altar call

noun

A tradition, typically held at the end of an evangelical address, in which those who wish to make a new spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ are invited to come forward publicly. The supplicants gather at the altar located at the front of the church building.

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Meanings

nounaltar call (plural altar calls)

plural altar calls

  1. ChristianityA tradition, typically held at the end of an evangelical address, in which those who wish to make a new spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ are invited to come forward publicly. The supplicants gather at the altar located at the front of the church building.

    The New York Times notes that, where his rallies were once "improvised and volatile," their finales now feel more planned, solemn, and infused with religion. The closing fifteen minutes "evokes an evangelical altar call" filled with references to God.

    2024 April 8, “The Rapid Secularization of America”, in Fareed Zakaria GPS, spoken by Fareed Zakaria
Cite this entry
APA

altar call. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/altar%20call

MLA

“altar call.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/altar%20call. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “altar call,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/altar%20call.

Source: altar call on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.