There was no mistaking the emphasis of the 2005 Louisiana Baptist Evangelism Conference – reaching the lost with the gospel.
There was no mistaking the emphasis of the 2005
Louisiana Baptist Evangelism Conference – reaching the lost with the
gospel.
Speaker after speaker stressed the point –
Christians must renew their focus and determination to take up the
gospel task. In addition, they must understand the need to do things
differently if they hope to reach the lost.
Hundreds of persons from through the state attended
the annual gathering, held at First Baptist Church of Bossier City. It
focused on the theme “It’s Time to Harvest” as part of the Louisiana
Baptist Convention emphasis on sharing the gospel throughout the state
during 2005.
The following articles offer summary accounts of major addresses during the two-day conference.
‘Something has to change’
If Baptists want to reach the lost for Christ, they
better take a couple of lessons from the Apostle Paul and make some
changes, Alvin Reid emphasized.
“It’s obvious we don’t have a burden for lost people
because we’re not reaching many, …” said Reid, professor of
evangelism at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. “Some of us
need to rekindle that fire today.”
The way to do that is focus on the strategy of Paul
– to preach an changing message but in whatever approach is needed,
Reid continued.
“Paul preached an unchanging message – period,” he stressed. “We don’t have to change the message.”
Indeed, like Paul, modern Christians should preach
the gospel boldly, Reid said. “People today are more amazed at our
silence than they are offended at our message. … Go where the people
are. Boldly proclaim the gospel.”
Christian also must preach respectfully, not trying
to force feed the gospel but relying on prayer and a visible Christian
lifestyle to communicate, Reid said.
And they must preach persuasively, Reid said, noting
that this will require persons to recover their own awe of God.
“There’s no fear of God in the culture because there’s no fear of God
in the church,” he maintained.
However, even while preaching an unchanging message,
Christians must be willing to change their approach when necessary,
Reid said. For instance, when the Jews of the synagogue in Ephesus
refused to listen to him, Paul changed tactics and began to teach in a
lecture hall.
Today, Christians are good at reaching “church folk”
– but they are failing to reach many others, Reid said. “Something must
change. … We need to add (to the approach) without subtracting (from
the message). … We need to do more in the culture. That’s how the
early church did it.”
The key is to get involved in the lives of others,
which is not easy, Reid acknowledged. It is much easier to drive by the
lost neighbor and go to church visitation, he said.
“We need some burning Christians today, …” he
said. “(But) we’re so professional. We’re so about technique. That’s
easy. It’s hard to get involved in people’s lives.”
In addition to embracing change when necessary, Reid
challenged Christians to integrate the teaching of the Word of God with
everyday living, warning that, too often, the church has been separated
from day-to-day life.
“Christianity is not an institution,” “ he insisted.
“It’s a movement. … We don’t go to church on Sunday mornings.
“We are the church.”
Reid called on persons to see the opportunities
around them, to practice what they preach and to embrace a vision as
large as Paul, who hoped to do nothing less than win the whole world.
“If all we can do … is do what we’ve done just a little bit better,
we’ve already failed, …” Reid warned.
‘We cannot stay where it’s safe’
Something is wrong in America, where Christians in
have built their largest subculture ever – but have lost the overall
culture in the process, Ron Hutchcraft warned.
“We cannot stay where it’s safe any longer, …”
said Hutchcraft, founder of Run Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., in Wayne
N.J. “If we keep doing what we have been doing, we will keep reaching
only who we have been reaching. And we will have to answer to God (for
what we didn’t do).”
Hutchcraft noted that 6,000 persons in America – and
150,000 persons in the world – die daily without saving knowledge of
Christ. “How can we possibly be passive? …” he said. “We are their
only human hope for heaven.”
Hutchcraft urged persons to launch “rescue” missions
for the lost and go seeking them. “The mission statement of Jesus is
that the son of man came to look for and rescue the dying. Is that what
you’re spending your days on?”
To that end, Hutchcraft called persons to embrace five imperatives for 21st century spiritual rescue.
• Communicate in non-religious language.
Christians in America must begin thinking like
missionaries and learning the “language” of the people they wish to
reach, Hutchcraft explained. “We cannot just transmit the gospel – we
have to translate the gospel,” he said, noting that most people do not
understand so-called “church” language and terms like “sin.”
• Connect with lost people where they are.
