September 9, 2024
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Georgia Baptist Convention President Kevin Williams acknowledges the “ups and downs” of two centuries of sharing the gospel.
“Here we are 200 years later having accomplished much,” he told messengers to an annual meeting Tuesday at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta. “But we are not done yet. Jesus has not returned. The rapture has not taken place. So we must continue to move forward and advance the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Williams is wrapping up his second and final term as president of the state’s largest religious organization, telling messengers he’s “so thankful for the relationships God has allowed me to build with so many great pastors and leaders all around this amazing state.”
In his presidential address based on Philippians 3:12-14, Williams encouraged Georgia Baptist to be “pressing forward to those things which are ahead.” He called for Georgia Baptists to “press to be more like Jesus.”
“I want to grasp what Jesus has for me, and I want to experience what he has for me,” Williams said.
Pressing forward, he explained, is an action, meaning to continuously go for Jesus.
“I want to be found in Him, not just talking about what I have done for Him,” Williams said.
Williams exhorted Georgia Baptists to forget past sins.
“The enemy says, ‘Look at all those things you’ve done that are horrible; you can’t serve God,’” Williams said. “God says, ‘You have been washed in the blood and your sins are forgiven – past, present and future. Forget about it.”
Williams also told Georgia Baptists to forget past failures.
“The enemy says, ‘Look at those failures when you tried something for God; you will only fail again so don’t try,’” he said. “God says, ‘You are my child and I love you. Keep on fighting the good fight, keep the faith, and finish this race, because I will make you successful.’”
And Williams called for Georgia Baptists to forget past successes.
“The enemy says, ‘Look at all the great things you have done; relax, you’ve done more than most do in a lifetime, just talk about your past success,’” he said. “God says, ‘You have done great things, but you are not done yet, so remember to continuously take up your cross daily and come after me until one day you hear these words from me: Well done my good and faithful servant.’”
Williams, a military veteran, talked about a simple but crucial command that he had heard lots of times: Forward march.
“Everyone in step together begins to march,” he said. “Do you know that there is a reason that they teach this? They want everyone to be in unison. We look alike in our uniforms, and we move together. We may all come from different backgrounds in life. We may be white, Black, Latino, Asian or wherever. We may be poor or rich. None of that mattered. We had to work together to complete the mission.”
Christians, Williams said, are just like that.
“If there’s anything I’ve learned over the past two years is that we are different and it’s ok, because that’s what Heaven is going to be like,” he said.
“We as Pastors and leaders in our churches need more than ever to band together to reach this state and this world with the gospel,” Williams said. “We need to run in such a way as to win the prize, but what has happened to many is that we get distracted by the enemy and take our eyes off the prize.”
Williams concluded his address with a final exhortation:
“We've got a world to reach, and it's not going to happen by sitting around talking about. We need to move forward. We’re not done yet.”
