State board brings evangelism training to churches

It’s not every day you see a Harley speed down the aisle of your church, an evangelist in full leathers driving.
   
When Sammy Gilbreath’s bike headed toward the front of North Highlands Baptist Church in Hueytown to start the church’s Intentional Evangelism-themed revival, those attending might say the reaction he got was unmatched.
   
But Wendell Holmes would tend to disagree.
   
Holmes, pastor of New Teamon Baptist Church in Slocomb, said what came down the aisle at his church’s Intentional Evangelism rally was hands down the most exciting thing he’s ever seen — his two youngest sons, Clay and Jacob, coming to receive Christ.
   
“We had an amazing revival with Sammy Gilbreath — we’ve baptized 25 new members since then,” Holmes said. “But the greatest thing of all was that my two sons were saved.”
   
New Teamon, which averages 65 in Sunday School, saw 34 accept Christ as Savior during the four-day evangelism push Feb. 20–23, with more still coming as a result of the excitement it generated.
   
But Gilbreath, director of evangelism for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM), is quick to tell you it’s not his doing.
   
“It all started with the church wanting to find out how to take what they do and share the gospel through it,” Gilbreath said. “It’s the largest percentage of professions of faith I’ve ever seen — half again the size of their church. It’s absolutely staggering.”
   
Intentional Evangelism, the state’s outreach push for 2005–2007, encourages Baptists to use their normal activities and ministries as a vehicle through which to share their faith right where they are.
   
Because of its practicality, the strategy has been taking off in Alabama, with results much like New Teamon’s exploding all across the state, Gilbreath said.
   
As a result, state missionaries from the SBOM’s evangelism/discipleship team are now taking training straight to the churches — many simply don’t want to wait until the next Intentional Evangelism clinic (Sept. 12–14 in Athens).
   
“We are able to go into some churches and preach about pursuing your passions and being intentional, and then, we are also available to come back and train the leaders of the churches,” Gilbreath said.
   
New Teamon and North Highlands are prime examples. “We have had strong prayer groups praying for the lost for years, and we’ve been intentional in building relationships with the community,” Holmes said of New Teamon.
   
Many of those  saved at the services were drawn there by these established relationships — for instance, nine of those who prayed to receive Christ were friends of Holmes from a community sports league. New Teamon had the groundwork, and the Intentional Evangelism concept brought a creative and fresh approach to taking those bonds to the next level through purposefully sharing the gospel.
   
“We’ve got some excitement started now, and we can’t wait to watch it keep going,” Holmes said.
   
New Teamon is now talking with the evangelism office about implementing the training in the church, and North Highlands has a date set up for Gilbreath to come and train its staff and leadership in May.
   
“We’re relocating to a new facility here in Hueytown, and we needed to do this to keep the people going and moving in the direction of evangelism,” said Doug O’Brien, pastor of  North Highlands. “[The training] is an opportunity to put us in the place we really need to be.”
   
For more information about Intentional Evangelism, call the SBOM office of evangelism at
1-800-264-1225, Ext. 258.