The South Carolina Baptist Convention’s evangelism group director hopes the upcoming SCBC Evangelism Conference will be a catalyst for pastors to engage their congregations to be “missionaries in their communities.”
Lineup of speakers for 2012 SCBC Evangelism Conference.The 2012 Evangelism Conference will be held Feb. 22-24 at Hoffmeyer Road Baptist Church in Florence. The theme for the three-day meeting, which is free and open to South Carolina Baptists, is “Where Are the Workers?” (based on Matthew 9:37-38).
Lee Clamp, the state convention’s new evangelism group director, said that while he hopes there will be a large turnout for the conference, the success of the meeting will not be defined by the number in attendance.
“It will be a success if the leaders in attendance go back to those they influence and intentionally attempt to mobilize their people to be missionaries and hold them accountable for taking responsibility for the lostness around them,” said Clamp, who joined the SCBC staff in January after previously serving as missional pastor at First Baptist Church, Barnwell.
Clamp cited statistics he said speak to the need for South Carolina Baptists to be more urgent in telling others “the greatest story known to mankind.”
“This past week,” he said, “3.6 million people in South Carolina were not inside a church building. Assuming that they are not hearing the gospel on a regular basis, it is imperative for us to mobilize the members of our churches to be missionaries in their communities.”
Noting that South Carolina Baptist churches are “consistently baptizing” only about 16,000 people each year, Clamp said “there is much more work to be done in impacting the lostness of our state.
“Hopefully, at this year’s Evangelism Conference, leaders will be challenged to move their members out of the walls of the church and into the community to be the church by serving every man, woman and child.”
The lineup of speakers and musicians for the 2012 SCBC Evangelism Conference includes:
? Jim Austin, executive director-treasurer of the SCBC. Austin, a native of Charlotte, N.C., pastored churches in Georgia and Virginia and served as an International Mission Board Journeyman in the Philippines.
? Rick Coram, evangelist. Coram has held crusades in countries as far away as the Philippines and Haiti, seeing more than 600 salvations in the two countries. He began his evangelism ministry as an associate pastor and student minister.
? David Gallamore, pastor for more than 30 years of Rock Springs Baptist Church Easley, a church of more than 5,000 members. The Greenville native has served South Carolina Baptists on the association and convention levels.
? Junior Hill, an evangelist who has conducted more than 1,800 revivals and several international crusades. Hill grew up in Hartselle, Ala., and started his ministry at 19. He is a former SBC vice president and the author of several books.
? Phil Hoskins, pastor of Higher Ground Baptist Church in Kingsport, Tenn. Under his leadership, the church has grown from fewer than 200 members to more than 3,500 and has seen 2,800 baptisms. Hoskins also was a full-time evangelist for 12 years and led 400 meetings.
? Randall Jones, retired pastor of Langston Baptist Church, Conway, where he served for 29 years. After retirement, Jones started Embraced Evangelism, through which he serves as a full-time evangelist. He is also a contract worker for the South Carolina Baptist Convention.
? Jeff Laborg, author of several publications, including “Fires of Revival.” Laborg’s testimony has made him a recognized and sought-after speaker around the country. He holds degrees from Liberty University and Liberty Theological Seminary.
? Ernie Perkins, evangelist and humorist. He has preached in nearly 850 revivals. As a humorist, he has entertained more than 650 times. He served for 23 years as executive director of Capital Baptist Association in Oklahoma City.
? Charles Billingsley, singer and worship leader. Billingsley sang with NewSong before venturing out as a solo artist. He teaches at Liberty University and has sung in more than 2,000 churches.
? The Old Paths, a gospel quartet that has had four top-30 songs in the Singing News magazine charts. The group was nominated as a Top-5 Horizon Group for 2011 by Singing News magazine.
For more information: www.scbaptist.org or 800-723-7242, ext. 3022.