Conference aids pastors in evangelism

By Lauren Urtel | Oct. 26, 2007

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—In five meetings held across the state, Florida pastors came together to discuss effective evangelism strategies and share their evangelistic experiences in roundtable discussions.

The Battle Ready Conferences, held during September and October, took place at Florida Baptist churches chosen for their “unique ability in aggressively teaching, reaching, winning and Baptizing people,” said David Burton, director of the Florida Baptist Convention’s Evangelism Division. Each church differed in region, size and economic affluence but all were led the state in baptisms.

Battle Ready Conferences are “a unique way of taking small groups into a setting where they are able to receive specific information from the local host pastor and staff,” said Burton. “It also allows the staff of the host church to share in a more intentional and direct avenue how they are effectively reaching and baptizing individuals in their local church.”

During the conference, which was comprised of a group of no more than twenty area pastors, the host pastor shared their evangelism efforts and methods for the morning session. The afternoon session was devoted to roundtable discussions, where visiting pastors can pose questions to the entire host church staff.

Five churches hosted the 2007 conferences: First Baptist Church of Orlando with senior pastor David Uth; Hopeful Baptist Church in Lake City with senior pastor Rodney Baker; Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater with senior pastor Willy Rice; Flamingo Road Church in Ft. Lauderdale with senior pastor Troy Gramling; and First Baptist Church of Brandon with senior pastor Tommy Green.

At the Oct. 9 conference at Calvary, Rice, Florida Baptist State Convention president, stressed the importance of a clear mission for the church. To have a healthy church “you must have a clear vision path, you must know what success looks like and have a clear path to get there,” said Rice.

“Keeping your church going at any level is about keeping the mission going. Cast into the mindset of the people that we are not going to stay where we are,” said Rice. “Balanced growth comes from a healthy church.”

Rice also emphasized the importance of the church being relevant in the community, which “means communicating who you are to the people around you effectively.” A clear mission statement, “ should tell you what you are going to do and your values define who you are that makes you unique.”

During the second session hosted by Calvary, area pastors shared their experiences with successful and unsuccessful evangelism efforts and posed questions to the entire staff.

Burton asked that the discussion time included a focus on youth evangelism because efforts have “dwindled” in recent years.

Everything in student ministry must have a purpose of drawing people in, said Ron Cooney, youth minister at Calvary. “If you can provide an environment where children, youth and teens feel comfortable, parents will get up on Sunday morning and come.”

All of Calvary’s evangelism efforts, including those through the student ministry, “work together for one common vision,” said Rice.

Burton closed the conference, stating that whatever the pastors chose to do they should “make it intentionally evangelistic.”

As pastor of Skycrest Baptist in Clearwater for less than a year, Chris Stephens attended the conference at Calvary to become familiar with other local Baptist churches and their evangelism efforts. After the discussion portion of the conference, Stephens said he came away with more than he expected. The intentional process of evangelism, including asking the congregation “to be a part of impacting the community for Christ” is something Stephens said he can take back to his church.

There has been a very positive response from the conferences, said Burton. “It has been enriching for both the host church and the pastors attending.”

After the conference held at Hopeful Baptist Church Sept. 10, a group of pastors who were unable to attend but wanted the benefit of the time of sharing invited senior pastor Rodney Baker to a roundtable discussion of their own. The Lake City church has baptized more than 300 new converts this year.

Burton hopes that the pastors who attended take with them “biblical New Testament principles to reach more effectively the harvest field they live in.”