by Jack Hyles
There are two or three things a soul winner ought to watch. A soul winner ought to always watch his odor. That is tremendously important. Not only watch about your body odor, but you ought to be careful about your breath. One thing that will hurt more than most anything else in soul winning is bad breath. I would suggest that you carry mints with you. We men have a little pocket on the inside of our pocket. Put some mints in there. I always put one in my mouth before I conduct the invitation on Sunday and meet folks at the altar. So keep some mints handy.
There are other ways you can help your breath. Gum is good if you can chew it when no one sees you. Someone said the only difference between a gum-chewing flapper and a cud-chewing cow is the intelligent look on the face of the cow! You can also use Sen-Sen. I used to get a bottle of Listerine to keep in my car and between each visit I gargled.
A soul winner should also be neat. Too often the world’s conception of a soul winner is some fellow on a street corner, in a suit that doesn’t fit; his tie is turned around; he has a funny look in his eye; his collar is turned up; and he is looking at you saying, “You’d better get borned agin or you’re going to Hell.” Don’t you think God could use some folks who know how to dress neatly? Don’t you think God could use somebody with a clean white shirt as well as a dirty shirt? Don’t you think God could use somebody who knows how to comb his hair as well as somebody with messed-up hair? Don’t you think God could use somebody who knows how to brush his teeth as well as somebody who doesn’t? Now I thank God for everybody who witnesses. I appreciate the sign on the back of a car. I admire every fellow who stands up and says, “You’d better get borned agin or you’re going to Hell.” I am grateful for every sign on a rock that says, “Jesus Saves.” But I will say this: We need more people with some intelligence and a nice appearance, a nice personality, a good approach, to go into homes and tell people about Jesus Christ.
One should dress just as nice to go soul winning as he would to go to church. Men should at least wear a white shirt and a tie. I suggest you ladies wear high heel and hose. Dress as nicely as possible when you represent Jesus. When you go soul winning, you should give the best appearance. Someone has said, “I want to look so no one will ever accuse me of being a preacher, but they won’t be surprised if they find out I am.” So dress the part. Be clean and neat.
by Jack Hyles from the book Let’s Go Soulwinning
Being a missionary overseas, I fully agree with the neat and clean and smell-free points. However, clothing should be clean, neat, and appropriate for the location you’re in. If I went out in hose and high heels and fancy dress in my neighborhood, they would wonder why anyone in their right mind would dress like that, going home to home, in our year-round hot tropical climate. Clean and neat and suitable for the location, not too fancy for the poor.
This is the dumbest thing ever.