Georgia Baptists minister in the rain
Posted on Nov 13, 2009
by Sherri Brown & Joe Westbury
WOODSTOCK, Ga. (BP)–Despite a day of record rainfall, Georgia Baptists forged ahead with a major evangelism campaign in conjunction with their 188th annual meeting at First Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ga., Nov. 9-10.
The remnants of Hurricane Ida moved over the Atlanta area Tuesday, dropping four inches of rain and limiting the massive scope of ministry through LoveLoud planned for the afternoon. Local meteorologists said the day made this the single wettest November on record.
Against that soggy background, many of the 1,125 volunteers fanned out to 87 ministry sites — some decked out in rain ponchos to rake leaves — to spread the Good News. By the time the event came to a close, an unofficial 22 professions of faith were recorded.
“God’s hand was on the whole project,” Doug Couch, who oversees the Georgia Baptist Convention’s youth ministries, said, adding that he was “very pleased with the cheerful servant attitudes of the volunteers. You would never have known it was raining. We are extremely appreciative to everyone who participated.”
Preliminary reports indicate that during the afternoon nearly a thousand volunteers made 1,144 contacts including 190 Gospel presentations. They ministered to 830 senior citizens and helped distribute 2,400 boxes of food to 785 homes from three semi-trucks.
Steve Parr, the convention’s vice president for evangelism, served on a team that saw six people accept Christ. He said it was “refreshing, in the midst of the business and the annual reporting session, that everyone experienced worship and service in the name of Jesus.”
“The experience this year, however, was highlighted by the fact that lives were changed as several people trusted Christ as Lord and Savior,” Parr said. “It is fitting that a gathering focused on missions and partnership in the proclamation of the Gospel had immediate results as many were obedient in responding to the Good News during the course of Tuesday’s ‘Light it Up’ ministry projects.”
“It was worth it. We had more than a thousand people doing ministry in a downpour with nearly two dozen people saved. It was a great day.”
(http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/)
