Camden Baptist sees 106 decisions after My Hope

“Our initial response was awe,” said Pastor Bob Weber of the 106 decisions made for Christ after participating in My Hope with Billy Graham in early November.

Weber, who has served as pastor of Camden Baptist Church for more than three years, explained how the Pine Barren Baptist Association church had “a real burden for students.” 

Church leadership contacted headmaster Chris Burford at Wilcox Academy, a private school located near the church. On Nov. 7, Burford agreed to allow a facilitator (volunteer) from Camden Baptist to enter every sixth through 12th grade class. Each classroom was shown the My Hope video “The Cross” and heard the personal testimony of each facilitator.

“It was beyond anything we could have imagined,” Weber said of the response from students, also noting that two decisions by adults were made in “Matthew” homes. 

In preparation for presenting My Hope in the area, Weber began to walk through the Book of Acts and focused his sermons on how to “galvanize … prayer lives and to seek the Lord corporately and individually.” Church members participated in 40 days of prayer for My Hope and two “Matthew” training sessions were provided for those who volunteered to be a part of the initiative. 

The initiative had a “powerful effect on youth culture” in the area, he said. “That’s the beauty of Billy Graham — he speaks cross-generationally.” 

Now the church is busy with “strategic, methodical, prayerful” follow-up after having a post-strategy meeting, outlining every grade that was reached with the gospel and assigning personalized follow-up with every student, Weber said. 

Students who filled out decision cards were invited to Harvest Day on Nov. 10 at Camden with musical guest IMPACT of the University of Mobile. And according to Weber, four spontaneous baptisms took place at the worship gathering. 

And as far as My Hope goes, “it hasn’t stopped,” Weber said. “We are looking for any … opportunity” to share the gospel, he said. “There are still people (at the church) taking the DVD and sharing it.”