Culture of evangelism a church priority

FBC photo by Barbara Denman

Martin Alvarenga, 21, is baptized by Dave McClamma, associate pastor of Lakeland’s First Baptist Church of the Mall during an event sponsored by the church’s Compassion House Ministry in conjunction with the Florida State Evangelism Conference.

LAKELAND–(FBC) Two days of instruction, testimony and expository teaching of God’s Word inspired the 1,100 persons attending the Florida State Evangelism Conference to reach the spiritually lost in their community and world.

The March 6-7 conference at Lakeland’s First Baptist Church at the Mall featured how-to seminars and symposiums on effective ways to create a culture of evangelism within one’s church. Ideas, suggestions and guidelines focused on setting a priority for evangelism within every congregation.

Among the testimonies was one by Travis Hudson, pastor of Hardeetown Baptist Church in Chiefland, who told how a concerted effort to pray for lost persons by name had revived the Harmony Baptist Association and led two congregations to baptize more than they have in recent years. Hudson’s own church has seen baptisms increase after the prayer emphasis was initiated.

“You can’t lead someone where you are not yourself,” Hudson said, explaining that he made it a practice of “no food, no radio, no television, or speaking to my wife before my quiet time.” In recent days, Hudson has led the owner of a local bar to Christ, which resulted in the selling of the bar and leading another bar owner to faith in Christ.

Dave McClamma, associate pastor of the host church, shared that during pre-conference witness training, nine persons came to know Christ.

On Monday morning, the church’s “Compassion House,” ministry gave away “Breakfast, Bags and Bibles” to 60 needy persons in the community. Before issuing the bag of hygiene products, McClamma shared the Gospel and extended an invitation. Two persons were immediately baptized in a portable baptistery in the parking lot.

Now in its fifth year of ministry, more than 100,000 persons have “come through the doors” of The Compassion House, said McClamma. Nearly 1,000 spiritual decisions and 109 baptisms have resulted from the ministry.

The two-day activities featured a women’s evangelism conference led by Margaret Kay Tucker of Jacksonville, which drew 257 women, and a senior adult luncheon which was attended by 246 persons. “Night Thing,” an evangelistic rally held for youth in the community was attended by 200 teenagers.

Keynote speakers included four prominent Florida Baptist pastors and Charles Kelley, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

The belief that Jesus Christ is the “only” way to salvation is the “foundation bedrock of the Christian faith,” said Richard Powell, pastor of McGregor Baptist Church in Fort Myers, yet the “vast of majority” of the world’s population, as well as “many people in our churches would disagree.”

Yet Powell said it is “our responsibility to tell them about Jesus Christ” despite their beliefs.

The key to evangelizaton cannot simply be found in the teachings alone of Jesus Christ, Powell said provacatively. Other world religions have prophets and leaders who were great teachers.

Nor is it “because of the philosophy of Jesus Christ,” he said, which even though one’s life can be changed through Christ, belief and adherence to other world religions can motivate such dedication.

Nor is it “because we have faith in Christ alone.”

The one thing that sets the Christian faith apart from all other religions is an event, Powell said, “the historical, verifiable, indisputable and undeniable resurrection of Jesus Christ. Everything rises and falls on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

Other teachers, philosophers and faith leaders are dead, he explained.

Resurrection is the key to evangelism “because the disciples believed,” he said.

Citing Acts 4, Powell said after the death of the leaders of other world religions, their followers immediately scrambled to expand the religion’s base. However, when Jesus was crucified, the disciples “went back fishing. They ran for cover,” he added.

It was only after the disciples saw the resurrected Jesus that their lives changed. The Holy Spirit came upon them and as they preached, thousands were added to the believers.

Referring to the Apostle Paul’s evangelistic heart as revealed in Romans 9:1-3 and 10, Tommy Green, pastor of First Baptist Church of Brandon, asked, “Are we grasping the lostness of mankind?”

FBC photo

Tommy Green, pastor of First Baptist Church in Brandon, prays at the conclusion of his sermon, beckoning God to instill a desperation to reach the spiritually lost among Florida Baptists.

Noting that one of the 300 million persons in the United States dies every 10 seconds, Green urged, “We must be broken over the multitudes.”

Paul cries out with desperation, Green said, using words “great heaviness” and “continual sorrow.” He continued, “Where is my heart today and where is your heart? Do we have the same type of desperation and sorrow? Have we become too proud and sophisticated, and too self-sufficient to be broken for the souls of mankind?”

“When we reach that point of desperation—and only when we reach that point—do we see with the eyes of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The passage also reveals “determination” and “directness” as Paul constantly prays for the salvation of his countrymen.

