“I don’t believe in door knocking.” “Door knocking is not effective.” “Door knocking does not work anymore.” “Door knocking is a waste of time.” Have you ever heard these statements before? I have heard elders and preachers of the Gospel make these statements. I will concede that door knocking does not always produce the greatest numbers. I will also concede that it is one of the more difficult evangelistic methodologies available to the local congregation, but it always works. Brethren, every time we “go” and preach the Gospel, it works! Moreover, there is nothing wrong with honest questions for honest listeners. So then, why do we door knock?
Door knocking is designed to reach the “unchurched.”
We don’t know them! We don’t know where they live, and we don’t know their friends and/or family. They are the “unchurched” and they exist on every continent, reside in every country, and live in every community. Perhaps they have migrated into the area looking for a job, are running from a problem, or looking for a new beginning. They have no religious affiliations and perhaps no religious backgrounds. They are lost souls who are in desperate need of someone who cares to bring them the Good News of the Gospel.
Door knocking is designed to reach the “unreachable.”
“Let’s skip that house as they were not receptive last time.” Seasons change, things change, and most importantly, people change. Paul said, “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds” (Colossians 4:2-3). God may use you to reach a person who is deeply troubled by disease, disaster, and death. It is amazing what time can do to the hardest of hearts. These “doors of utterance” open and shut during different phases of life. They normally only open for short periods of time. You never know what you will find on the other side of a door. I have found sobbing souls, meditating men, and weary women ready and willing to receive anyone who cares. A door knocking campaign is one way God fulfills His promise of Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
Door knocking is designed to reach the “unmovable.”
“They will never change.” God moved Saul from persecutor to preacher with the power of the Gospel. Everyone can change, but perhaps it is not those outside the building who need to be moved first. “WE” have sat in the pews for years but never moved beyond the doors with the saving message of the Savior. Perhaps the greatest need for movement is with “ME.” Door knocking moves a church to do the work God intended: to make known to the world the “manifold wisdom of God” (Ephesians 3:10). The great commission is about going, not coming—if we don’t go, they will never come!
Yes, door knocking is not going to convert the masses, but neither is any other strategy. Did not God tell Phillip to go and preach the Gospel to one man (Acts 8:26)? Perhaps some of you were introduced to the Gospel by a knock on the door. Organizing churches of Christ to reach out to their community by a simple tried and true method like door knocking is one step towards church growth.
