Great Soul-Winning Churches - Elmer Towns

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high IQ and is exceptionally brilliant, has one of the best organized churches in America, and has successfully used media such as radio, although he has not gone on television. Hyles’ books have been extremely influential because they are not theoretical, profound or slanted to the intelligentsia. They are practical, simply telling the world “how he did it.” Yet the pastors who have used his books and been influenced thereby testify that there is profundity in simplicity. Pastor Dick Seaton walked into a Christian bookstore and picked up a copy of Let’s Go Soul Winning. The words set his heart on fire, for he read for the first time what he had always thought the book of Acts taught. Seaton visited the First Baptist Church, and went soul winning with Hyles. Later he founded the Midway Baptist Church, Phoenix, Arizona, and had over 1400 in Sunday School on his first anniversary. There are thousands of other ministers in America who will follow what Hyles writes, simply because the contents are practical. Dr. Hyles has published 18 books, two of which have passed the 200,000 sales mark. He considers his book, The Hyles Church Manual, his best contribution thus far. Dr. Hyles has more invitations to speak at ministers’ conferences than he can accept. Last year he preached in nearly every state of the Union, at 12 different denominational conventions and, according to his account, preached to 22,000 preachers and flew 150,000 miles. However, he is always in his pulpit on Sundays and dedicates time each week to go soul winning in Hammond. There are 90 pictures of ministers on the wall of his study, proving his influence. These 90 are men that he has led to the Lord who are now in full-time pastorates. To understand the great influence of Jack Hyles, one must examine his background and how God developed him into a leader. He was born and reared in poverty in Dallas, Texas; his father was an alcoholic. Today, his mother is a member of First Baptist Church, where he receives an annual salary of $8,450 plus house allowance; and even though the deacons have tried, he will not accept a raise in pay. Hyles began preaching at age 19 at the Marris Chapel Baptist Church, Bogata, Texas, with 19 members, for $7.50 a week. He was working in men’s clothing at J. C. Penney when a young lady walked out of ladies’ hosiery and told Hyles that their church ,was without a pastor. The church had had two candidates but needed a supply for the coming Sunday. He preached at this small Baptist Church a few miles outside of Marshall, Texas, and the following week when the vote was taken, the first candidate got 19, the second 8, and Hyles got 28 write-in votes. One lady and the teenagers voted for Hyles. The deacons were furious, and three of them phoned Hyles and demanded that he come to the church. . .now. It was 12:00 midnight when the three deacons sat him on the front pew and stood over him and charged, “Young man, you’re not old enough to pastor this church.” One man vowed, “I own the largest store in this community and most of the members rent from me.” The treasurer threatened, “I won’t write a check for your salary.” The deacons concluded, “You will not walk into this pulpit next Sunday morning.” Hyles drove around that night and finally stopped to pray in an East Texas pine thicket, kneeling on the sand hills. He determined five things that ultimately would help him build the largest church in America. (1) No man would ever tell him what to preach. (2) Money will never be the object of my ministry. (3) I will always be a friend to my friends. (4) I will be loyal to
iblical principles, not to institutions. (5) I will make decisions for the ministry based on what I think is right and never go against my conscience. Hyles preached that Sunday and did not get a pay check for eight weeks but his fear of God has made him fearless in leadership of men. As one deacon testified, “I know my pastor will do the will of God; therefore, I would never oppose him on anything.” The people of the First Baptist Church are among those most loyal to their pastor anywhere in the United States. The pastors’ school began ten years ago when a minister came from California and asked to visit First Baptist Church for a week. That pastor spent one hour with each of the church workers and went home and doubled his Sunday School within two months. A neighboring pastor came from California and followed the same sequence and went home to double his Sunday