By HENRY DURAND, The Christian Index
HOSCHTON, Ga. — More than 500 pastors, ministry leaders, and church members gathered for the first of three evangelism conferences hosted by the Georgia Baptist Mission Board in 2026, united by a shared burden to reach the more than 7 million lost people in Georgia.
GBMB Executive Director Thomas Hammond emphasized the urgency of the task. “We are surrounded by millions who do not know Christ, and their only hope is the good news of Jesus. Now is the time for God’s people to stand together, unashamed of the gospel that has the power to save.”
Over the course of Sunday evening and Monday morning, four keynote speakers called attendees to renewed passion, personal holiness, bold witness, and perseverance in ministry. The gathering concluded with an invitation to prayer that saw several pastors and leaders kneel at the altar.
Kevin Hamm, pastor of Gardendale First Baptist Church in Alabama, opened the conference Sunday evening with a message from Luke 11 titled “Prayers That Get Answered.”
Hamm said one of his greatest desires is to “make my time count,” urging attendees not to treat the conference as just another meeting. “You don’t want to leave here the same way you came,” he said, encouraging pastors and leaders to ask God what He wanted to teach them.
Walking through Jesus’ teaching on prayer, Hamm highlighted four characteristics of effective prayer: specificity, boldness, persistence, and confidence. Drawing from the parable of a man requesting “three loaves of bread” at midnight, Hamm emphasized that believers should pray specifically rather than offering vague generalities.
He also challenged leaders to pray boldly and persistently, warning against weak, timid prayers. “Aren’t you tired of weak prayers that don’t grab God’s attention?” he asked. Hamm called for churches to depend on the power of God rather than attempting to do the work of God in their own strength.
Hamm closed with a testimony about a man named Smokey, for whom a church had prayed for decades. After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Smokey trusted Christ and publicly professed his faith. “God still answers prayers,” Hamm declared, encouraging pastors not to give up on those for whom they are praying.
Caleb Turner, pastor of Mesquite Friendship Baptist Church in Texas, followed with a message from Romans 1:16 centered on the conference theme: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel.”
Turner described the “philosophy of the pardon,” the guiding conviction that the gospel alone has the power to save and must be proclaimed without hesitation. He urged attendees to examine whether they had lost their eagerness to share Christ. “When was the last time you were excited about preaching the gospel and sharing your faith?” he asked.
Turner emphasized that gospel witness must be driven by concern and compassion. “Hell is too hot and eternity is too long for us not to be concerned,” he said, calling compassion “not a political term, but a gospel term.”
He also stressed conviction and confidence. Because believers understand the debt Christ paid, Turner said, they should speak with clarity and boldness. “The gospel has the power to save,” he reminded the audience, pointing to God’s inherent and identifiable power to transform lives.
Sharing a personal story about a college friend who died without hearing a clear presentation of the gospel, Turner underscored the urgency of evangelism. “Life is short,” he said, urging pastors and leaders to seize opportunities to share Christ before it is too late.
Evangelist Scott Dawson led Monday morning’s first session, returning to Romans 1:15-16.
Dawson described Paul’s eagerness to preach in Rome, then the center of the known world, as a model for believers today, asking, “Where is your Rome?” Whether a community, school, team, or workplace, Dawson said pastors must identify the strategic spaces where the gospel can spread.
Citing cultural trends and common spiritual questions — including the presence of evil, the meaning of life, and what happens after death — Dawson argued that there is a unique openness to spiritual truth. “It is time to share the gospel,” he said.
Dawson urged pastors never to forget the cost of their salvation, reminding them that they, too, were once lost and in need of grace. He cautioned against drifting from the centrality of the gospel in pursuit of novelty or applause. “Don’t get over your salvation,” he said.
Acknowledging the hardships of ministry, Dawson repeated, “Don’t give up.” He reminded pastors that Paul endured persecution and suffering yet remained faithful. In a moving reflection on Stephen’s martyrdom in Acts 7, Dawson noted that Scripture uniquely describes Jesus as standing, a powerful image of divine approval for faithfulness. Pastors, he said, should live with the goal of hearing, “Well done.”
