ALEXANDRIA – More than 800 students from at least 38 of Louisiana’s colleges and universities gathered Feb. 3-5 at the Holiday Inn Conference Center for their annual evangelism conference.
By Karen L. Willoughby
Managing editor
ALEXANDRIA – More than 800 students from at least 38
of Louisiana’s colleges and universities gathered Feb. 3-5 at the
Holiday Inn Conference Center for their annual evangelism conference.
Sometimes riotous, sometimes penetrating, the Friday
night worship – led by Downhere, of Canada – positioned the students
for the reality check given in his sermon by young evangelist Jarrett
Stevens of Florida.
“Evangelism,” Stevens said, “begins with the
question, ‘Is the world still good?’ … If you withdraw from the world
on your campus, if you separate ‘good’ and ‘not good,’ you become
divided and, at best, ineffective.”
Stevens preached from Matthew 9:9 on three types of divided people: fakers, sellers and judges.
Ana Chellino of Baton Rouge, a student at Louisiana
State University, said she got much more from the conference than she
had expected.
“It really hit home,” she said. “What he said was
it’s okay to branch out. You need Christian friends but it’s not good
if that’s all you have.”
By all accounts, the collegiate evangelism
conference was a success, said John Moore, director of the collegiate
ministry team for the Louisiana Baptist Convention.
“More churches are here than ever before,” Moore said. “It’s an exciting weekend.”
Lori LeBlanc of Oberlin, a student at the University
of Louisiana-Monroe, said she had spiritual reasons for wanting to
participate in the student evangelism conference.
“I want to get a closer understanding of God and
build my relationship with Him,” she said. “God is very important in my
life. He’s my Savior.”
Brett Thornton of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, said he
was attending the conference to talk with Louisiana college students
about summer missions in Canada. He stood in front of a display as he
described different ways college students could serve in the country.
“Primarily they just hang out for the summer
and build relationships,” said Thornton, who was representing the
Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists. “They’ll just be walking with
God, and hanging out with lost people.”
The idea is that some of the people they hang with
might be interested in participating – or hosting – a Bible study,
which could grow into a church.
That focus on missions and ministry was a basic
component of the evangelism conference, Moore said. One video segment
was on missions in Africa. Another was on New Orleans. It was a video
so compelling that quarterback-sized men wiped tears from their eyes.
Mud-out training – about 100 students participated –
was one of the options for Saturday, in part because several collegiate
groups are planning spring break mission trips to New Orleans.
Also on Saturday, several “Nooma” small groups challenged students in their faith.
“The collegiate evangelism conference brings
students together for praise and worship, connecting them with God,”
Moore said. “We really want the students here to go back and share
Christ with the people on their campuses. They’re at the heart of our
campuses; they see the needs first-hand, every day.”