School. Soon Hyles found that he couldn’t spend time with each visiting pastor because he was hurting his own growth in Hammond. Nine years ago they opened a pastors’ school and expected fewer than 50 pastors-but 169 came that first year from 29 states and Canada. He didn’t expect to repeat the conference the second year, testifying that, “I thought I had them out of my hair.” But the movement snowballed and this past year nearly 1,400 pastors and other workers came to Hammond, and during the past nine years every state in the Union has been represented and 19 foreign countries. This year Christian Life Magazine recognized Forrest Hills Baptist Church, Decatur, Georgia, as the fastest growing in the United States, another church influenced by Dr. Jack Hyles. A few years ago, Curtis Hutson, the part-time pastor and postman, saw for the first time The Sword of the Lord and that Dr. Jack Hyles had baptized over 700 people in a year. Hutson thought the figure was a mistake-no one baptized that many-but went to hear Hyles’ famous speech on “How to Win Souls.” During the sermon Hutson realized (1) he didn’t have a New Testament church, although he preached to a small group each week, and (2) it was possible for him to lead people to Jesus Christ. Two days later Hutson led three people to the Lord and there has not been a single week since that time that he has not won at least a person to Christ. Last year Hutson’s church increased from 1,263 to 2,109 and according to Hutson, “I have been more influenced by Dr. Hyles than by any other living pastor.” CONCLUSION Hyles was asked what is his greatest ambition in life. He testified, “I don’t have many numerical goals, even though we would like to average 7,000 in Sunday School this fall.” Then he concluded, “The soul-winning fundamental churches are the only hope of America. I want to build a New Testament church that can be reproduced all over America, to help save our nation.” He is doing just that.
Page 1 and 2: Table of Contents Foreword Great So
Page 3 and 4: Churches, I tried to include deeper
Page 5 and 6: Sunday School was held in a room ou
Page 7 and 8: Monroe confessed that he floundered
Page 9: In addition to being large, the Sun
Page 13 and 14: hurt his ministry. But he did. Huts
Page 15 and 16: the furniture. There are four other
Page 17 and 18: The church was averaging 250-300 in
Page 19 and 20: Beach. Gray chuckled. “Our people
Page 21 and 22: planted grove of palmetto that says
Page 23 and 24: Pastor Ware feels the church has gr
Page 25 and 26: company in town tried to rent three
Page 27 and 28: Worth, where Pastor Fleming studied
Page 29 and 30: 12 buses, paying between $1295 and
Page 31 and 32: For a number of years, Cummons held
Page 33 and 34: churches and have used the Twelve D
Page 35 and 36: working of the Holy Spirit. Wallace
Page 37 and 38: The children are divided into Sunda
Page 39 and 40: Baptist Bible Church, Elkton, Maryl
Page 41 and 42: God dealt with him about his sin. H
Page 43 and 44: Last summer the camp registered 808
Page 45 and 46: ank. Evangelist Talbert Moore let t
Page 47 and 48: school was packed out, they moved t
Page 49 and 50: Gary Coleman grew up in Dallas, Tex
Page 51 and 52: automobile mechanic went forward du
Page 53 and 54: Sunday school superintendent, the s
Page 55 and 56: Soul Winning at Emmanuel Pastor Han
Page 57 and 58: School and church organization. He
Page 59 and 60: After his conversion, when people h
Page 61 and 62:
complete preparation for the second
Page 63 and 64:
in the newspaper the number of visi
Page 65 and 66:
Emmanuel Baptist Church is ministry
Page 67 and 68:
forward, but after the impromptu me
Page 69 and 70:
won to the Lord a number of hippies
Page 71 and 72:
His persistence that has led to the
Page 73 and 74:
Pennell had been praying about reac
Page 75 and 76:
Another factor that changed Pennell
Page 77 and 78:
When Powell wanted to build the chu
Page 79 and 80:
“Yes, sir.” “You’ve been a
Page 81 and 82:
First Ray met individually with the
Page 83 and 84:
On Safari Sunday an elephant was br
Page 85 and 86:
II. THE CONVERSION OF BOB KELLEY Bo
Page 87 and 88:
When Kelley first came, he took the
Page 89 and 90:
Great churches are built by great m
Page 91 and 92:
that men are lost—yet the call to
Page 93 and 94:
people going into the Lord’s serv
Page 95 and 96:
The words of George Mueller are app
Page 97 and 98:
delivered me from all my fears” (
Page 99 and 100:
average husband. However, he should
Page 101 and 102:
done. They are leery of accepting a
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