Levi Skipper, pastor of Sagemont Church in Houston, concluded the conference with a message from 1 Timothy 4:12-14, focusing on the pressures Timothy faced and how pastors today can respond.
Skipper described Timothy’s environment as one marked by paganism, sexual immorality, false teaching, and internal church conflict — pressures that mirror modern ministry. In response, Paul urged Timothy to “show yourself an example.”
“You must live a traceable life,” Skipper said, explaining that leaders should live in such a way that others can “trace” their lives and grow in godliness. He pointed to speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity as visible markers of integrity.
Skipper also warned against hypocrisy and moral compromise, urging pastors to flee sexual temptation and pursue holiness. “Your church listens to your life more than they listen to your sermons,” he said.
Beyond personal integrity, Skipper called leaders to “honor the Word,” insisting that Scripture must drive worship gatherings. He further encouraged pastors not to neglect their spiritual gifts when ministry becomes difficult. “Stop walking away when it gets hard,” he said, urging them to rekindle their calling and depend on the Holy Spirit.
Following Skipper’s message, evangelism leader Brad Marchman invited attendees to respond.
“I think that’s given a very direct word to all of us today,” Marchman said. “This conference is not just for us to come and hear some good messages… but it’s for life change.”
He encouraged pastors and leaders to come to the altar in prayer, urging attendees to consider what would be different when they left than when they arrived.
As worship music played, several individuals came forward to pray. Others sought out fellow pastors to lay hands on them and offer encouragement. Marchman reminded those feeling weary that prayer is often the moment when the Spirit seals what He has spoken.
In addition to the main sessions, attendees chose from a wide variety of breakout sessions designed to provide practical tools for evangelism and church health.
Topics included “Gameplan for Evangelism” with Steve Parr; “Igniting Evangelism in the Normative-Size Church” led by Charles Rogers; and “Preaching and Program Planning for Results” with Frank Cox. Jason Thomas led “More Than a Name Tag: Reaching the Unseen with the Gospel,” while Brad Marchman addressed “Spirit-Filled Evangelism.”
Other sessions covered disciple-making small groups, gospel-centered community outreach, strategic mission planning with Thomas Hammond, and cultivating a culture of bold witnessing with Dennis Nunn. Beth Ann Williams led sessions for women on gospel conversations and leveraging the 2026 FIFA World Cup as an outreach opportunity. Krista Staton equipped leaders to present the gospel to children.
For those in attendance, the conference was an opportunity to recharge and reset priorities. "I think it's good to hang out with other pastors and learn from them," said Crosby Hardin, student pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Toccoa. "But also, refocus yourself on what we're called to do. Evangelizing is what we're supposed to do, and we have to evaluate ourselves to see that we're actually doing that, because we can kind of get complacent.”
Matt Kirkland, who serves one night a week as youth pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Blairsville while helping with a church plant in Clayton, said the conference came at the right time. "The church is strictly evangelism," he said of the plant. "It's reaching the lost, reaching your community right outside." Kirkland said he attended because he wanted to "get as much as I possibly can," adding, "God's already given me the heart to love people and reach them however we can."
Scott Young, associate pastor at Liberty Baptist Church in Chatsworth, said he hoped to return home with tools to help members take ownership of gospel witness. "Everybody has a story of what God has done in their lives," Young said. "I am looking to take back some tools to give to our people to be able to use on a daily basis to share the gospel."
Young said one idea that stuck with him came from a breakout on igniting evangelism: information must turn into action. "Sometimes we'll take classes, but we never do anything," he said. "We'll take a class on prayer or we'll take a class on evangelism, but we never get to praying or evangelizing. We just take the information and hold on to it, and we never do anything with it."
Derrick Fielder, lead pastor of Lafayette First Baptist Church, said his church has been emphasizing evangelism "from day one" this year, and he came looking for practical help to build momentum. "We just had Steve Foster come. He did a training on 'No Sweat Evangelism,’” Fielder said. "So anything I can take back home to help prop up all those things that were already started will be helpful."
The Hoschton conference marked the first of three regional gatherings scheduled for 2026, all aimed at mobilizing Georgia Baptists around evangelism.
