Great Soul-Winning Churches - Elmer Towns

Pastor Ware feels the church has grown because he is willing to learn from anyone who is
getting the job done for God. He read where the First Baptist Church, West Hollywood, Florida,
had a greeter to open the car door of every visitor who drove into the parking lot. He asked Mr.
Gaskin, Robert Paul, Pop Shofner, Bob Buckles, and Hal Marston, a retired air force colonel, to
act as greeters. The first week it paid off, a visitor was so impressed with the friendliness that he
and his wife moved their letters to the Tabernacle.
Pastor Ware was concerned about building strong men in his church. Last winter he
wrote on a sheet of paper the names of 12 men who (1) were some of his best attenders, (2) were
mostly inactive and (3) had some obvious sin in their lives, such as smoking, unconcern for the
Bible, etc. He called these men aside and said, “I challenge each of you to become a super-
Christian.” He indicated he was going to sacrifice his time for the next 30 days if they would. He
asked the men to meet him each night from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. in his office for prayer and study,
and three men accepted the challenge. Ware used no outline; they just studied the Bible,
memorized verses and spent time in prayer. The men had to quote the assigned verse, letter-
perfect. Each night he gave them a practical assignment, such as sharing a testimony with
someone, reading a chapter in a book, or applying biblical truth to their lives. All three had to
pray aloud every night, even if they only said, “Lord, I don’t have anything to say.” Ware took
them soul winning, and today these three men are soul winners and leaders in the church. They
have also encouraged and instructed other men of the church to do the same.
Tabernacle also publishes the Tabernacle Times, a tabloid-size newspaper sent to every
person who fills out a visitor’s card in the church. Over 5,000 people in the greater Orlando area
get the newspaper communicating to hem what God is doing at Tabernacle Baptist Church.
Pastor Ware also makes use of the city newspaper to advertise Tabernacle Baptist
Church. When he began carrying a Saturday advertisement in the newspaper, there were few
other churches in the city that advertised. In the past five years Ware has gotten more news
articles on his church into the newspaper than any other church in the city because of the activity
in and around the church. He led the successful anti-sex education rally against the public school
system and got the program put out of public education in Orlando. Later he ran the anti-abortion
campaign aimed at the State Legislature and also campaigned for capital punishment.
Whenever he has a story, he calls the TV station- and newspapers; the reporters know he
means business and give him prime space. During his anti-pornography campaign, Pastor Ware
and members of his church picketed adult bookstores. He called the TV station and they gave
him prime coverage on the 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. news.
Bob Ware accepted Christ on the USS Forestal, March, 1958. Ware had been a boxer in
the Navy and at the age of 20 picked up a Gideon New Testament on shipboard and read it
through. For the first time in his life he realized the Great Commission was for him, and he
accepted Christ. Ware had just re-enlisted for six years, yet he felt God was calling him to
preach. He couldn’t get out of the Navy and had six years staring him in the face. He testified, “I
preached everywhere the ship pulled into port. I found all the missionaries I could and preached
in their chapels and on the street corners.” Since he couldn’t get out of the Navy, Ware
determined, “I’m going to learn more about the Bible than any other man alive.” He went
completely through the Bible with a Moody Bible Correspondence course.