One could hardly excuse New Orleans Baptists from recalling
the 1996 Southern Baptist Convention as their favorite.
And the truth is – their reasoning probably would have
nothing at all to do with whatever business or reporting was done during the
actual convention.
One could hardly excuse New Orleans Baptists from recalling
the 1996 Southern Baptist Convention as their favorite.
And the truth is – their reasoning probably would have
nothing at all to do with whatever business or reporting was done during the
actual convention.
For Baptists in the New Orleans area, the real impact of the
1996 convention came in the days before the annual meeting even opened in the
Louisiana Superdome.
For them, the story of the convention can be summed up in a
few words – Crossover New Orleans.
And they make it clear – hopes are high for a repeat this
summer when the 2001 Southern Baptist Convention visits New Orleans once again.
In 1996, nearly 3,000 individuals made professions of faith
during the Crossover New Orleans evangelistic initiative. That helped push the
number of baptisms to an all-time high in the Baptist Association of Greater
New Orleans the following year.
It also helped Baptists increase their presence in a city where
they represent only a small percentage of the population.
This summer, New Orleans leaders are asking Southern Baptists
from across the United States to help them increase that presence even more.
“We really need people across the nation to pray that
individuals would be receptive to the gospel and that volunteers would be willing
to come from across the nation,” said Fred Dyess, director of missions
for the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans.
The Crossover evangelistic initiative has been an annual companion
to Southern Baptist Convention annual meetings since 1989, when volunteers first
showed up en masse to share the message of Christ in Las Vegas. Coordinated
nationally by the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board, it is a partnership
of local churches in convention host cities and volunteers from across the country.
This years convention is set for June 12-13. Crossover
activities begin June 8.
As in the past, the bulk of the activities this year will be
held on June 9, the Saturday before the convention. However, other events and
special projects will continue throughout the week as well.
Scheduled Crossover activities for New Orleans include:
Block parties
At least 30 such community events are planned throughout the
city – and designed to help local churches get to know their neighbors
and introduce them to Jesus Christ as opportunities arise.
Door-to-door canvassing
Teams of volunteers will be asked to conduct spiritual opinion
surveys as a way of helping local churches understand their community better
and share Christ with those who are interested.
Street evangelism
Music, drama and other forms of entertainment will be used
to help draw crowds and illustrate gospel truths – a particularly fitting
approach in a city known for its street performances.
Kindness explosion
Free bottles of water and gift packets for street artists and
craftsmen will be given out during the day. The gifts will bear a written presentation
of the gospel – and the associated goodwill that could lead to further
conversations about Christ.
Ethnic festivals
Groups of ethnic churches are planning to sponsor citywide
festivals for those of their nationality, offering a chance to build lasting
relationships with persons the churches are seeking to reach.
Inner-city evangelism
Trained individuals are scheduled to spend the weekend walking
through low-income areas of the city, sharing Christ.
Dyess said one of the most significant differences from the
1996 Crossover is the emphasis being placed on follow-up with new Christians.
“Were making sure that in every place we have a
block party we have one or more Southern Baptist churches to follow up on the
converts,” he said. “And were having a lot of training for follow-up.
We found out that was a weakness in 1996.”
One of the specific evangelism tools being used in New Orleans
this year also is new – a prepaid long-distance phone card designed
to encourage runaways to call their parents. Each card also includes the plan
of salvation.
“When they pick up the phone to call therell be
a voice to encourage them to make the most important call of your life,
to find out how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” said
Don Smith, an event evangelism associate for the North American Mission Board
and national coordinator for Crossover.
Plans also call for using Crossover events to help with the
start of at least four new churches in the New Orleans area, Dyess said. The
local association typically plants 10 new congregations each year.
The Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans includes a diverse
mix of 146 churches and missions, including 40 congregations with African American
pastors and 38 language missions.
Information regarding Crossover and online registration is
available online at www.bagnola.org/crossover_2001.htm.
Interested volunteers also may call the Baptist Association
of Greater New Orleans at (504) 282-1428 or Louisiana Baptist Convention evangelism
offices at (800) 622-6549 or (318) 448-3402.
