Evangelism close to home

Sherri BrownIndex

Max McCord, pastor of Rosemont Church in LaGrange, greets those attending the evangelism conference at his church as Mark Sterling, GBC prayer and spiritual awakening consultant, looks on. The evangelism conference was held in four regions: Blackshear, Augusta, Villa Rica, and LaGrange.

With the theme, “Go to All,” the first two of four regional evangelism conferences have done just that.

“Our staff is very pleased with the response to the conferences and are looking forward to the next two. The spirit has been excellent and it is clear that God is at work among so many of our churches,” said Steve Parr, GBC vice president for evangelism and Sunday school, following the Feb. 19-20 conference held in LaGrange. Another conference was held the same two days in Blackshear.

To make the annual evangelism conference more accessible, meetings were held at four different areas in the state. The final two conferences met Feb. 25-26 in Augusta and Villa Rica.

That’s the reason Robert Orr, pastor of Macedonia Church in Preston, brought three church members – who had never been to an evangelism conference – to the LaGrange conference.

“I’m so glad it’s here. I can’t stand to drive in Atlanta,” Orr said. “I live where I can drive to town without passing a car.”

Ron Daniel, pastor of Highland Church in Hogansville, brought seven church members with him.

“This was well worth our time. It reinforces the emphasis we need to place on evangelism. This has been a real reminder for us,” Daniel said. “This is the first evangelism conference I’ve been to. It’s just hard to find the time to get away.”

Sherri BrownIndex

The Mike Speck Trio led music at the Augusta and LaGrange conferences. Music evangelists Joe and Kim Stanley did the same in the Blackshear and Villa Rica meetings.

That was a comment Parr heard from many of the attendees.

“I received dozens of comments from pastors expressing gratitude for bringing a quality conference to their area,” Parr said.

Attendance at the first two conferences hit close to the totals for the single conference in 2007 with more than 1,000 at Rosemont Church in LaGrange and Emmanuel Church in Blackshear. This is the first year that the annual conference has been split into regional meetings, but it may not be the last time it happens, he said.

“We will explore multiple state conferences again in the future. The support we have received from pastors from all areas of the state thus far will certainly have an influence on our future planning,” Parr said. “I sincerely believe that any pastor that attended the past two days would say to other pastors that they do not want to miss it.”

The 2009 evangelism conference, “Lift Him Up,” will be Feb. 23-24 at Blackshear Place Church in Flowery Branch.

Sherri BrownIndex

Jeff Crook, pastor of Blackshear Place Church in Gainesville, speaks at the LaGrange evangelism conference.

Sherri BrownIndex

Joyce Whitley, food service director at Rosemont Church, prepares a meal for attendees in LaGrange.

Sherri BrownIndex

Jerome Shipman, right, pastor of New Macedonia Church in LaGrange, prays with evangelist David Ring.