“Every believer sharing. Every person hearing.” The two basic tenants of the God’s Plan for Sharing emphasis were at the forefront as nearly 1,000 South Carolina pastors and church leaders met for the 2010 State Evangelism Conference.
This year’s conference featured a new dual-site, regional format, with Midlands and Lowcountry pastors meeting Feb. 7-9 in North Charleston, while their Upstate colleagues gathered Feb. 21-23 in Moore.
South Carolina Baptist Convention evangelization and missions team leader Marshall Fagg was pleased with the results of the new-look conference. “The new regional format succeeded, in large measure, thanks to the host churches: Northwood Baptist Church in North Charleston and Anderson Mill Road Baptist Church in Moore,” Fagg said. “Dr. Sonny Holmes and Dr. D.J. Horton, their staffs and their people, went the extra mile in every way possible.”
Fagg said he was excited by the way in which combined attendees for the two conferences were “challenged by the Word and convicted by the Spirit to recommit to the task of reaching 3.25 million lost and unchurched South Carolinians with the gospel.” The task was borne out by statistics shared during the conferences’ annual awards banquets. With about 80 percent of churches tallied, South Carolina Baptist churches reported baptizing more than 15,000 people in 2009; and conference organizers said they hoped the final number would top 17,000. More than 300 churches, however, reported zero baptisms for the church year.
Featured speakers for this year’s conferences included familiar names such as former Southern Baptist Convention president and former Taylors First Baptist pastor Frank Page, vocational evangelist Frank Shivers, Southwestern Seminary professor emeritus Roy Fish, and Southeastern Seminary professor Alvin Reid.
The conference also sought to shine the light on a new generation of South Carolina pastors. Will Browning, teaching pastor of The Journey Church in Summerville, spoke to attendees of the North Charleston conference, while Upstate pastors received a message from Jay Hardwick, lead pastor of Columbia’s Awaken Church. The music leaders and music style chosen for the new conferences also represented a shift in focus, according to Fagg.
“Monday night [in Moore] the Holy Spirit penetrated hearts through the preaching of Don Wilton and David Platt, accompanied by the music of Joyful Sound,” said Fagg. “There was a brokenness unlike anything I have experienced in my 22 years as a South Carolina Baptist. I truly believe God began to break down the generational barriers that have plagued the work of our churches in recent years.”
“The focus on next-generation leaders reflected in the messages and the music was well received by men and women of all ages,” he said. “Both Northwood and Anderson Mill Road are churches seeking to reflect the diverse communities they are called to reach in the style and content of their worship experiences,” Fagg said.
While such a shift in focus might be difficult for some, Fagg said he believes it is necessary for South Carolina Baptists. “Change never comes easy for Baptists; yet without it our relevance will be increasingly diminished throughout the population of our state, to say nothing of our passion for a lost nation and world,” he said. – SCBC