By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
COVINGTON, La. (LBM) – Louisiana Baptists were encouraged to reach their friends and family for Christ as part of the continuing effort to create a culture of evangelism within their congregations. during ECON 2025, held in the facilities of First Baptist Church, Covington, Jan. 27-28.
ECON featured Louisiana Baptist pastors, seminary professors, a women’s ministry leader, vocational evangelists, an evangelism vice president from the North American Mission Board, and the president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee. The event also included times of worship led by a combined choir (FBC Covington and area churches) as well as Selah, an award-winning Christian contemporary music trio.
MIKE COURTNEY
Mike Courtney, itinerant evangelist in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, reminded Louisiana Baptists to be faithful in their call to share the Gospel.
“In spite of your failures, keep fishing,” said Courtney, drawing from Jesus’ commandment to the disciples to be fishers of men in Luke 5:1-11. “This is a call to faithfulness even when and if we have failed.”
He reminded Louisiana Baptists that the passage is an example of conversion/change, compliance/obedience, confidence/faith, concession/surrender, and consistency/faithfulness.
“It is always right to do right, regardless of the results,” he said. “If we will do this nevertheless, then God will do the rest.
“We abide and He provides,” he continued. “When we’re faithful, eventually He will make us fruitful.”
BILL BLACKMON
Bill Blackmon, president and chaplain with Truckstop Ministries, encouraged the crowd in his testimony to share with others what God has done in their lives.
“Whatever God says to do is what I’m going to do,” said Blackmon, a member of the Louisiana Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists. “And I’m going to tell what He’s done for me.”
Blackmon shared that in 2024 alone, 582 accepted Christ as the truck stop chapels that the ministry operates in 28 states.
According to the group’s website, the Jackson, Georgia-based Truckstop Ministries was founded in 1981 by Joe and Jan Hunter and is directed by an executive board of “born-again” Christians, led by the Holy Spirit and dedicated to fulfilling a God-given vision. The ministry’s focus is operating chapels, but it also offers a 24-hour trucker prayer hotline that is manned by staff and volunteers.
He concluded his message by encouraging the audience to get engaged.
“Be excited about who you are in Christ and go tell somebody,” he said. “You start telling somebody about Jesus.”
STEVE HORN
Louisiana Baptist Executive Director Steve Horn pleaded with the crowd to be a soul-winning people, and he encouraged them to preach about John 3:16 on March 16.
The 3:16 initiative aims to catalyze soul winning across the state and will include an emphasis on prayer leading up to that special day. Louisiana has joined other state Baptist conventions for the effort, which are being coordinated with the North American Mission Board.
“Pray about it,” Horn said. “Do as the Lord leads. But imagine what it could look like if we had hundreds of our churches sharing this idea with thousands of churches across the U.S. all together on this one Sunday. Imagine what would happen if we’re preparing, if we’re praying and then preaching on this simple one verse of Scripture together on that same Sunday. I think those are the kinds of things that help us to have a culture of evangelism.”
Sharing Zechariah 11:1-17, Horn said Louisiana Baptists need the favor of God and the unity of the people of God. For that to happen, he said we must “beg God for it,” seek to eliminate all that distracts us from it, and encourage everything that would build God’s favor and build the unity of the people of God.
“I think that if we would see hundreds, thousands of people being saved in Louisiana, that a lot of what distracts us today just wouldn’t matter,” he said. “And that’s what I’m praying for.”
WAYLON BAILEY
Waylon Bailey, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Covington, encouraged the crowd to proclaim the hope they have in Christ.
Summarizing 1 Peter 3:15-16 and Romans 5:1-8, Bailey said the world can trust Jesus because: Christ came from the Father; Christ became sin for us and took our place; Christ bestowed His Spirit on all who believe; Christ changed the course of our lives; and God raised Christ and proved the power of His forgiveness.
“There is nothing great
er than hope,” Bailey said. “But when we come to faith in Christ, we get faith and love; and we get the hope that comes from the God who is love and the faith that we have placed in Him.
“We get the hope that comes as a result,” he continued. “And no matter what happens in life, the Scripture is so clear and so plain that God is with us, and we are never left alone, and He is there.”
CARL BRADFORD
Louisiana Baptists must be bold, not reluctant, witnesses for Christ, said Carl Bradford, dean of Texas Baptist College and assistant professor of evangelism at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas.
“God did something in each and every one of us so later He can do something through us,” he said.
Referencing Acts 26, Bradford said Paul was saved from something (an eternity in hell), by something and someone (Jesus Christ), and to something (a life of obedience). These are important considerations for Louisiana Baptists as they work to build a culture of evangelism in the state, he explained.