Lost people do not know God’s Word or rule – and do
not to attend a religious meeting, Hutchcraft noted. Thus, Christians
must focus on “non-religious evangelism,” connecting with people were
they are, he said. “To really reach the really lost, reach them with
people they know, … in a place where they feel comfortable, …
through an issue they care about, in a language they can understand.”
• Concentrate on Jesus.
“It’s not about a religion,” Hutchcraft said. “It’s
all about a man. … Jesus didn’t say, ‘Follow my followers.’ He didn’t
say, ‘Follow my leaders.’ He didn’t say, ‘Follow my religion.’ … He
said, ‘Follow me.’ It’s all about Jesus.”
• Come together with your brothers and sisters.
Hutchcraft urged Christians to join together in
advancing the gospel, like fingers joining to make a fist. “Isn’t
it time we came together and made a fist in Satan’s face and said, ‘You
can have them (the lost) anymore,” he said.
• Create ambassadors for Christ.
All Christians must be involved in the task of sharing the gospel with the world, Hutchcraft insisted.
Everyday believers – sleeping rescuers – must be awakened to embrace this divine assignment, he emphasized.
“You know how you’ll know your church is on fire for Christ?
It’s when you have more prayer requests for people going to hell than
you do for people going to the hospital.”
Beware the pitfalls
Paul’s words in 2 Timothy are as relevant today as
they were when the book was written 2,000 years ago, Junior Hill
emphasized.
In 2 Tim. 2, Paul warned Timothy of three pitfalls
that could happen to the young man if he is not careful, noted Hill, a
Southern Baptist evangelist from Hartselle, Ala.
Paul cautioned against:
• The discouragement of difficulties.
Preachers live in a day of hardship, which Paul
compared to the obstacles a soldier faces, Hill said. Indeed, culture
is becoming more hostile to hearing the gospel.
“It will become not only hard but harder as the
paganizing of this generation continues,” he said. “Yet, the man of God
is called upon to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
Christians will have to make a choice – will they be sugar that pleases or salt that preserves, Hill said.
He explained that sugar churches present a “feel
good” message, believe the only way to salvation is to be sincere and
think the minister is a phycologist who makes church members feel good
and the church grow.
Salt churches are under the conviction that all men
are sinners and need Christ, he said. They believe that repenting of
one’s sins is the only way to salvation and that the minister is a man
of God who helps the church be holy.
“The sugar churches want the pleasures of men,” Hill
summarized. “The salt churches are content to do what God tells them to
do without the praise of man.”
• The danger of diversions.
Paul cautioned Timothy about becoming so heavily
involved in the financial structure of the world that it dominates his
gospel preaching more than the Bible, Hill said.
“How many of you have seen that happen over and over
(to some pastors)? I’m already determined in my heart … to try to get
men and women ready to meet Jesus when they die. As a good soldier of
Christ, I don’t want to get involved and entangled with the world’s
system.”
• The disgrace of disqualification.
Like a sprinter in a race, Paul warned persons to
run by the rules, Hill said. Likewise, Christians are to live life by
the rules but still be willing to change their methods.
Hill said there are some who believe any method
older than 15 years is outdated. Others believe even a small change in
an order of service is too liberal, he noted. “Caught in the middle is
the wonderful man of God trying to know what to do about
methodologies,” Hill said.
When considering whether to change methods, he
suggested five questions to consider – does it contradict or violate
principles of the scriptures; does it obscure or cheapen the demands of
the cross; does it dilute or weaken sound doctrine; does it honor or
exalt the local church; and does it create passion – and effectiveness
– for winning the lost?
“If they cannot be satisfactory consistent with
those questions, they’re methods you don’t need to use,” Hill
explained. “But if they are consistent with those questions, then,
embrace them as a gift of God and utilize them and let God change your
ministry with those methods.”
Paul’s words in 2 Timothy are as relevant today as
they were when the book was written 2,000 years ago, Junior Hill
emphasized.
In 2 Tim. 2, Paul warned Timothy of three pitfalls
that could happen to the young man if he is not careful, noted Hill, a
Southern Baptist evangelist from Hartselle, Ala.
Paul cautioned against:
• The discouragement of difficulties.
Preachers live in a day of hardship, which Paul
compared to the obstacles a soldier faces, Hill said. Indeed, culture
is becoming more hostile to hearing the gospel.
