Sammy Taylor doesn’t have any problem calling his church’s recent Friend Day a glowing success. “We doubled our attendance — we normally run 200 or 225 in attendance, and we had more than 430 people that day,” said Taylor, pastor of Mountain View Baptist Church, Phil Campbell, in Franklin Baptist Association. “We challenged our people to bring their unchurched and unsaved friends, and they really bought into it and realized it was important.”
During the month of October, Taylor preached and Sunday School teachers taught from “My Friendship Connection” material by Vernon Brady and Elmer Towns, which gives churches resources to prepare their members for Friend Day.
And when Friend Day came Nov. 2, church members had to open the back doors and fill the foyer with chairs to seat the overflow. Four were baptized that day and two more saved — one of them a 75-year-old woman whom Taylor will baptize soon, he said.
“It really energized our people, and guests are still coming who got connected with the church through Friend Day,” Taylor said. “This will be an ongoing thing. We’re focusing now on follow-up and planning for next year’s event.” For more information about the Friend Day emphasis, visit www.myfriendshipconnection.com.
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