Marty Youngblood joined the staff of the Georgia Baptist Convention in June as the consultant in Church Minister Relations serving in the area of prayer, spiritual awakening, and pastoral care. His engaging personality, passion for spiritual renewal, and years of service as a Baptist campus minister will serve him well as he assumes this new, strategic role in Georgia Baptist life.

“Spiritual awakening never happens apart from prayer,” stated Youngblood. “Prayers change people; people change churches; and churches change the culture.”

A quote from R.A. Torrey has guided and governed Youngblood for years: “Nothing lies outside the reach of prayer except that which lies outside the will of God.” 

Youngblood will be working in the office of Church-Minister Relations under the direction of Danny Watters. In that office he will also work as Pastoral Care Consultant with Robert Anderson in the area of pastoral ministries.

In full belief that God brought him into the employment of the GBC, Youngblood exclaimed, “God has a purpose and will for our lives. Through prayer we align ourselves with God’s will and purpose. When we are intimate with the Father that impacts everything.”

Youngblood indicated that his heroes include revivalist Vance Havner, because of his no-nonsense, down-to-earth approach to preaching, devotional writer Oswald Chambers, and professors Roy Fish and Tommy Lea of Southwestern Seminary.

 

Executive director’s appraisal

GBC Executive Director J. Robert White hailed Youngblood as “having a heart for prayer and spiritual awakening.”

“Marty is genuine, a great communicator, and easy to love. People will fall in love with him.

“He was selected to serve as the chairman of the search committee for the associational missionary of the Savannah Association. That shows the strong confidence the people of the Savannah area have for Marty. I have urged him to keep that assignment, because he is able to create a sense of community and enhance good communication among both pastors and the laity.

“He will do a great job in that particular role.”

White continued, “Marty will help us raise the level of our commitment to prayer and revival. Through his ministry we will invest in churches, encouraging them to have a stronger prayer ministry. We have all heard that where there is little prayer, there is little power, but where there is much prayer, there is much power.

“I want our Georgia Baptists to be dedicated to praying for revival in the church, the association, the state, and the nation. America has never had a greater need for revival; and it will only happen when people go to their knees and pray for it.”

 

Background

Prior to assuming his new position Youngblood served as the Baptist campus minister for colleges in the Savannah area for 12 years.

Youngblood’s resume includes: director of Christian Ministries at Charleston Southern University, Baptist campus internships at both the Baptist College of Charleston and Columbus State University, and minister of youth at Remount Baptist Church in Charleston, S.C.

 

Travelin’ man

The new GBC consultant serves as a member of the Chain Saw group of GBC Disaster Relief and been involved in witnessing endeavors at seven of the summer and winter Olympics, Beijing being the most recent. He has traveled to more than 13 countries and 35 states and spoken to thousands of college students and young adults throughout the past 20 years.

The daring new GBC consultant enjoys fishing, riding motorcycles, boating, and challenging weather conditions.

Youngblood is a graduate of Charleston Southern University and Southwestern Seminary.

He is married to the former Daphne Koester of Summerville, S.C. The couple are the parent of one child, Christopher, 15.

 

A speechless priority

“I wanted to come to Georgia to do collegiate ministry years ago, because there is a spiritual element in this state and convention that just drew me to minister here,” said Youngblood.

“One of the first things I want to do in my new role in Baptist life is get out into the state and begin to meet people, particularly pastors and associational missionaries. I would welcome any invitation to preach in the pulpits of our churches to emphasize the importance of prayer and spiritual awakening,” he exclaimed. “I want our people to see prayer as a passion and a priority.

“The Speechless Conference 2009, which will be held at our Baptist Conference Center in Toccoa, Oct. 19-20, will become a tremendous resource to motivate our folks to make prayer an absolute priority,” remarked Youngblood.

Many who attended last year’s Speechless Conference regarded it as one of the finest spiritual experiences afforded them by the Convention. One associational missionary recommended that the messages at the Speechless Conference should have been repeated at the Convention in November.

Watters, welcoming the addition of Youngblood to his staff, remarked, “Marty will continue the good work initiated by Mark Sterling so that we can have the kind of prayer ministry we need. It should be the largest ministry we have in the Georgia Baptist Convention.”

White added, “It would be great if Georgia Baptists could be known as the praying people. I believe Marty will help us see that become a reality.”