“It will become not only hard but harder as the
paganizing of this generation continues,” he said. “Yet, the man of God
is called upon to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
Christians will have to make a choice – will they be sugar that pleases or salt that preserves, Hill said.
He explained that sugar churches present a “feel
good” message, believe the only way to salvation is to be sincere and
think the minister is a phycologist who makes church members feel good
and the church grow.
Salt churches are under the conviction that all men
are sinners and need Christ, he said. They believe that repenting of
one’s sins is the only way to salvation and that the minister is a man
of God who helps the church be holy.
“The sugar churches want the pleasures of men,” Hill
summarized. “The salt churches are content to do what God tells them to
do without the praise of man.”
• The danger of diversions.
Paul cautioned Timothy about becoming so heavily
involved in the financial structure of the world that it dominates his
gospel preaching more than the Bible, Hill said.
“How many of you have seen that happen over and over
(to some pastors)? I’m already determined in my heart … to try to get
men and women ready to meet Jesus when they die. As a good soldier of
Christ, I don’t want to get involved and entangled with the world’s
system.”
• The disgrace of disqualification.
Like a sprinter in a race, Paul warned persons to
run by the rules, Hill said. Likewise, Christians are to live life by
the rules but still be willing to change their methods.
Hill said there are some who believe any method
older than 15 years is outdated. Others believe even a small change in
an order of service is too liberal, he noted. “Caught in the middle is
the wonderful man of God trying to know what to do about
methodologies,” Hill said.
When considering whether to change methods, he
suggested five questions to consider – does it contradict or violate
principles of the scriptures; does it obscure or cheapen the demands of
the cross; does it dilute or weaken sound doctrine; does it honor or
exalt the local church; and does it create passion – and effectiveness
– for winning the lost?
“If they cannot be satisfactory consistent with
those questions, they’re methods you don’t need to use,” Hill
explained. “But if they are consistent with those questions, then,
embrace them as a gift of God and utilize them and let God change your
ministry with those methods.”
The passion for souls
The church could lose many treasures – such as its
buildings and hymns – and still survive, David Hankins said.
But if it loses its passion for the souls of the lost, it will be
extinct within a generation, added Hankins, new executive director of
the Louisiana Baptist Convention.
Hankins said there are three ways churches could lose a passion for those who are not Christians –
• If they lose their conviction.
“Paul was upset … because people in his world were
lost,” Hankins said, noting that Paul believed if others did not accept
Christ, they would spend eternity in hell.
That broke the apostle’s heart – and fueled his passion to share the gospel, Hankins said.
If Christians lose a passion for witnessing, they
will not have the conviction that lost people need a savior, he noted.
“You don’t solve the problem of hell by denying it anymore than you
solve the problem of disease by denying it’s there,” Hankins said. “The
way you solve a disease is the cure, and the way you solve the problem
of hell is to teach the doctrine of salvation for Christ. That’s the
remedy.”
• If they lose their concern.
“Paul was in great anguish and sorrow for people of his own race, …” Hankins said. “It was his folks.
“Paul had a love in his heart, a concern for real people, with real names and real addresses and real faces.”
When Christians have a lost person they know in their hearts, Hankins said it will make a difference.
Unfortunately, the biggest problem with Baptists may
be “I don’t know” and “I don’t care,” he said. “We don’t know the lost
and we don’t care. One of the things that happens in our churches is
pretty soon we don’t know any lost people. We win the ones we know. …
“Unless we break out of our circles and get into new
circles, we won’t know any more lost people to win,” Hankins continued.
“We have to always be working to get into new communities, cross into
new areas.”
• If they lose their commission.
Hankins said the Holy Spirit did not have to
motivate Paul to share the gospel; it had to stop Paul from traveling
wherever he wanted to share Christ with others. “Wouldn’t it be great
if the Holy Spirit had to slow down Louisiana Baptists … instead of
always pushing us to get us to do what we’ve been called to do and
commissioned to do?” he said.
The church’s commission is to share the gospel,
Hankins said. “We’re to be
evangelistic. We’re to be intentional.
Hankins said he hopes for the day when all the ministries of the
Louisiana Baptist Convention will be partners with the churches across
the state convention to win lost souls.
“It’s not magic … to win people to Christ,” he
said. “If you’ll do the work of evangelism, people are going to be
saved. They may not be saved just in the timing you want, … but
they are coming to Christ.
