When the clock indicated it was time to begin the January 24-25 Alabama Baptist State Evangelism Conference, Sammy Gilbreath was holding his breath. Gilbreath, director of evangelism for Alabama Baptists and planner of the conference, was not sure how many speakers could get to Dothan, site of the conference.
Gilbreath told the opening session crowd of about 700 that an ice storm in Atlanta had caused the cancellation of numerous flights and delayed others. Eight of the 10 conference speakers were routed through Atlanta. Thankfully, the first two speakers had made it, but he was not sure about the others.
Tensions built for Gilbreath as time neared for Texas pastor Frederick Haynes to speak. His plane had left Atlanta, but would he arrive in time to preach during the afternoon session which was running almost 30 minutes ahead of schedule?
Gilbreath thumbed through his Bible and reviewed a passage of Scripture in case he had to preach. When the special music started and Haynes still was not there, Gilbreath picked up his Bible, ready to head to the platform.
About halfway through the song by Alabama Baptist Singing Men, Haynes walked into the auditorium and was escorted to the back of the stage to get his microphone. Gilbreath sighed so deeply it could almost be heard over the music.
The early concern about travel plans was about the only thing that did not go as Gilbreath hoped during the state evangelism conference. Every session ran ahead of time. A variety of music appealed to the myriad of tastes reflected among those attending. The speakers offered a variety of insights and help through their sermons.
In fact, the Monday evening session was unsurpassed by any single session of an evangelism conference we have attended in more than 30 years. For this writer, it would have been worth the trip to Dothan just for that session.
An unusual aspect of this year’s conference was the number of altar calls and decision times led by various speakers. Gilbreath said he did not talk with any speaker about invitations. Each was free to do as he desired. Three or four times participants were asked to make public decisions, most sealed in times of prayer around the stage. Each time the response was overwhelming.
Dothan provided wonderful hospitality for the event. Area Baptists had asked to host a major statewide meeting rather than rotating them between the state’s four major cities. This year’s conference fulfilled that request. Meeting planners expect attendance near the state’s border to be less than when a meeting is held in a central location. This year’s evangelism conference confirmed that axiom, with attendance less than hoped for by hosts and planners.
Still, several participants said meetings such as the evangelism conference should circulate more widely than Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile and Montgomery. They contend the impact of taking state convention meetings to all parts of the state outweighs the concern for maximum attendance. It will be interesting to see how widely that judgment is shared.
One comment by evangelist Junior Hill may produce more conversation across Alabama than the rest of the conference combined. During his sermon, Hill said he had been speaking at evangelism conferences for more than 30 years. During that time, he had concluded that many of the meetings are a parade of pastors who have grown what are perceived as “successful” churches.
“That is supposed to encourage us,” he said. “What it does is depress us, because we know we are not going to grow our church from 50 to 5,000. We are not going to have 500 baptisms.”
Hill affirmed the value of hearing success stories but added conferences also need to feature pastors from churches like “Ebenezer No. 9.” He said, “We need to hear from the old boy who will say, ‘My church went from 100 to 50, but let me tell you how God was faithful through it all.’ ”
His comments were met with strong affirmation, with a long line waiting to talk to Hill following the session. Many pastors affirmed his suggestion about focusing on the faithfulness of God rather than on success stories. It also will be interesting to see if this suggestion takes hold among pastors and planners of such meetings.
The Alabama Baptist Evangelism Conference is almost unique among such meetings. This year’s meeting featured 12 different speakers, nine from outside the state. Three of the speakers preached two messages each, and each session had three sermons.
In several other states, the preaching offers less variety. Fewer outside speakers are invited, and those invited preach two or three times. Items other than preaching and special music are included in some states. Not as much time is given to individual sessions.
Alabama is one of the few places able to continue in the classic model of such meetings, presenting an array of well-known preachers from across the nation each year.
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