Traditional track stresses relationships in evangelism

Alabama Baptists attending the evangelism conference’s traditional track were encouraged to build lives and churches that are conducive to intentional, relational evangelism.
   
The 450 to 500 attendees said amen, clapped and prayed in response to the messages of the track’s nine speakers.
   
Following the conference’s theme — Intentional Evangelism — Don Wilton, pastor of First Baptist Church, Spartanburg, N.C., preached from Hebrews 11.
   
He said a man of faith:
   
1. Takes God at His word.
   
2. Accepts the fact that his sin separates him from God.
   
3. Is expected to meet God on His terms.
   
4. Recognizes that to worship God is an expression of faith.
   
5. Will totally submit to Him.
   
Joe Godfrey, president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention and pastor of First Baptist Church, Pleasant Grove, said intentional evangelism is “about looking for the opportunities to build relationships as we go through life.”
   
But in building relationships, Christians will face a hostile world, so Godfrey pointed to four “survival gifts” from God found in 2 Corinthians 1:1–4. God gives:
   
1. Himself.
   
2. One another.
   
3. Privilege and power of prayer.
   
4. God’s Word and Holy Spirit.
   
Alabama Baptists heard firsthand the results of intentional evangelism in the testimony of Stuart Rothberg. A self-described “Jew from New York” Rothberg shared how the intentional witness of a friend brought him to Christ.
   
When he joined the Army, a man named Mark befriended Rothberg though pizza and playing tennis. It was during these times together that Rothberg saw Mark was different.
   
When Rothberg asked Mark what he had, Mark shared his testimony, and Rothberg eventually became a Christian.
   
Rothberg said when doing intentional evangelism:
   
1. Remember the person’s name.
   
2. Don’t be so quick to “unload” the gospel.
   
3. Know when to back off.
   
“This is all of the Holy Spirit, not human persuasion,” Rothberg said.
   
Gary Ragsdale, pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church, Alexandria, said Christians are continually being called to divine appointments to witness but are missing them because they are not listening.
   
Using the story of Phillip and his meeting with the eunuch in Acts 8:26–40, Ragsdale said a divine appointment requires a committed saint and a convicted sinner.
   
Once the committed saint and convicted sinner have met, a divine appointment results in a confirmed salvation, Ragsdale said. “If we’ll listen, you’ll hear [God’s call]. And if you’ll go, you too can have divine appointments.”
   
Andy Hepburn, pastor of First Baptist Church, Tillman’s Corner, in Mobile, showed Alabama Baptists four “intangible” tools they can utilize in witnessing. These are attitude, a burden for the lost, a passion and a sense of urgency.
   
Hepburn said in witnessing, “It’s not how much you know, it’s whether or not you have the attitude that says, ‘Yes, I believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ.’”
   
Keith Thomas, pastor of Cottage Hill Baptist Church, Mobile, shared “how to move in and max out for God.”
   
Paralleling a Christian’s walk with the story of the Israelites as told in Joshua, Thomas said Christians are to move from Egypt, through the wilderness and into the promised land of Canaan.
   
Thomas said five things are required for the journey:
   
1. A new dedication to know and do God’s word.
   
2. A new diet, sufficient for the new life. Christians need to daily spend time with God, hearing Him, Thomas said.
   
3. A dependency on God.
   
4. A new determination to move through the wilderness.
   
5. A new direction. Although the Israelites had the ark of the covenant, it was not until they placed it in front of them that they began to move closer to Canaan, Thomas explained.
   
Terry Smith, pastor of Pineview Baptist Church, Brent, listed three keys Alabama Baptists can use in building a successful life and church:
   
First, build on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11).
   
Second, use imperishable building materials (1 Cor. 3:12).
   
Third, be willing to be used by God.
   
Craig Conner, pastor of First Baptist Church, Panama City, Fla., said the early church in Acts 2 flourished because it was committed to the timeless principles of priority, people, prayer and a program of soulwinning.
   
“The priority in that early church was preaching and teaching the Word of God,” Conner said.
People were also important, he added.  And “prayer is the value that releases the omnipotent power of God,” Conner said.
   
Committing to a program of soulwinning means letting the Lord lead, he added.
Charles Roesel, pastor of First Baptist Church, Leesburg, Fla., encouraged attendees to hold onto the lessons they learned from the conference. Reading from Mark 9:1–29, Roesel pointed out that after a mountaintop experience like the conference, there is always a valley.
   
But there are three things Christians can learn from the mountaintops and valleys.
   
One is that “God does not want anyone on the mountaintop who is not willing to go into the valley,” Roesel said. “God wants us in the valleys, and the valleys are deadly, dark and filled with hurting people.” It is there Christians can minister best, he said.
   
But “we cannot be used effectively in the valley unless we have been on the mountaintop.”
   
It is there that Christians receive the power of the Holy Spirit to minister, he explained.
   
Thirdly, “God wants the man in the valley with the mountaintop in his heart,” Roesel said. If Christians are wrapped up in the Holy Spirit, it takes the focus off themselves and puts it onto God.