October 1, 2026
DALTON, Ga. — The second round of Engage 6 evangelism gatherings brought together more than 400 pastors, ministry leaders, and laypeople from across Georgia for hands-on training in practical evangelism. The events are part of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s statewide emphasis on reaching the more than 7 million lost people in Georgia.
Featured speakers drew from their own ministry experience to address topics such as getting the gospel to every home in a church’s mission field and strengthening evangelistic efforts at the local level.
Steve Parr, evangelism strategy director for the GBMB, said the growing attendance reflects a desire among pastors to be equipped with practical evangelism tools.
“We’ve seen the Engage Six sessions bring pastors together around a shared burden for evangelism,” Parr said. "The growth of attendance in the second sessions in February was exciting to see, as pastors gained more tools to make an evangelistic impact in their churches and communities."
At Salem Baptist Church in Dalton, ministry leaders heard from Tommy Fountain, Sr., senior pastor of 1025 Church, who challenged churches to commit to consistent, community-focused evangelism. Drawing from nearly five decades of ministry, Fountain outlined six key principles for evangelism: commitment, community, care, consistency, celebration, and Christ-centered focus.
Fountain emphasized that a desire to reach the community for Christ must be matched by action, reminding attendees that “vision stirs the heart, but commitment moves the hands and feet.” He urged pastors to lead their congregations toward engagement with every home in their mission field, including those often overlooked because of economic or social barriers.
Fountain described how his church's sustained presence in neighborhoods and schools has opened doors for gospel conversations and long-term discipleship. He said churches should serve their communities without agendas, respond quickly in times of need, and demonstrate genuine care that builds trust, he said.
“Minister where you are,” Fountain told attendees, stressing that effective evangelism begins with understanding and loving the community that God has already entrusted to each church.
For Salem Baptist Church pastor Darey Kittle, hosting the Engage 6 gathering furthers his own church’s ongoing evangelism efforts. “I think it just helps us sharpen our axe in what we’re already doing,” he explained. “It gives us ideas, reminds us of what we’re supposed to be doing, and keeps us on track. Evangelism is taught and caught, and being in this environment helps us catch it.”
Kittle added that the training would be incorporated into existing ministries rather than requiring churches to start from scratch. “We don’t have to reinvent the wheel; we can take what we’re already doing and make it better.”
Justin Holcomb, senior pastor at Atco Baptist Church in Cartersville, noted that the value of Engage 6 lies in its practical focus. “We talk a lot about ideas and strategies, but things like this help us put feet to those ideas," he said. "It moves evangelism from theory into practice.”
Holcomb said his church is already working to apply lessons from the Engage 6 gatherings. “We’re rewriting our evangelism system this year,” he explained. “This helps bring clarity as we prepare to roll it out churchwide ahead of Easter.”
Charlie Wellham, pastor of Lebanon Baptist Church in Epworth, sees the lessons learned through Engage 6 as adding to the tools at his disposal. "I believe that evangelism flows from servanthood," he said, "and learning from other pastors helps us serve better.”
Wellham emphasizes evangelism in his own congregation by leading personally. “I go door to door, invite people to Jesus, and try to lead by example,” he said.
The Engage 6 gatherings focus on training pastors and church leaders in evangelism practices they can put into action immediately. By emphasizing clear, repeatable evangelism practices, the GBMB is encouraging churches of every size to take concrete steps toward reaching the lost in their communities.
A complete schedule of remaining dates and locations is available at gbmbevangelismresources.com/engage-six.
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