Joe Westbury
Tina Brown supervises children on a popular inflated slide at one of the day’s ethnic festivals. Brown and her husband, pastor Robby Brown of Trinity Baptist Church in Danielsville, attended their first Crossover at this year’s Louisville gathering.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jeff and Tanya Coile of Danielsville decided it was time to take their first family mission trip and introduce their eight-year-old daughter, Taylor, to a lifetime of serving others.
With that commitment they joined their pastor, Robby Brown of Trinity Baptist Church, and his family for the six-hour drive to spend a hot summer day ministering through this year’s Crossover events. It was an experience they hope will lay a firm foundation for Taylor’s spiritual growth down the road.
“Tanya and I had talked about this and decided it was time we bring Taylor along in her spiritual growth and experience missions up close,” Jeff Coile said. “We want her to understand, even at such an early age, that there are children in other cities [on whom] she can have an influence for Christ.”
That’s exactly what Taylor was doing as she and other Georgia Baptists fanned out across Louisville for a day of spreading the Good News to all age groups. While the Coile family was ministering on the hot parking lot at the International Festival at Iroquois Manor Shopping Center, others were involved in block parties, food distribution, and door-to-door neighborhood canvassing.
During Crossover, more than 1,000 attendees made decisions for Christ. Approximately 3,000 volunteers and 107 churches participated.
About 10 miles away at Parkwood Baptist Church, John Lemmings was coordinating the outreach efforts of 14 members of the church where he serves. The Cartersville resident, who serves on the staff of Atco Baptist Church, said the Crossover involvement “incorporates us into the Acts 1:8 mandate to share the gospel. We know this is God’s heart and consider it a privilege to share our faith while partnering with a sister church like Parkwood.”
That was the sentiment of member Rachel Miller, who with daughter Madison, 12, gave their weekend to the event.
“God calls us to be witnesses and I know that I fail in that a lot. We need to always be willing to share our faith and I want Madison to have this experience to introduce her to how simple it is,” she explained.
The Bennett family – David and Kathy and children Courtney and Laken – were also there from Atco as part of the Crossover team. Kathy Bennett said the trip was a natural summer experience “because it is a convenient, weekend missions encounter that doesn’t take a lot of time or expense. Whenever Crossover is this close – just a few hours drive – it would be a shame not to volunteer.”
The Georgia Baptists joined other volunteers who turned out in sweltering 95 degree heat to provide a witness.
Crossover Louisville organizers thanked the Georgians for coming to share their time and faith with their neighbors to the north.
Next year’s Crossover will be held in June at the annual SBC meeting in Orlando, Fla., before traveling to Phoenix for 2011.
Joe Westbury
Vocational evangelist Keith Fordham of Fayetteville shares his faith with a family who attended a block party sponsored by First Baptist Church in Sellersbug, Ind., across the river from Louisville. Some churches in Indiana elected to participate in the massive evangelistic outreach since they are considered part of the greater Louisville area.
Joe Westbury
John Lemmings, center, staff member at Atco Baptist Church in Cartersville, enjoys a light moment with his team while Louisville pastor Benny Phelps, left, looks on. Lemmings was preparing to go on a neighborhood canvassing assignment coordinated by Phelps’ congregation, Parkwood Baptist Church. Some of the Cartersville members went door-to-door with members of Parkwood while others ministered at a community block party.
Joe Westbury
J.W. Hutchens, right, Crossover Louisville coordinator for the North American Mission Board, shares a light-hearted moment with SBC President Johnny Hunt during the day. Hutchens, a member of First Baptist Church of Sugar Hill, is a longtime veteran of the evangelistic events.
Joe Westbury
Rachel Miller of Atco Baptist Church listens as she is given instructions, along with other Crossover volunteers, prior to going door-to-door to determine spiritual needs of the neighborhood to which she was assigned.
Joe Westbury
Ethnic festivals punctuated the hot day with free food, cold beverages, and plenty of shady venues to rest from the sun and hear music and gospel presentations. The international fair at Iroquois Manor Shopping Center provided about 1,500 Koreans, Chinese, Burundi, Nigerians, Haitians, Somalis, Bosnians, Vietnamese, and Ethiopians a diverse display of food, music, and dance, a Chinese string chamber music group, and a team of 20 taekwando experts.