As I would drive the backroads each week, I passed the same houses on the same roads. As I passed by, I began to hear the cry – the cry of the unknocked door.
Before I moved to the Chicagoland area, I went to a small Bible college outside of Indianapolis for my first year of ministry training. I would stay in the dorms during the week, focusing on classes and working a third-shift job. On the weekends, I would drive home to attend Blessed Hope Baptist Church to work in the ministry there. The drive was about 90 minutes each way. I would drive home to Jasonville on Saturday mornings in time for bus ministry visitation or soul winning. Then, I would drive back to Indy Sunday nights after church to prepare for Monday morning classes.
When heading home from college, there was a choice between two routes to make the drive. I could take Interstate 70 West to Exit 23, then head south on Highway 59 to my family’s house. This path made for an easy drive, but it was boring – especially for an exhausted Bible college student trying not to fall asleep behind the wheel!
Often, I would choose to take the backroads to and from the college. When driving home, I would take various roads heading southwest toward Jasonville. Along the way, I would travel through towns like Greenwood, Martinsville, Gosport, Freedom, Spencer, and Worthington. I enjoyed the scenic drive and spent much time in prayer or deep thought.
As I would drive those backroads each week, I passed the same houses on the same roads. As I passed by over and over, I began to hear the cry – the cry of the unknocked door.
Changing my travel routine to include taking the Gospel to those doors during my ride home on Saturdays, I knocked on many doors that I passed on sections of my travels. I could no longer ignore the cry of the unknocked door.
My youth pastor, Jerry Ross, taught me the concept of the cry of the unknocked door. The idea is simple. There is a story behind each door of every house. If the front door could talk, it would cry out to Christians, begging them to bring the Hope of the Gospel to those who live inside.
Do you ever ask yourself, “Who is behind that closed door?”
- Is it a couple on the verge of divorce?
- Is it a child dealing with abuse?
- Is it a teenager contemplating suicide?
- Is it a single mother trying to keep going?
- Is it someone grieving the loss of a loved one?
- Is it a man who has come to the end of his rope?
- Is it a child who would ride the church bus?
- Is it an addict trying in vain to overcome addiction?
- Perhaps there is a future missionary behind that door.
- It could be a family that only needs to be told the wondrous story before they start to attend church faithfully.
- It might be a preacher who has yet to discover God’s will for his life.
- It could be a little girl who will grow up to be a Sunday School teacher.
The truth is we don’t know who is behind that door. And we will never know until someone knocks on the door to meet the people on the other side.
What do you think of when you pass houses? What do you see when you glimpse the sea of homes and apartments in your community?
Door-to-door soul winning began in the book of Acts.
It is God’s method for reaching the lost. We must follow the biblical example of going house-to-house in search of sinners.
Many Christians have given up on door-to-door soul winning. Don’t make that mistake! We don’t go door- to-door soul winning because it is effective, although it is effective when done right. Nevertheless, we go door-to-door, person-to-person soul winning because it is commanded by God. God will bless your efforts! God will frequently send visitors to a soul-winning church they have never met in response to faithful soul winning efforts. When you tell enough people about Jesus, He will tell enough people about your church!
I still hear the cry of the unknocked door today. As I drive through new areas of our vast country, I can’t help but wonder if anyone has ever knocked on the doors that I pass.
Who will knock the doors in your community? Who will take the Gospel to where people live? Can you hear the cry of the unknocked door?