The good news raced across Louisville like a thoroughbred at Churchill Downs June 20 when 3,000 Southern Baptist volunteers braved 95-degree temperatures for Crossover ’09, an evangelistic effort prior to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting.
Julie Summey (left) of Holly Springs Baptist Church, Pickens, confirms directions with team member Audrey Kelley of Main Street Baptist Church, Alexandria, Ky., before heading from Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Ky., to Waterfront Park. The pair handed out bottled water as part of the Crossover ’09 Random Acts of Kindness event June 20.Two festivals and 28 block parties topped a list of 95 events, including door-to-door community visits by 1,800 volunteers from 109 local SBC churches along with 1,200 volunteers from out of town.
“Lostness is huge in Louisville,” Kentucky Baptist Convention executive director Bill Mackey said, noting that only about 8.5 percent of the population is in church on any Sunday. “We wanted to do our best to take advantage of Crossover and to make Louisville one of the most prayed-over cities in America.”
Southern Baptist Convention president Johnny Hunt and North American Mission Board president Geoff Hammond joined Feed The Children’s president and founder, Larry Jones, to kick off the first of three “food drops” in the greater Louisville area.
As the three food drops were getting underway, volunteers at 28 other Baptist churches throughout Louisville were preparing for block parties on their campuses or in nearby parks. Thousands of hamburgers and hotdogs were thrown on charcoal grills, inflatable bouncing attractions set up, snow cone and popcorn machines revved up, and soft drinks and bottled water iced down.
Summey and Julie Medlin (center) of Hill of the Lord University Church, Columbia, met a young man named Todd while passing out water bottles at the park.St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church near downtown Louisville drew a multicultural crowd of some 1,000, thanks to the presence of a City of Louisville fire truck, a helicopter simulator, clowns, face-painters, balloon artists, a clothes closet, puppet show – and a tent full of barbecue, baked beans and potato salad.
To coincide with the block parties around Louisville, an international fair and a Hispanic festival took place in the Iroquois area of south Louisville.
The international fair hosted about 1,500 Koreans, Chinese, Burundi, Nigerians, Haitians, Somalis, Bosnians, Vietnamese and Ethiopians. – NAMB