MURFREESBORO — When it comes to sharing the gospel, there is no time like the present.
This simple, but crucial, message was the focal point of this year’s State Evangelism Conference, held April 7-8 at New Vision Baptist Church in Murfreesboro.
The event, organized by the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board’s evangelism team, included five keynote speakers, along with breakout sessions, informational videos and other activities — all based around the central theme, “Now is the Day of Salvation” (taken from II Corinthians 6:2).
This year’s conference marked the third installment of the annual event since it was relaunched in 2022 following a 15-year hiatus.
Roc Collins, strategic objectives director for the TBMB, said the conference is a vital event on the Tennessee Baptist calendar because it helps enforce the idea that evangelism is the lifeblood of every church ministry.
“Evangelism affects every aspect of what we do,” said Collins. “If we are somehow failing to realize that, then we are missing the mark. And that is why this conference is so important — because it helps pastors and churches regain that perspective and urgency.”
“If we’re not intentional about evangelism in everything that we do, then we become cultural warriors,” Collins added. “We don’t have a social gospel. We have the gospel.”
The five “featured speakers” at this year’s conference included Jordan Easley, pastor of First Baptist Church, Cleveland; Sam Landrith, pastor of Thompson Station Church; John Butler, pastor of East Rogersville Baptist Church, Rogersville; Bobby Lewis, pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Knoxville; and Bartholemew Orr, pastor of Brown Missionary Baptist Church, Southaven, Miss.
“The content throughout the conference was choice,” said Collins. “Each and every one of our preachers caught the vision of inspiring, encouraging and exhorting our people to do evangelism — and I loved that.”
“That’s what I wanted,” said Collins, “and I was so excited to see it happen.”
Mark Miller, baptism and discipleship team leader and Sunday School specialist for the TBMB, said each of the speakers brought something different to the conference.
“Each of them was very effective and engaging,” said Miller. “When we were in the planning stages of this conference, our goal was to line up a variety of speakers from across the state who are from evangelistic churches and who are continuously seeing people saved and baptized. And I believe we accomplished that goal with this year’s lineup.
“These are Godly men, who are all seeing the Lord at work in their churches — and they each brought encouraging and exciting words to the attendees,” Miller said.
Collins said he was amazed at how the messages seem to be woven together in an orchestrated fashion, despite the fact that the pastors actually did not collaborate beforehand.
“It was amazing how God put all of that together,” said Collins. “It all just fell perfectly into place. Each pastor presented evangelism in a way that was simple and easy to understand — and I just felt there was a great spirit of excitement and encouragement to go out and win people for Jesus.”
The conference also featured worship music by Kirk Kirkland, worship leader at Judson Baptist Church, Nashville, and Ben Waites, recording artist and worship leader in Nashville.
Another highlight of the conference was designated times of prayer, including an altar call at the end of the Sunday evening session and a “small-group huddle” prayer time on Monday.
“Our hope is that this conference gives (the attendees) a boost of energy to go back to their churches, back to their harvest fields, more determined than ever to not give up on reaching people for Jesus,” said Miller.
The Monday morning session featured a panel discussion that included four pastors — Ancel Presnell, Strong Tower Baptist Church; Ryan Crips, Irving College Baptist Church; Brady Cooper, New Vision Baptist Church and Lewis — discussing various topics and answering questions from attendees. (Attendees were able to text questions for the panel to a phone number that was provided on the video boards).
The session also included a brief word and prayer from Jay Hardwick, senior pastor at Forest Hills Baptist Church and president of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, along with a special presentation from Phil Cohn about his door-to-door evangelism ministry, Saturate USA.
During break times, attendees were able to fellowship and collaborate with other pastors and church leaders, and could visit numerous booths and exhibits in the church foyer.
Miller noted that each session and each activity was centered around the concept of helping attendees find new ways to share the gospel.
“People are lost in Tennessee, millions of people, plain and simple,” Miller said. “And we have to do what it takes, whatever it takes, to see people saved. And this conference is a way for our people to come get remotivated, learn some new principles and practices, and to hear some fresh ideas on things that can work.”
The Monday afternoon session featured a wide range of breakout sessions that were led by: Chris Noland, pastor of Decherd First Baptist Church, Decherd; Randy Singleton, minister of senior adults, Black Oak Heights Baptist Church, Knoxville; Danny Sinquefield, harvest field team leader for the TBMB; Jay Barbier, youth ministry specialist for the TBMB; and Crips, Presnell, Cooper and Collins.
Miller said he believes the conference helps churches regain perspective.
“The importance of keeping evangelism in front of our people is really the main focus of this conference,” said Miller. “As churches, we have to make sure that seeing people saved, seeing people follow the Lord in believers’ baptism and seeing people grow in their faith remains our top priority. And events like this help churches and pastors keep that focus in place.
“The awareness of evangelism is what we are really going for,” Miller added. “It’s about making sure we are doing all we can to help our churches never lose sight of that. It’s really about keeping the main thing the main thing.” B&R