Before meeting, Southern Baptists took time to spread the love of God in New
Orleans
James Dotson
North American Mission Board
Before meeting, Southern Baptists took time to spread the love of God in New
Orleans
The new dollar coin bearing the likeness of the Native American
heroin Sacagawea recently gained new meaning to many exotic dancers on New Orleans
notorious Bourbon Street.
The coin became a symbol of both Gods unconditional love
and the concern of Christian women willing to step out of their comfort zones
and bring the dancers small no-strings-attached gifts as symbols of that love.
About two dozen people participating in Southern Baptists
Crossover New Orleans evangelistic emphasis visited many of the strip clubs
in the city as a way of letting the women know they care about them and want
to help.
“Basically you use the woman on the coin as a symbol that
God created women with special gifts and abilities,” said Jean White, a
ministry evangelism associate with the Southern Baptist North American Mission
Board. “Women are created in the image of God and God loves them very much.”
The circle of the coin is a symbol for the women that “Gods
love is unending, and there is nothing they can do thats bad enough to
keep God from loving them,” she added.
And the color is a reminder that “they are more precious
to God than gold,” White explained.
Ginger Smith said she first thought the coin concept was “the
corniest thing Ive ever seen.” However, it was surprising to see
how women responded at the simple expression of genuine love, added Smith, a
Southern Baptist missionary who works with the Brantley Baptist Center in New
Orleans.
“We walked straight into Satans territory, and it
was just total peace,” she said.
“So many of them say, Ill never spend this
coin,” White added. “It means so much to them for someone to
tell them God loves them. They dont ever hear that.”
White said they also gave the women an evangelistic tract,
letting them know they were welcome to contact the number on the back to talk.
The dancers also received a gift bag with some makeup samples donated by a cosmetics
company, some candy and a few other small items. A total of about 300 bags were
distributed, most to the dancers and a few to other women the Southern Baptist
workers met on the street.
“One girl said, Its been a long time since
anybody ever gave me something for nothing,” recounted Linda Middlebrooks,
associate director of the Rachel Sims Baptist Center in New Orleans.
The volunteers traveled in teams, with some staying outside
and praying for those who went inside the clubs.
Lura Sheppard of Georgia, said she was struck by how many of
the women the volunteers encountered professed to be Christians. Others had
been hardened to Christianity for various reasons, she noted.
“This is the most draining ministry Ive ever done
in my life,” said Sheppard, who coordinates the North American Mission
Boards Alternatives for Life ministry. “Its not the type of
ministry where you can just walk up to people on the street and pray with them.
Its a really tough ministry because youve got to break down the
barriers that are there.”
White said she hopes the effort will result in a long-term
ministry to the dancers, because often it is only with repeated contacts that
relationships are formed that can lead the women to place their faith in Christ.
“Now youve opened the door, and if you come again
in a month, they will know you,” she told the group. “The more you
come, the more they open up to you, start sharing with you and start praying
with you.”