Messengers to the Nov.16–17 Alabama Baptist State Convention who wanted to stretch their legs, catch up with old acquaintances or load up on snacks and free gifts probably made their way to the exhibit hall set up at Eastmont Baptist Church, Montgomery.
But sponsors of the displays, who offered popcorn, peanuts, sodas and chocolate and gave away everything from children’s coloring books and calendars to a Thomas Kinkade framed print, said making their booths enticing stops for conventioneers is engineered for purposes much more serious than good snacks and good times.
The exhibit hall featured dozens of displays, including booths from the offices of the Alabama State Board of Missions, Southern Baptist Convention entities such as LifeWay Christian Resources, Southern Baptist seminaries and regional Baptist colleges and universities.
Each exhibitor had a message to convey, promoting resources and services designed to promote and support a larger message, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Kevin Norris, Southern Baptist representative to East Asia, and Tim and Charlotte Cearley, missionaries to Mozambique, hosted the International Mission Board (IMB) display. All three are on stateside assignment in Alabama.
“We had a good amount of traffic,” said Norris. He said messengers who stopped by the booth discovered resources offered by the IMB to promote missions in their own churches. “It helps them become more involved.” The most popular giveaway item on the table was the 2004 30-day prayer guide, Love the Lost of the World, according to Norris. The IMB also displayed video clips shown on computer for use in churches to promote the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and Bibles in Portuguese and an African dialect.
Some messengers pausing at the IMB display inquired about how to form partnerships with a team on the missions field or how to get more involved in missions as a church or association.
They also discovered that “it’s a small world,” when Cearley talked with one messenger and realized they had friends in common from the South American missions field.
Norris has served in East Asia for six years and attended other missions conferences while stateside, but this convention was the first time he worked a booth.
IMB missionaries on stateside assignment are routinely requested to attend their stand conventions and preside over displays, although their appearance is not required.
Norris reported a personal discovery: The IMB display, despite the appeal of chocolate, was not the most popular in the room, and some people passed it by.
“I think there are some people that are a bit fearful to come by this booth because they’re afraid God might call them overseas,” Norris said.
The Baptist Foundation of Alabama sponsored a drawing for a free Thomas Kinkade framed print at its display table. “There’s been a lot of interest,” said Barry Bledsoe, president. “Getting people to stop by the booth is important because it gives him the opportunity to educate messengers.
“There are just so many Alabama Baptists that don’t really know about all the services offered through the Foundation,” he said.
Typically he will schedule two or three senior adult estate planning conferences throughout the year from contacts made at a state convention, according to Bledsoe.
By late afternoon Tuesday, representatives from Shocco Springs Baptist Conference Center already had given away 800 bottles of water to people who stopped by their display. They brought 1,200 bottles and anticipated leaving empty handed.
Sponsoring a booth “helps us stay in touch with a lot of people who come throughout the year to Shocco Springs,” said Buster Taylor, director. It allows him an opportunity to get personal feedback.
Taylor also uses convention time to network with other display sponsors, especially the colleges, and recruit summer staff.
Taylor said messengers also dropped by the Shocco Springs display to pick up coupons for the bookstore, which the retreat center provided at the convention. Shocco Springs staff brought 50 cartons of books for sale at bargain prices.
“Throughout the year the bookstore collects books we think are good for pastors, just to help the preachers.”
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