Pastors must set examples for their congregations, Green said, “So your heart of desire will become theirs.” He warned of displaying jealousy and being territorial, suggesting instead that pastors “celebrate” when other churches are effectively reaching their communities.

From the depths of the mud and mold, Charles Kelley, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, shared how the seminary family is recovering and lessons learned after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans.

Noting that all of the faculty’s homes and nearly half of the student’s homes were flooded after the storm, Kelley said the seminary family paced the campus streets, crying and praying in shock and grief. “Everyone there was in harm’s way because they obeyed God. They suffered loss because they were obedient to God.”

“God kept reminding me that it’s not just natural disasters. Everyone will face crisis or tragedy sometime in their lifetime.”

Tribulation can be caused by four occurrences, Kelley said – making a bad choice and living with the consequences; experiencing consequences from someone else’s bad choices; living in a sinful world; and being obedient to God. Obedience to God sometimes puts one in danger, Kelley said, citing the string of recent deaths of international missionaries.

No one goes through life unscathed, everyone will face difficulties, he said, adding that Christianity is not a prosperity gospel. “Sometimes you’re following Jesus and it’s lousy,” he added.

Citing Isaiah 43:1-39, Kelly told of the judged nation of Israel, living in exile, suffering from the consequences of others. Yet redemption prevails, as God tells them they will pass through the waters “I will be with you” and “the rivers will not overflow.”

Which is better, he asked: “Never to have to faced the flood or walked though the fire; or be drenched in the flood? There is something worse than losing everything you have – standing before Jesus and realizing how insignificant it all is.”

FBC photo by Barbara Denman

Rod Guinup (r), a member of Lakeland’s First Baptist Church at the Mall, shares the Gospel with a needy man in the community who was drawn to the church’s Compassion House ministry by the promise of “Breakfast, Bags and Bibles” in the church’s parking lot.

Unless one endures the floods and fire, he added, “You never really know the greatness of God’s power. Only in obedience do you discover the depth of God’s grace. We have seen the grace of God.”

“Do not be afraid of whatever life brings you or to go wherever God chooses to send you. In those times you will have the greatest experience of the grace of God that you will ever have.”

Sharing that he was raised in a small, rural Southern town, Ken Whitten, pastor of Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz, told how God had changed his life to enable him to see the souls of others regardless of race. He urged conference participants to renew their commitment to the Great Commission, both locally and globally.

“God has a purpose that insults our flesh,” Whitten said. “We live in a narcissist society. We don’t have a theology. We have a ‘meology.’”

God also has “a power that includes our faith,” added Whitten, a power that will produce change as exemplified in Peter’s life after the death of Christ.

While churches are “building buildings,” one must also ask, he said, “if my church was not here today, would anyone miss us.”

Whitten shared Idlewild’s plans to send 3,000 church members out into the community on a Saturday morning to paint and repair a fire station, to hand out trash bags, to paint benches at a park and conduct a baseball clinic in the inner city.

“We’re trying to earn the right to share the Gospel. We’re not interested in making Tampa a better place to go to hell from; we’re getting out to win them to Jesus Christ.”

Whitten passionately implored participants to “catch a fresh vision” for the uttermost parts of the earth.

After the Tsunami, he said, 200,000 people from eight countries perished without the Gospel. The response of Christians around the world led one Asian publication to ask, “Where are the Muslims?”

Yet Christians are “lethargic and callous in getting the Gospel to the Muslim world,” Whitten said, decrying statistics that indicate that 97 percent of church’s receipts is earmarked for the United States while only 3 percent is sent internationally.

“You and I are called to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. He may be calling some of you overseas. Your church does not want you to be their pastor if God is calling you,” to international mission service.

“If not you, who? If not here, where? If not now, when?”

FBC photo by Vanessa Rodriguez

Evangelism Director David Burton challenges conference participants to be intentionally evangelistic throughout the weekend’s events and as they return to their everyday activities.

The two-day conference concluded with a sermon by Florida Baptist State Convention president Hayes Wicker, pastor of First Baptist Church of Naples, who encouraged participants to define success as God does rather than the world’s definition.

He cited the example of Joseph found in Genesis 39, who even as a slave was found to be a “successful man. Joseph did not want to be where he was,” Wicker said, but God caused him “to prosper in a mess.” He added that the Hebrew word for prosper means “rising up once you have fallen down.”

Success is “getting up just one more time when you are falling down,” Wicker said, adding “when God seems absent, we must witness for Jesus Christ apart from our own feelings.”

He encouraged those who feel like they are in the midst of a mess to “discover your uniqueness” and “demonstrate diligence.”

“You have been strategically appointed. God put you there to lead as many people as possible to heaven.”