Upcoming evangelism conferences to begin on high note with reports of significant increase in baptisms

Georgia Baptist churches reporting 14,333 baptisms last year, though total number could be far higher

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WARNER ROBINS, Ga. – Georgia Baptist churches are reporting a significant increase in the number of new believers baptized over the past year, a jolt of good news as pastors, evangelists and others prepare for a pair of upcoming evangelism conferences.

A partial count shows 14,333 baptism 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.

“We’re thrilled to see our baptism numbers rising,” said Levi Skipper, the Georgia Baptist Mission Board strategist who oversees evangelism. “We thank God for every soul saved over the past year, but we know we have so much more to do in a state with a population of nearly 11 million.”

Hoping to further fan the flames of revival, the Georgia Baptist Mission Board has scheduled evangelism conferences at two locations intended to inspire church leaders to do more to spread the gospel while learning about strategies that are working best in reaching the current generation.

Registration is open for the evangelism conferences being held at Central Baptist Church in Warner Robins on Feb. 26-27, and at First Baptist Church in Cumming on March 12-13.

The evangelism conferences are among the Mission Board’s most popular events, having drawn more than 1,500 participants last year.

The preachers at this year’s conferences include:

-- Mark Clifton, the North American Mission Board’s senior director of church replanting. A Kansas resident, Clifton has served as a pastor, church planter, church revitalizer, mission strategist, and mentor to young leaders.

-- Mark Croston Sr., national director of Black church ministries at Lifeway Christian Resources. A Philadelphia native, Croston served as pastor in Virginia for 26 years and has preached in nearly 40 countries.

-- Herb Reavis Jr., senior pastor at North Jacksonville Baptist Church in Florida. Reavis is no stranger to such events. He has preached twice at the SBC Pastor’s Conference as well as at state-level pastor’s and evangelism conferences.

-- Crawford Loritts, president and founder of Beyond our Generation. Loritts, who grew up in New Jersey, has traveled through the U.S. and much of the world as a staff member of Cru. For 15 years, he was senior pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, Ga.

-- Steve Davis, lead and founding pastor of TrueNorth Church in North Augusta, S.C. Davis has been in ministry for 35 years, including 15 years as a student minister. Steve, his wife Cheryl, and a few other couples planted TrueNorth as a church for the unchurched in 2004.

-- Brad Marchman, an evangelism consultant for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. Marchman served as pastor in Macon for 16 years before joining the Mission Board’s Church Strengthening team where he serves churches in east central, west central and southeast Georgia.

-- Steve Foster, also an evangelism consultant for the Geogia Baptist Mission Board. Foster has been the featured speaker at hundreds of evangelistic services and rally. He has served a a senior pastor, director of missions and as a vocational evangelist.

There will also be over 14 different breakout sessions covering all areas of ministry in the church. Each attendee will be able to go to four different breakout sessions. 

“We’ve designed this evangelism conference to both inspire and equip churches,” Skipper said. “We don’t just simply tell the people who attend that it’s their job share the gospel, because we all know that’s our job. What this conference does is give pastors and church leaders the tools they need to be successful evangelistically.”