Rocky Creek Baptist Church, Greenville, will be urging fellow South Carolina Baptists to “lift up your eyes” during a West Africa Summit April 2-4.
The summit is an opportunity for churches and individuals to talk with West Africa missionaries, identify people groups among whom Baptists can have an impact for Christ, explore various missions partnerships, and set up vision trips.
Featured speakers will include Frank Page, Southern Baptist Convention president and pastor of First Baptist Church, Taylors; Tom Elliff, vice president for spiritual nurture, International Mission Board; Phil Jones, pastor of First Baptist Church, Powell, Tenn.; and Ken Forrester, pastor of Rocky Creek.
According to IMB figures, West Africa currently has more than 1,600 people groups, 22 percent of which have no access to the gospel. Currently, IMB personnel are working with 34 people groups. Because the task is too large for only the missionaries in West Africa, the Summit seeks to incorporate prayer and volunteer participation as key components of mobilizing Baptist churches and associations to reach West Africa with the gospel.
Greg Queen, the first full-time missionary to be called from the Rocky Creek congregation, will serve as the West Africa missions personalizer for the IMB. Queen and his family formerly served in Dakar, Senegal, as career missionaries heading up an engagement team that assisted churches in partnering with unreached people groups. Also, two short-term missions teams from Rocky Creek recently served in West Africa, pastor David Williams noted.
A Student Summit for high school and college students to meet missionaries and discover missions opportunities in West Africa is also planned for April 4-5 at Rocky Creek. Speakers include Toby Dix, student ministry pastor at Rocky Creek, and Allen McWhite Sr., director for global missions, North Greenville University.
The registration fee for the West Africa Summit is $50 per person before March 1, and $75 afterward. The registration fee for the Student Summit is $20 per person prior to March 1, and $25 afterward. Deadline for registration is March 15. For more information or to register, visit www.rockycreekonline.org, or call the church office at (864) 288-1323.