrated. I will never be holy enough to question the power of Jesus….So for me 60 is an awesome number!
