In Light of the Gospel

I grew up with what is called an “Altar Call.” At a young age I became troubled by this central act of worship in fundamentalist churches, and eventually discovered its history. I have always been interested in books on this topic, and Andy Naselli directed us to a very thorough one: David Bennett, The Altar Call: Its Origin and Present Usage (New York: University Press of America, 2000. 261 pp). This looks to be a fascinating book. Andy provided a short summary of it:

• Part 1 examines the evangelistic practices of John Wesley, George Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards and concludes that they did not use the altar call. Bennett then traces the altar call’s origins and early history in the final sixty years of the 1700s, its development into the invitation system in American camp-meetings, and its popularization by Charles Finney.
• Part 2 examines the altar call’s modern usage, rationale, counseling and follow-up, results, and problems. Bennett makes calculated recommendations and conclusions.

And Mark Noll describes Bennett’s work as “the best sort of engaged history ” (pp. v-vi). Be sure to check it out. Andy also listed these resources as well:

1. Iain H. Murray, The Invitation System (1967)
2. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the Altar Call (early 1970s)
3. Paul Alexander, “Altar Call Evangelism” [This article ends with recommended reading: "If you'd like to read more about method in evangelism, go to Mark 5 on Evangelism at 9 Marks Ministries. For more on the invitation system, contact Christian Communicators Worldwide for their pamphlet entitled The Dangers of the Invitation System, by Jim Ehrhard, or read Iain Murray’s booklet entitled The Invitation System, published by Banner of Truth. For a historical treatment of evangelistic method and its role in the ecumenical movement over the last 50 years, read Iain Murray’s Evangelicalism Divided (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2000). If you are interested in the historical roots of the invitation system, read Iain Murray’s Revival and Revivalism (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1994)."]
4. Monergism.com’s “The Altar Call” links to articles by John MacArthur, Carey Hardy, Fred Zaspel, and others.