How to Do an Altar Call

Last Updated: November 5, 2019 References

An altar call is a call to action; it is not a play or production. When done correctly, the altar call should encourage people to repent from the heart and genuinely commit their lives to Christ.^{[1]
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Part 1

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Part One: Establish the Context

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Preach the need. Before you can call unbelievers to the altar, you need to make sure they understand what the call is actually about. This means that you'll need to deliver a powerful sermon that doesn't shy away from the truth about sin, repentance, and the urgency of accepting Christ as Savior.
- Preach the gospel. Make sure that your message is derived from the Bible's teachings on repenting and believing.^{[2]
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- Don't shy away from the harsh reality of sin. You won't be able to stress the importance of salvation without explaining the consequence of living and dying without it.
- Your message should clearly explain that accepting Jesus is equivalent to being rescued, not a trick you can use to make your life better.
- Stress the importance of repentance alongside forgiveness.
- Explain "church lingo" each time you use it. Terms that you might use regularly, like "born again," "saved," and "repent," can be completely unfamiliar to nonbelievers.^{[3]
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Explain the process. Announce the altar call after you finish the sermon. As you make the announcement, explain how the process will work physically and how it should work spiritually.^{[4]
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- Spelling out the steps can make potential converts feel more at ease. The fear of the unknown can cause plenty of people to hesitate, but describing each stage of the altar call in advance can remove some of that fear.
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Say a prayer. Lead the congregation in prayer at the start of the altar call. Ask God to move the hearts of those who still need to accept Him and to continue working in the hearts and lives of those who already have.
- Even though the focus is on those who need to repent and accept Christ, you need to address current believers in your prayer, too. Everyone should be able to benefit from this opportunity for spiritual renewal.
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Set the tone. Play soft music in the background. Dim the lights, but make sure that there is still enough light to maintain visibility.
- The idea is to make the environment peaceful since peace encourages reflection.
- During the actual invitation to the altar, instrumental music is usually preferred over music with lyrics. Vocal worship songs should usually be reserved until after the invitation portion of the altar call is complete.

Part 2

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Part Two: Make the Call

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Ask everyone to bow their heads. Instruct everyone to close their eyes and bow their heads. Repeat these instructions while looking around, and continue past this point only when the majority of people have done as you have asked.
- Providing a certain degree of anonymity can relieve some of the pressure and make it easier for people to act—and to do so genuinely.
- Admitting that you are a sinner in need of salvation can be a vulnerable experience, and making such an admission in front of a large crowd can be so intimidating that a person might opt to avoid the experience altogether. This is especially true when you are working with teenagers, but it can also apply to groups of adults.
- On the other hand, if many people respond to the altar call, others may get swept up in the moment and respond without being truly ready for it at heart. Remember: the ultimate goal is to save souls, not to have an impressive-looking altar call. You want people to answer the call, but only if they are doing so for the right reason.
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Instruct those who want to answer the call to look up. State that anyone who is ready to give his or her life to Christ—or anyone who wants to learn more about doing so—should lift his or her head and make eye contact with you.
- Another option would be to ask those who are ready to raise their hands instead of their heads. Both options are fairly common and typically yield similar results
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Remain active in the process. Look around the entire room. Repeat the call at regular intervals. Acknowledge each person with whom you make eye contact.
- Most of the congregation will consist of people who have already accepted Christ and are not being spiritually prompted to respond to the current altar call. As you repeat the invitation to the altar, ask those who remain in their seats to take the time to reconnect with Christ and to pray for those who are accepting salvation for the first time.
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Invite those who answered to the altar. When you sense that everyone who is ready to answer the call has looked up, invite those individuals to the altar while instructing the rest of the congregation to continue in prayer with closed eyes and bowed heads.
- Greet those at the altar with a friendly expression and kind words. Reassure them that the step they are taking here and now is a positive, life-saving one.
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Send each person away with a counselor. Introduce each person standing before you at the altar to a counselor. Once everyone has been taken care of, send the counselors and potential converts to private rooms for further discussion.
- While the counseling sessions commence, the rest of the congregation should be invited to join in song. Worship should typically continue until everyone has had a chance to complete the brief counseling session, but if someone needs an extensive amount of time, you may need to conclude the service before that individual finishes.

Part 3

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Part Three: Counsel the Called

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Have plenty of trained counselors. Make the process as personal as possible by assigning only one person to each counselor during any given altar call. Provide your counselors with training so that they know how to handle the process appropriately, and make sure that they all take a Bible with them when they embark on a session.
- It can be difficult enough to open your heart to one person, so being put into a position in which you need to open your heart in front of a group can be even more difficult, even if the group is relatively small. For that reason, one-on-one counseling can encourage greater sincerity.
- Your counselors do not need extensive theological training, but they should be equipped with some basic review. Each counselor should know:
  - Where to go during the counseling session
  - What to say and what not to say
  - How to clearly explain God's plan of salvation
  - The importance of confidentiality
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Ask the right questions. It's important to connect to those who responded to the call on an individual level since doing so can encourage them to accept Christ as their personal Savior. To that end, you need to ask questions that allow the individual to open up.
- The absolute first thing a counselor should do is ask for a name. After receiving a name, the counselor can also introduce himself or herself.
- Beyond that, ask questions about what made the individual respond to the message and what that individual is currently struggling with. From there, lead into the Gospel.
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Focus on the Savior. Once the individual counseling sessions start, the focus should be on Christ. Specific sins and concerns can be brought up, but they should not distract from the primary purpose of the call.
- Ask about the individual's relationship with Jesus. Discuss whether he or she has such a relationship, what the quality of that relationship with, and how his or her current struggles with sin impact that relationship.
- Even though it should have been mentioned in the sermon, each counselor should also discuss humanity's sinful nature and the need for a Savior.
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Pray with each person. Instead of asking each person to repeat a generic “Sinner's Prayer,” encourage new converts to pray for repentance from the heart.^{[5]
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- The words may not be eloquent, but there's nothing wrong with that. Jesus is concerned with the heart, so an awkward yet sincere prayer means more than a graceful yet insincere one.
- Counselors can (and should) guide the individual through the process of confessing his or her sins, asking for God's forgiveness, and committing his or her life to Christ.
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Present the new converts. Consider presenting those who have just accepted Christ to the rest of the congregation at the end of the service.^{[6]
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- Standing before the congregation can make new believers feel reassured and welcomed into the Church.
- Encourage this step without demanding it. Do not force anyone to stand before the congregation if they feel uncomfortable doing so.