“You sow the seed and plant it. Sometimes, you’ll
get the harvest; sometimes, someone else will get the harvest.
The overriding purpose
Sometimes, it is easy for Christians to believe they
are the first to face difficulties, such as a culture run amok, James
Draper Jr. noted.
But there is a truth they also must remember, said
Draper, president of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern
Baptist Convention.
“That’s exactly the world the gospel was born into,” Draper reminded persons during an abbreviated message.
“And the gospel exploded in that world.”
Draper noted that explosion was aided by the efforts of the Apostle Paul, who followed a simple strategy –
• He went where the people were.
• He witnessed with a consistent, persistent boldness.
• He made the message clear and dialogued with people.
• He was flexible.
In his efforts, Paul went to some scandalous places
in order to share the gospel, Draper noted. Christians today must do
the same, must get out of the church and into the world.
Thus far, Christians in America have spent 400 years
trying to do what Paul did in two years – capture his culture for
Christ, Draper pointed out.
The key is to work as God called his followers to
do, the Southern Baptist leader noted. Then, he will bless the efforts.
“God didn’t leave us here to entertain folks,”
Draper emphasized. “He didn’t leave us here just to educate folks. He
didn’t leave us here just to be benevolent to folks.”
Indeed, God left his followers with an overriding
purpose of sharing his love and Word with others, Draper said.
It is time they did it, he concluded.
Power for the harvest
It is easy for Christians to get caught up in other
things and forget they are here for one thing – to win others to Christ
and disciple them, Rod Masteller noted.
It also is easy for them to forget they cannot
accomplish that task alone, added Masteller, pastor at Summer Grove
Baptist Church in Shreveport.
Indeed, the power for the gospel harvest comes only
through prayer – as illustrated by the sign that hangs in the prayer
room at Summer Grove, Masteller said.
“In this room, God is met, intercession is made and mountains are moved,” the sign reads.
All three aspects are critical, Masteller said.
First, Christians must get alone and meet God in order to receive power for the harvest, he stressed.
“He wants to meet you – alone with you – and powerfully impact your life,” Masteller said.
He recounted how God used Moses to free his people
from Egypt – and how Moses accomplished the task by relying on nothing
more than a word from the Lord.
“That’s enough,” Masteller said. “When you have a
word from God, that’s enough. … We need to believe God. … Don’t go
out there without a word from God. … You can’t handle life without a
word from God. … Get a word and hang onto it.”
Christians also must focus on intercession, Masteller said.
“You are where you are because somebody prayer for you,” he noted. “There’s so much power in intercession.”
Masteller recounted how Abraham interceded for the
immoral cities of Sodom and Gomorrah – and how his family was saved as
a result. “We live in a perverted society that only God can change,” he
emphasized. “You can’t. Our churches can’t. Only God can. He is the
great ‘I Am.’ …
“Get in the closet, get a word from God and claim it and hang onto it. … Learn to intercede.”
Even when it seems that the word from God is not
going to be fulfilled and is going up in smoke, Masteller called on
persons to trust God. “Faith is the substance of things not seen,” he
said. “It’s believing the word regardless of the smoke. … Dream it.
Dream it. Get with God and get a word that it’s in God’s will. Then,
pray it. … And watch God work.”
Finally, Masteller stressed that God still moves
mountains. “Do you believe that? … How many of you are speaking to
your mountains? … The Bible says if you speak to your mountains, they
will be cast into the sea if you believe.”
Masteller noted how Moses depended on this as the
Israelites fled Egypt – and how, time and again, God responded by
performing miracles.
“Get with it,” Masteller urged. “Move some mountains
by the faith of God. … Get into your closet, get a word and win your
city, your community to Jesus Christ. Get a dream.”
Following God’s plan
If Christians expect to reach the lost of America
with the gospel, they must follow God’s plan, Gary Frost insisted.
“There’s a difference between what we think is right
and what God knows is right,” said Frost, executive director of the
Metropolitan New York Baptist Association.
Following God’s plan mean basing evangelism on solid
doctrine, Frost said, urging persons to sound a “heresy alert” against
such current distortions of the gospel.
“(Heresy) undercuts the authority of the Word of God
… and the life and work of the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said.
Frost said he is afraid some churches are watering
down the gospel in order to bring in a crowd. “We have to make sure
we’re building on the solid rock, …” he said.
