Sept. 14, 2000
Alabama Baptists attending the 2000 Alabama Baptist State Convention annual meeting will find new opportunities in evangelism as well as a variety of celebrations. Highlights for the convention include a concert by Christian artist Larnelle Harris and a first-time Crossover Montgomery event.
Messengers will converge in Montgomery at the city’s civic center Nov. 14-15 under the theme “Through Every Door.” But prior to the convention, Crossover Montgomery will be held Nov. 11-12.
A first for Alabama Baptists, Crossover Montgomery will be an evangelistic harvest event with block parties, prayer walking and door-to-door witnessing, said Max Croft, associate in evangelism for the State Board of Missions (SBOM).
“Nine block parties are planned in different sectors of the city,” said Jay Wolf, pastor of First Baptist Church, Montgomery. Wolf is helping coordinate the crossover effort along with leadership from Montgomery, Autauga and Elmore associations.
Campus ministers from across the state are bringing students to participate in the activities, while Dick Thomassian from Whitesburg Baptist Church, Huntsville, is coordinating the block parties.
“This is an opportunity for us to impact the city where the convention is being held with the gospel rather than just having a meeting,” said Croft, who encourages churches across the state to participate in the event. “We want to get the good news to (the citizens) and let them know what we are really about — that we are more than just a convention meeting in their city,” he said.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to use our state resources and state meeting to do the first priority of the Christian life — share Christ,” Wolf said. “As we use this in Montgomery, I pray it will teach us as Alabama Baptists a new way to reach out to our communities and create an ongoing template.”
Croft added that crossover events will become an annual part of the state convention meeting, falling in line with the national Southern Baptist Convention scene.
“Crossover Montgomery is our attempt at making heaven larger,” Wolf said.
While crossover activities are planned prior to the convention, the impact will penetrate throughout the convention, Croft noted. “We will have people who are touched by the witness (given during the crossover event) to give testimony during the convention,” he said. “This will give a different tone to the convention.”
Another change will be an invitation time for those who came to Christ during Crossover Montgomery and for any others who want to make public decisions, said Reggie Quimby, director of global partnerships and volunteers in missions for the SBOM.
“We will give the invitation Tuesday night,” Quimbly said. Calvin Miller, professor of preaching and pastoral studies at Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School, will conclude the Tuesday night “On Mission Celebration” with an invitation following his message.
“Tuesday night will not only be a report time and a celebration, but a call for salvation,” Quimby said.
As a celebration, “Tuesday evening will celebrate all that God has done through the Cooperative Program, through missions with the Women’s Missionary Union (WMU), global partnerships, volunteers and celebrating that associations and lay folk have come together in the ‘Through Every Door’ campaign and crossover experience,” Quimby explained. “We will celebrate the lives that have been changed.”
Along with Harris’ concert, a potentially 300-voice mass choir from Montgomery, Autauga and Elmore associations will provide the backdrop of praise and worship. A parade of flags will lead the two hours of festivities that will include missions updates from volunteers in missions, WMU and the Alabama partnerships — Venezuela and the Northeast.
Representing Venezuela will be Jose Daniel Rodriguez, general secretary for the Venezuela Baptist Convention, and Enrique Damaso, president of the Venezuela convention.
Ken Lyle, former director of the Northeast (U.S.) Baptist Convention, plans to represent the Northeast partnership.
Cooperative Program awards and volunteer of the year recognition also will take place during the Tuesday night session.
Another special missions emphasis planned Tuesday evening is a missions fair. The display of booths will be set up in the civic center foyer before and after the “On Mission Celebration.”
“We will have 25 to 30 booths, 70 to 80 missionaries and at least 100 volunteers present,” Quimby said. “Everything Tuesday night will be related to missions,” he noted. “We are trying to do something different with reports such as using video clips of testimonies of missions projects and clips of potential projects,” Quimby said.
“It is a different type of approach and it will be exciting to see the results.”
Share with others: