September 17, 2024
CUMMING, Ga. – The Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s next round of evangelism conferences are set for Sunday and Monday at First Baptist Church in Cumming where Southern Baptist leaders will share insights into spreading the gospel.
Registration remains open.
Some 650 Georgia Baptists attended the Mission Board’s opening round of evangelism conferences just over a week ago in Warner Robins, and similar numbers are expected at the next, said Levi Skipper, the Mission Board’s lead strategist over church strengthening.
The overall numbers thus far include 210 participants at a Hispanic evangelism conference that was held in conjunction with the one in Warner Robins. Another Hispanic evangelism conference is set for this Saturday at First Baptist Church in Woodstock.
Georgia Baptist churches have been focusing on evangelism and, as a result, have seen a significant increase in the number of new believers baptized over the past year.
A partial count shows 14,333 baptisms in 2022, up from 12,865 the previous year. The latest numbers account for slightly more than half of the state’s 3,400 churches, so the total number of baptisms could be far higher.
Last year was marked by a number of localized revivals across Georgia that helped push baptism numbers up. Already this year, churches are experiencing similar instances of localized revivals.
Georgia Baptist Mission Board Executive Director W. Thomas Hammond Jr. said the evangelism conferences are intended to inspire and prepare church members to share the gospel.
“I have heard all my life that evangelism is more caught than taught,” Hammond said at the initial conference last month. “But when we have the skills to share our faith, we can do it in a way that is relevant and effective.”
Brad Marchman, an evangelism consultant for the state Mission Board, said churches can be successful in reaching the unchurched only when their members get a passion for sharing their faith.
Surveys suggest, Marchman said, that only about 5 percent of church members actively share their faith on a regular basis.
“That has become the accepted norm,” he said. “Here’s the thing: I don’t want to accept that.”