Frost called persons to emphasize the holiness of
God, which encompasses all of his love and wrath and wisdom alike.
“Everytime I see God showing up in the Bible, people are flat on their
faces,” he noted. “We have to understand that, yes, God is loving
and kind, but above all, he’s holy.”
In addition to focusing on doctrine, Frost urged
persons to be adamant in their proclamation of the gospel, warning that
too many churches have traded passion for programs.
“There’s hungry people (out there), and they want to
see Jesus, …” Frost said. “It’s not just enough to entertain a crowd.
People are hungry for substance. … We have to confront people with
Christ. … We have to confront them with what happened on the cross.”
Frost reminded persons that Jesus’ purpose was not
to make individuals feel good but to redeem them. “The Word of God is
to be a sword, not a butter knife, …” he said. “Let it cut. It cuts
good. … It heals good as well. We need to make sure we’re preaching
the whole counsel of God.”
Finally, Frost called on persons to preach the
guidance of the Holy Spirit, reminding them that it is much more than a
Star Wars-type force to empower Christians.
The Holy Spirit is a person with a plan and is to
direct believers in their gospel mission, Frost said. “Plan, plan,
plan, but you better pray and trust much more than you plan – because
God will interrupt your plans (with his), …” he noted.
“And God’s way is the best way.”
The bottom line is to live in obedience to God,
Frost said. “The kingdom is not Southern Baptists. The kingdom is the
kingdom of God. … We have to do it the kingdom way.”
‘They’re out there – go get them’
When it comes to reaching the lost with the gospel
of Jesus Christ, the strategy is surprisingly simple, Steve James said.
“Plan for the lost, pray for the lost, preach for
the lost,” noted James, pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in Lake
Charles.
“It’s nothing profound. …
“But you and I need to be reminded of it.”
James recounted some of his personal experience to
illustrate the approach. He noted his first pastorate was in a small
Missouri town – population less than 600. However, a simple commitment
to rely on the power and Holy Spirit and to reach out and visit the
lost impacted the church – and the town.
Indeed, by the end of one year, the town had
baptized 77 people and almost doubled in its average attendance as
people visited, wishing to see Jesus, James said.
“It happened because we had a plan for the lost,
…” he said. “We just kept working at evangelism. You see, a harvest
takes some work. … You have to work at it.”
Evangelism is hard, James reminded persons.
“To be honest, it’s a lot easier just to do church,
…” he said. “It’s very difficult to stay on task day after day.”
Years later, at a much bigger church, James said his
approach is the same – training members to share the gospel, visiting
those who come to see Jesus, going out to meet others in the community.
“It all boils down to one thing, dear people – do you have a plan for
reaching the lost?” he said.
In addition to having a plan, Christians must pray
for the lost, understanding that they are in captivity, James said.
It is spiritual warfare, he noted.
“People are enslaved by Satan, …” James insisted.
“We need to pray … for their emancipation, for their enlightenment,
that the binding of Satan and the blinding of Satan is torn down (in
their lives).”
Finally, Christians must preach to the lost, James
said, calling on pastors always to give a gospel invitation.
Keep the proclamation simple – focus on the gospel,
James urged. Holding up a Bible, he said, “It’s all right here in this
book, waiting for someone to share it.”
In the end, how the church is doing in evangelism
depends on how its leaders and members are doing in evangelism on the
personal level, James said.
And in the end, evvangelism is the purpose of the
church – not fellowship or organization or the happiness of its
members. “If you’re not (doing that), I want you to understand – you
are out of business, …” he warned. “To the degree that you’re (doing
that) is the degree of your success. …
“It’s time to harvest. They’re out there, …
saying, ‘We wish to see Jesus.’ … They’re out there – go get them.”
God is ready to work
Lonnie Riley is convinced of one thing – God is
ready and willing to perform all sorts of works through his people.
Riley should be convinced – he has seen it happen.
“That’s what our ministry is about – believing God
and allowing him to work through us,” said Riley, founder of Meridzo
Ministries in Lynch, Ky.
Riley’s ministry is helping reform and revive the Lynch community in the Appalachia area of Kentucky.
But it is not where he intended to be.
