Missouri Baptists eye Crossover Cape
Major evangelistic effort to be held immediately prior to MBC’s annual meeting
May 16, 2006
CAPE GIRARDEAU – Although the 2006 annual meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) doesn’t begin until Oct. 30, organizers of Crossover Cape Girardeau are hoping volunteers will flood into the Bootheel a few days early.
Although it’s still in the planning stages, preliminary ideas include taking volunteers from across the state to man several block parties, horse whisperer events, and stunt motorcycle demonstrations by Brad Bennett, a man whose high-flying ministry Missouri Baptists got acquainted with at the 2006 Evangelism Conference in Springfield.
If it can be arranged, MBC State Evangelism Director Bob Caldwell said he hopes to be able to get Bennett and his motorcycling into schools to build interest in later evangelistic events.
The organizers, Cape Girardeau Baptist Association, came to Caldwell with the idea, basing it on the “Crossover” evangelistic events held in the host city in the days immediately prior to the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting.
“This is almost a duplicate of what I saw last summer in Nashville,” Caldwell said. “A lot of Missouri Baptist-led people to Christ that day.”
Crossover Triad 2006 will precede the 2006 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Greensboro, NC, in Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point this June.
Working within the leadership of the association and local churches, Caldwell said will be a prime opportunity for people all over the state to get involved in ministry on Saturday, Oct. 28, before the annual meeting kicks off on Monday.
“We’d love to see people show up early Saturday morning,” he said. “If they want to jump in and be part of a horse whispering event, lend their leadership to one of the block party trailers or be a counselor and the motocross events, they will have those options. But also, we need anyone who is trained to share their faith in any way. We want people to be ready to go into different areas of the association and go door-to-door.
“We’re hoping a lot of churches in Cape will step up to the plate, but even more we need Missouri Baptists from across the state to come in and help out,” Caldwell said.
For more information, contact the Cape Girardeau Baptist Association office at (573) 334-3511 or the MBC’s evangelism office at (573) 636-0400 or 1-800-736-6227.