Steve Hale, an evangelist with the First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Ga., uses a survey to witness to Shequetha, left, near Downtown Baptist Church of Orlando, Fla.A friendly conversation, a story, a realization and a prayer – that’s the gist of what happens when one person shares and another accepts the simple gospel of Jesus Christ. And while the methods and venues may have varied, the scene played out more than 1,400 times June 7-12 as Southern Baptists expressed their core message of hope through Crossover Orlando.
A volunteer with Faith Riders, a motorcycle ministry, carries supplies to the food distribution site at First Baptist Church in Orlando, Fla. The food drive, part of Crossover Orlando 2010, provided food for thousands of area families.The effort, held just prior to the Southern Baptist Convention’s June 15-16 annual meeting at the Orange County Convention Center, involved more than 70 local churches and 1,200 outside volunteers. Venues included weeklong Hispanic Crossover and Intentional Community Evangelism (ICE) efforts, as well as a one-day blitz June 12 that included 15 neighborhood block parties, visits to homes, food distribution at five churches, free water bottles for tourists on International Drive and a huge family festival for the Hispanic community at the Central Florida Fairgrounds.
“The best thing summing up the week for me was for people to see Southern Baptists at their best, cooperating with one another at association, state and national levels,” said Mike Armstrong, executive pastor of First Baptist Church of Winter Park and coordinator of Crossover Orlando. “They saw the best of what Southern Baptists truly are, and that is a cooperative people.”
Crossover is coordinated nationally through the North American Mission Board.
Frank Page (left), vice president of evangelization for the North American Mission Board, shares a witnessing tract in Spanish with two young men June 10 at the Festival Para Toda la Familia, one of many Crossover Orlando 2010 events.Bill Faulkner, director of missions for the 168 churches in the Greater Orlando Baptist Association, said he believes the benefits will extend far beyond the spiritual decisions that were made, including more than 1,500 salvations.
“Encouraging churches in an event like this will help them see that they can do this all the time,” Faulkner said. “It doesn’t have to be a special event. It doesn’t have to be necessarily with volunteers from outside. They see it and they say, ‘Wow, we can do this.'”
Additionally, decisions recorded throughout Crossover are distributed to local churches for immediate follow-up with individuals. – BP