Indeed, Riley was comfortable in a Mississippi
pastorate when God called him and his wife to return to their native
area of Kentucky. They did so as self-funded Southern Baptist
missionaries – without a strategy or plan. “Our only strategy was to
follow,” Riley said. “Our only plan was to obey.”
Once in Lynch, a town caught in deep poverty, God
began to work. So did Riley. He bought a pair of $24.95 hedge clippers
and began cleaning yards of deserted houses, beautifying the area.
It made Riley visible – and in time, a local
resident asked the new preacher in town for $75 to help his family.
Riley confessed he did not have the money but promised if God gave it
to him, he would pass it along.
Not much later, a woman Riley never had met arrived
to give him $100 for clipping the hedges of the deserted house she
owned. Riley said he heard God speak at that point – “Not only did I
give you $75 to give to that guy, but I paid you back the $24.95 for
your hedge clippers all in one shot.”
The pattern continued – with local persons voicing needs and God supplying them in exact fashion, Riley said.
Ministry grew, seeking to reach out to the
desperately poor in the areas. Riley launched a food ministry that now
distributes $25,000 worth of goods each month. He challenged the city
council to quit relying on the government and coal industry – both of
which had failed them – and turn to God.
They are doing so. The mayor and police chief now are Christians – as is 90 percent of the council.
“I don’t have a big building,” Riley noted. “I don’t
have big programs. But I have Jesus. And he’s all I need. And he’s all
our community needs. I believe that.”
In two years, more than 2,000 persons in the Lynch
community have been saved, five churches have been started and all
congregations in the area are growing, he noted.
“We’re experiencing spiritual awakening.”
Other areas can as well, Riley said.
“Where do you live?” he asked. “What can God do
there?” … Whatever God says for you to do, do it. … God wants to
work a work through his people that the watching world will say –
‘Surely, this is the hand of God,’ …
“He desires to do far more if we simply let him do it.
“Let God be God.”
‘Outside is where the action is’
Southern Baptist Convention President Bobby Welch
said his greatest fear is that Christians are waiting for revival to
happen inside the church building when true revival is occurring
outside the church.
“Can we afford to run that risk?” said Welch, pastor
at First Baptist Church of Daytona, Fla. “I don’t think so.
“You don’t have a harvest field inside the barn. The
harvest is outside the walls, and outside is where the action is.”
Now is the time to harvest, Welch emphasized.
“There’s a cry coming from the harvest field, …”
Welch said. “The thing that burdens me and keeps me going is the fact
that I’m aware of the hundreds of thousands we leave behind out there
when we come in (the church building).”
During his 25-day evangelistic bus tour across the
United States and Canada, Welch said he witnessed a longing in the
harvest field unlike anything he ever had seen.
“God is (stirring) in the hearts and lives of the
people,” Welch said. “He’s moving in people in extraordinary ways.”
During the tour, Welch preached in churches, dialogued with state
convention leaders and the media and shared the gospel with at least
one person in every state.
“In my little brown New Testament, I put the
initials of every state and put the names of everyone I shared the
gospel with,” Welch recalled, noting that 22 of those people accepted
Christ as their personal savior and Lord.
Throughout his journey, Welch said he refused to
share the gospel anywhere that someone had prearranged for him to stop.
“I had made a deal with the Lord because I wanted to know how it really
is,” he said. “I told the Lord, I’m not going to make the desired
results that I want, and if you’ve got something you want me to know or
tell me, now is the best time in the world to do it.”
Wherever he was, Welch said people were attentive
and allowed him to share. Truly, the harvest he witnessed while on the
bus tour was longing to hear about Christ. But while that harvest is
large, the workers are few, Welch said.
“Somewhere, we have to get the people in (the
church) back out there sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said.
The church is not a place Christians should expect
to “camp out” but rather should serve as a place to “stop off before
returning to the battlefield,” Welch stressed.
But he said he is amazed at how many pastors and lay
leaders do not know the difference between church growth and growing a
church. “Church growth is about filling a building,” Welch explained.
“Growing a church is about filling the people who come into the
building so they can go out of the building, rob hell and fill heaven.”
Welch closed his message by asking conference
attendees to fill out the “Everyone Can Kingdom Challenge” card.
The purpose of the challenge is to unify Southern
Baptists around evangelism. At the 2005 Southern Baptist Convention,
Welch said he hopes to present cards collected throughout the United
States as a means of showing how committed Southern Baptists are to
sharing the gospel.