Volunteers from five associations provide water, gospel at chilly Veterans Day parade

The first bottle of water given away by North Jefferson Baptist Association brought the first soul to Christ during Crossover Birmingham at the city’s National Veterans Day Parade Nov. 11.
  
North Jefferson and four other metro-area associations — Bessemer, Birmingham, Shelby and St. Clair — set up tents at five sites along the parade route to reach out to paradegoers. Volunteers came prepared to hand out about 18,000 bottles of water, register parade­goers for $2,500 in gas card giveaways and, most importantly, talk to passers-by about their spiritual condition.
  
When people asked why volunteers were giving away free water, “we explained to them that because Jesus thought enough about us to die, the least we could do was hand out water,” said Lee Loggins, a member of Glennwood Baptist Church, Morris, in North Jefferson Association.
  
And when passers-by didn’t always bite on the water offer — a sudden weather change brought icy winds and wet weather — volunteers weren’t deterred from sharing. Many took to walking the streets, passing out bread, tracts or bright-green bottle koozies imprinted with the plan of salvation.
  
And several came to know Christ as a result.
  
“In spite of the weather, God blessed. Folks prayed to receive Christ and seeds were planted,” said Mike Jackson, an associate in the office of evangelism for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
  
Ollie Gunn, pastor of Christian Walk Baptist Church, Bessemer, in Bessemer Association, said the parade was a chance to let people know how much God loves them and how important they are.
  
“As people of God, we need to constantly perpetuate that, and that’s why we are here. There is a perseverance necessary for believers, and that’s (also) why we are here … even on a cold and rainy day,” Gunn said.