The interim pastor of NewSpring Church and leaders of the South Carolina Baptist Convention came together in prayer Sept. 22 in a public display of unity for the cause of taking the Gospel to lost people.

At the “Impact: Understanding and Engaging a Shifting Culture” conference at Shandon Baptist Church in Columbia, SCBC executive director-treasurer Gary Hollingsworth invited Clayton King, interim pastor of the 35,000-member, multicampus NewSpring Church, to join him on stage.

Hollingsworth noted that King, an evangelist and president of Crossroads Summer Camps for youth, had stepped into a “situation that had every opportunity to be divisive” when he agreed to be NewSpring’s interim pastor following the church’s dismissal of founding pastor Perry Noble on July 1 for “unfortunate choices.” Noble later acknowledged an “overuse of alcohol” and checked himself into a rehabilitation facility.

King thanked the South Carolina Baptist Convention for providing the seed money that helped fund NewSpring as a church plant in Anderson 16 years ago. “We are proud, as a church, to be Baptist, and we’re proud to be affiliated with this convention,” he said.

King then thanked Hollingsworth, along with SCBC staff members Lee Clamp and Jay Hardwick, for “reaching out” to his church to offer “words of affirmation” and prayer. “That’s a real true picture of what the Gospel looks like,” he said. “We need each other. I just don’t think we realized how much we need each other until something difficult takes place.”

“The days are coming when … we will stop our stupid fights and … we’ll have to band together under the Gospel,” he added.

King then offered an apology: “If NewSpring Church has ever given the impression … or if we’ve ever taken a posture, that we think we have it all figured out or that we are better than your church, I am not just sorry, I repent. And I, on behalf of our church, … ask you to forgive us.”

[Watch: King’s remarks and Hollingsworth’s prayer.]

King said NewSpring and other churches “do the same thing, but we do it in different ways.”

“It’s going to take every effort, and God will use all of that for His glory, to bring lost people into the kingdom and make disciples of them,” he said, adding, “Let’s pray for each other, and let’s stick together.”

Hollingsworth invited a small group of pastors to join him on stage and lay their hands on King, and he asked the hundreds of those in the audience to stretch their hands toward King in a symbolic “powerful sign of unity that we’re coming together in one heart and one voice” because “the lost world is depending on our unified witness.”

Hollingsworth prayed for King’s leadership in a “strategic church and the ministry that’s reaching so many people.” He also prayed that “we come together in partnership and unity so that we might see the Gospel impact that we so desire.”

When asked by The Courier if he foresees a stronger relationship between NewSpring and the SCBC in the future, Hollingsworth said it is his “prayer and hope that there will be an open door for NewSpring to become more a part of the SCBC,” adding, “that is a two-way street for sure.”

“I am approaching this with a ‘no agenda other than a kingdom agenda’ mindset and [to] let the Holy Spirit take it where He wants it to go,” Hollingsworth said. “Clayton’s comments and heart were simply amazing, and, prayerfully, his spirit will be contagious as we seek to move forward.”

King told The Courier that “denominational affiliation will never be [NewSpring’s] primary concern or calling.” “The Gospel must always occupy that role,” he said.

“Our church is trying to reach people who may have no religious background or [denominational] affiliation at all,” he said, “but we are not ashamed of our Baptist roots and shared values of reaching those far from God.”

“What I’ve always appreciated about the Baptist tradition is how we’ve prioritized evangelism and missions. Baptists have traditionally wanted to reach the world and fulfill the Great Commission.

“That’s the DNA of NewSpring Church, and even though we may do new and different and creative things to reach the unchurched, we resonate with that spiritual DNA of historic Baptist faith.”

King said he was “thrilled” to be invited to attend the Impact conference as a guest by Hollingsworth and Clamp. “As an evangelist for the past 29 years, God has given me a love for the local church and specifically for pastors,” he said. “Anything I can do now in my new role at NewSpring to bring unity to the body of Christ is an opportunity I hope I can take.”

“I see so much fracturing of the overall American fabric of culture, and it grieves my heart to see the church sometimes fall into patterns of competition, jealousy, envy, pride or territorialism. If I can help build bridges between churches and pastors that help us love each other and trust each other, I want to be the first one to step to the plate to foster those kinds of relationships.”

When asked about the apology he offered at the conference, King said, “My father taught me to be quick to apologize for the greater good of restored relationships. I just don’t want anyone to believe that we think we are better than they are because of size or style. We’re all in need of the daily grace of God, and humility should characterize the way we live our lives and the way we do ministry.”