FBC Trussville youth share gospel in nearly 10,000 area homes

Reversing the usual order of things, youth took to the front lines while adults provided backup support during a “Light Your World” Christian oureach in eastern Birmingham July 7–10.
   
Sponsoring the event, spearheaded by the Florida-based Frontliners organization, was First Baptist Church, Trussville.  Students from nine churches, some as far away as Kansas, participated.
   
Young “Frontliners,” fortified by morning prayer time, Bible study and instructional sessions, teamed up to visit more than 9,500 homes. Following the afternoon visits, students gathered for fellowship and churchwide worship services.
   
“Not many people go door-to-door sharing the gospel anymore, so our visits started out being really difficult,” said Jessie Lambert, a high school sophomore and member of First Baptist, Trussville.
   
“We worked in teams of three, with one person speaking, a second one completing survey forms and a third person praying. I was the one doing the speaking for our team the first day,” she said.
   
“I soon realized that it didn’t matter what people thought. What was important was sharing the gospel. It really helps your witness — not just for a week, but for the rest of your life.”
   
Steve Self, student minister at Agape Baptist Church, Scottsboro, has been on three Frontliners crusades. He brought 11 students to Trussville.
   
“Some of our kids were able to lead people to Christ, and that just changed them inside out,” Self said. “There was lots of preparation for this, and lots of prayer. When you’re serious about prayer, God definitely moves people.”
   
Frontliners visited neighborhoods in Trussville, Center Point, Grayson Valley, Roebuck, Clay, Chalkville and Pinson. In three afternoons, they completed more than 2,200 surveys and shared the gospel with 679 people. Most importantly, there were 117 professions of faith.
   
Debbie Arrington, ministerial assistant for students at First, Trussville, said a Frontliner crusade takes extensive planning and preparation.  “We’ve been working on this since December 2000,” she said. “Groups of our young people and adults went on crusades in Arkansas and Georgia. And our prayer teams began praying for the crusade last July.”
   
Arrington said 12 church committees, representing hundreds of volunteers, provided backup service for the crusade. Their duties ranged from walking with youth teams to hosting visitors in their homes.
   
“Church members of all ages were involved,” she added. “Children made posters encouraging the Frontliner teams, and we had 75 senior adults who assembled information packages.”
The “Light Your World” campaign is just a beginning, believe leaders at First, Trussville. The church now has the challenge of following up with those contacted during the crusade.
   
“If we’re not ready and willing to roll up our sleeves and meet the needs of those we’ve met during Frontliners, the whole effort will have been in vain,” said Gary Hollingsworth, senior pastor of First, Trussville.