April 24, 2024
Pastor Michael Flowers preaches at Rosemont Baptist Church in Waynesboro.
By J. Gerald Harris
WAYNESBORO – After serving Georgia Baptists for 19 years as the Camp Director of Camp Kaleo, Michael Flowers was called to serve as the pastor of Rosemont Baptist Church in Waynesboro on August 1st and began his role as pastor on September 5th. He recently stated, “I want Rosemont to become a “Purpose Filled – Mission Skilled” church. I want to develop within our fellowship a heart for evangelism and discipleship and see to it that our members are trained to evangelize and make disciples who also become disciple-makers.”
Flowers outlined the method by which he hopes to accomplish what he is calling Operation Multiplication. The three-step process of training includes: (1) Have a daily quiet time and keep a journal. (2) Pray for an opportunity to share your faith daily. (3). Mentor (disciple) those you win to Christ for a period of 16 weeks.
Flowers calls Smith Station, AL, home and was a member of Smith Station Baptist Church when he was called into the ministry. He explained, “For several years God had been dealing with me about serving Him in a vocational ministry, but I was not interested in being a preacher. I was studying pre-law at Auburn University, but God had other plans for me.
“During the summer of 1983 I was serving as a camp counselor at Camp Ada in Florida. One evening after our worship service as we were sitting around the campfire God spoke to my heart in an unmistakable way. I stood up and told everyone that I was surrendering to God’s call to serve Him in the ministry. I preached my first sermon at Smiths Station Baptist Church two weeks later and I have been preaching ever since.
“I graduated with a MDiv Degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in June of 1993. While in seminary I met a young lady at a singles retreat in Dallas. After dating that young lady, Julie, for two months we were engaged; and within four months we were married. God blessed us with two beautiful girls, Abby Jean and Lauren Grace. While serving at Camp Kaleo God also blessed us with two sons-in-law, Thomas Johnson and Charlie Davis, who served on staff at camp with my daughters and are now part of our family.”
In reflecting on his almost two decades of ministry at Kaleo, Flowers reminisced, “Camp Kaleo was such a wonderful place to minister to students and adults and it changed the lives of so many. I’ve had the joy of serving with a host of Camp Kaleo staffers and they have become my Kaleo sons and daughters. Our greatest joy was seeing how camp impacted the lives of so many for the cause of Christ. We probably had over 3,000 come to faith in Christ Jesus during those years.
“We are called to serve Christ and our desire was that all campers would come to experience that call and go home to take the gospel to their communities. Camp Kaleo will always have a special place in my heart; and I look forward to going back next summer with children from Rosemont.
Those who know Michael Flowers are aware that he is a gregarious, warm-hearted Christian gentleman who loves people and looks past their economic status, level of education, philosophy of life, political allegiance, and ethnicity, to gaze into their hearts.
Flowers received the praise of many for his ministry to Georgia Baptists including Glen McCall with whom he worked in the Men’s Ministry of the Mission Board while also providing leadership at Camp Kaleo. McCall hailed Flowers as a dedicated minister with a passion to serve Christ, adding, “Michael was constantly visiting pastors and churches to promote the ministry of Camp Kaleo. He also contacted schools in Middle Georgia and enrolled hundreds of students to participate in Kaleo’s Day Camp. His ultimate goal was to see students have a personal relationship to Christ.”
McCall continued, “I have known few men who have a passion for souls like Michael. He is the kind of man who can talk to people on any level of life and easily initiate Gospel conversations.”
Flowers commented, “I’ve only been on the field in Waynesboro a month; and we are just trying to put down roots. Julie and I are making a concerted effort get to know the people at Rosemont as we visit shut-ins as well as the homes of members who are actively attending. I believe every pastor should do the following: Love the people, get to know the people, equip the saints, and evangelize the lost. Then, gather them up, group them up and grow them up.
“Everywhere I go I try to be intentional in sharing the gospel. Every day I spend time in the word, keep a journal and pray the Lord Jesus will give me an opportunity to share the gospel - then I go fishing. When I go to Walmart, the grocery store, the library, or to a restaurant, I make a point to have Gospel conversations. I go up to complete strangers and I show them my two cards (one blue and one red) and ask the question, ‘which one is bigger?’ It’s an optical allusion. They are deceived by the trickery, but it opens the door to share the gospel.
“Paul wrote in Acts 20:17 ‘However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me -- the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.’
Flowers concluded, “I had the joy of completing the race and task that God assigned me at Camp Kaleo. God has now given me a new assignment, in a new field, but the task remains the same - go fishing and make disciples. This is my driver and I pray that God will help me to bring this passion for evangelism and discipleship to Rosemont and Waynesboro.”
