Tools for evangelism highlighted at conference

Tools for evangelism highlighted at conference

By Allen Palmeri
Staff Writer

September 20, 2005

JEFFERSON CITY– Three pastors who are known within the Southern Baptist Convention for their ability to spur churches on to a more passionate and comprehensive level of evangelism will speak at a Sept. 26 conference at Second Baptist Church, Springfield, co-hosted by the church and the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC).

Host pastor John Marshall will team up with Frank Page, pastor, First Baptist Church, Taylors, S.C., and Hosea Bilyeu, pastor, Ridgecrest Baptist Church, Springfield, for a one-day conference that is being presented free of charge. The conference is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with registration opening at 8:30 a.m. Lunch will be provided for free.

“There are so many conferences to go to, so many books, so many tapes, but a lot of times what we lack are simply some guys who have done what it is we’re trying to teach people to do,” said Ron Barker, MBC personal evangelism / spiritual awakening specialist. “It’s fresh on their hearts and minds.”

MBC State Evangelism Director Bob Caldwell said Barker’s desire to minister to the heart needs of Missouri Baptist pastors will bear fruit.

“I cannot express how much I appreciate the heart of Ron Barker,” Caldwell said. “His passion is all about heart issues and loving people right where they are.”

Marshall, Page and Bilyeu will step into the Second Baptist sanctuary carrying tools. Don’t look for hammers, saws and screwdrivers, though. Look for tools in their messages that can be used to repair methodology in churches that want to do well in evangelism, by the grace of God.

“I want the guy in Missouri who’s pastoring a church, whether it’s 60 or 600, to leave and say, ‘There are a few things here that I heard today that I can do that will help us reach into that pool of non-churched people,’” Barker said.