Fifty-four Alabamians closed their eyes and bowed their heads. Some had tears softly trailing down their faces. They made decisions to follow Christ at a tent crusade held by Sardis Baptist Church, Boaz, Oct. 16–19.
The Marshall Baptist Association church held the crusade to reach the lost rather than a revival to inspire church members, Pastor Mike Goforth said.
Each night, Marc Ivey, of Lynchburg, Va., led worship and Evangelist Tim Williams, of Prattville, brought the message.
Monday night was Operation Andrew night when people were encouraged to bring a nonbelieving friend. Tuesday night was aimed at reaching youth, and 44 youth walked forward to accept Christ that evening. Eleven were youth who attend the church.
The other 10 decisions were a mix of adults and children and came on different nights of the crusade.
Forty Sardis Baptist members were trained by Goforth how to pray with and answer the questions of each person who came forward.
The church followed up with the new believers.
After seeing such results, Goforth was reassured that tent crusades still serve a purpose in witnessing to nonbelievers. There were many people who attended the crusade who would never have set foot in a church building, he said, but were interested in the “old-timey feel” of a tent crusade.
“[The crusade] was a great thing, and it just shows that if we get the people here that don’t know Christ, there’s still power in the gospel,” Goforth said.
Randall Stoner, director of missions for Marshall Association, was thrilled to hear the results from the event.
“I just praise the Lord for the effort put in by [Sardis] to reach out to the community … and for what was accomplished,” Stoner said. “It just shows tent crusades are still necessary and valuable for the kingdom of God.”
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