“Do we preach the Gospel?” he said. “Are we constantly declaring the Gospel? As a disciple of Jesus Christ this is what we are called to do – go and make disciples. Disciples are not made unless a person first accepts the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
MARTHA BAILEY
Martha Bailey, the wife of Waylon Bailey and women’s community outreach Bible study leader at FBCC, shared in a testimony that God can use a painful past for His glory.
Bailey, who suffered multiple hardships as a child, said Romans 8:28 comforted her. Additionally, she explained that
her church was a positive influence on her and her family.
“I was drawn to the church because people were happy there and I felt secure,” she said. “I realized I saw the love of Jesus at church. I saw the joy in everything there and it was something I couldn’t get enough of.”
For the last 28 years, Bailey has taught a Bible study to women of all denominations in the community.
Out of that ministry, multiple outreaches have developed, such as: donating $13,000 to purchase coats for all schoolchildren whose families could not afford to do so; throwing a baby shower for Northlake Crisis Pregnancy Center; responding to disaster relief; promoting breast cancer awareness; purchasing birthing kits for a ministry for pregnant women in Uganda; buying sewing machines for women hoping to open a business; purchasing pajamas for children in foster care; and using her book “Swaddled In Love” in several countries for ministry efforts.
“God has blessed us exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ever dream or ask,” she said.
TIM DOWDY
Tim Dowdy, vice president of evangelism with the North American Mission Board, said Christ followers must not become distracted in their mission to make Jesus known.
“The need is so desperate in North America for the Gospel,” he said. “We need more God moments in the hearts of believers so God’s mission can be accomplished.”
Sharing from Ephesians 6:18-20, Dowdy said Paul recognized the intensity of the spiritual battle he faced, believed in the power of prayer, knew the boldness he desired would only come through the work of the Holy Spirit, was confident in the power of the Gospel, and had a passionate desire to speak the Gospel in every opportunity.
Likewise, Dowdy said we need to: pray that God would move our hearts to have this same kind of holy desire to make much of Jesus in every opportunity; infuse our churches with prayer for one another to have boldness in witnessing; teach and preach on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit; remind believers that fear and the hesitation to “speak” the Gospel is part of the spiritual battle with our enemy, Satan; help our people live on mission with confidence in the power of the Gospel; and practice what we preach that we would be bold to witness.
“We need to remind people that Jesus saves,” he said.
“We tell the story,” Dowdy reminded the crowd. “Jesus saves.”
JOHN SULLIVAN
John Sullivan, minister to mature adults with Broadmoor Baptist Church, Shreveport, and former executive director with the Florida Baptist Convention, reminded the crowd that Jesus is worthy of their lives.
Basing his message on Revelation 5, he spoke about John’s frustration, Christ as the Lamb of God, and the celebration in Heaven for what Jesus had done.
Sullivan said we, too, should stop and celebrate what Jesus Christ has done for us.
“Jesus Christ is Lord of my life,” he said. “I confess to you today, without that knowledge, without that understanding, I would never be able to face life in all its difficult moments. God has given Him a name above every name. Once you’ve said ‘Jesus,’ you can’t top it.”
JEFF IORG
Jeff Iorg, president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, preached the final message of the conference, reminding the crowd that God loves people and wants to reach them.
Sharing John 3:16, Iorg said we need to accept people just as they are, reach people where they are physically and spiritually, meet needs with people as you find them, and share the Gospel at every opportunity.
Iorg said people are most receptive to the Gospel when people die, relationships struggle, health fails and things break.
“When you share the love of God with people and to it, do concrete things that communicate that you really do love people, and you really do want to have an opportunity to talk with them about the last part of John 3:16,” he said. “Eventually you will find yourself talking about eternal life and introducing them to Jesus Christ, who can change them forever.
“God has used John 3:16 from the beginning till today to help me be focused on what it means to love people and share the Gospel with them,” he continued. “And I pray that you will have that in your heart. Whether your church does it on John 3:16 day in March or not, you’ll walk out of here saying, ‘I know what it looks like to love people and demonstrate it concretely and to do things specifically that will get me into conversations about what it means to have everlasting life in Jesus Christ.”
CHARGE TO CHURCHES
Louisiana Baptist Evangelism and Church Growth Team Director Keith Manuel expressed excitement about how the conference equipped and encouraged participants to embrace a culture of evangelism.
“The incredible men and women of God who shared messages of encouragement for evangelism are all practitioners of what they preach,” Manuel said. “Their messages came out of the overflow of the work of their hearts. Preaching and teaching evangelism is hard if it isn’t your practice. I am so thankful for their messages and encouragement to Louisiana Baptists. I am praying our people were encouraged and equipped to return to the 473 communities that make up Louisiana and let the light of Jesus push back the darkness so that many may be saved.”
