By Brian Koonce
Staff Writer
BRANSON – The president of Missionary Baptist Convention of Missouri (MBCM), Jimmy Brown, will be the concluding speaker for the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) Evangelism Conference Jan. 26 at First Baptist Church here.
Brown has been the pastor of St. Luke Memorial Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis since 1976 and is the vice president of the National Baptist Convention USA.
Brown is filling in for Johnny Hunt, president of the Southern Baptist Convention and pastor of First Baptist Church, Woodstock, Ga., who had to bow out due to health reasons.
“I can’t believe that we were able to get someone like him to replace Johnny Hunt,” said Gary Taylor, director of evangelism for the MBC. “He’s innovative, dynamic, and biblical.”
David Tolliver, executive director of the MBC, said Brown’s message will dovetail nicely with the MBC’s mission.
“As president of the Missionary Baptist Convention of Missouri, Dr. Brown is leading that denomination in building healthy churches reaching Missouri and the world for Christ,” Tolliver said. “His focus in the MBCM is parallel to our church health focus in the MBC. He will bring an informed, enthusiastic message that will compliment the theme of GPS (God’s Plan for Sharing).”
The state-wide “main event” will be Jan. 25-26 at First Baptist, while one-day regional conferences will be held Feb. 9 at Frederick Boulevard, St. Joseph; Feb. 23 at Calvary, Hannibal; and March 9 at Miner, Sikeston. There will also be a Hispanic/Multi-Cultural Evangelism Conference at the Keeter Center at the College of the Ozarks in Branson.
Other speakers at the state-wide conference include: Chuck Kelley, president of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; Evangelist Ron Herrod; Jerry Pipes, director of Mass Evangelism at the North American Mission Board; and Larry Wynn, pastor of Hebron Baptist in Dacula, Ga.
The Northwest conference in St. Joseph will feature: Evangelist Don Walton; Tim Sadler, pastor of First Baptist, Macon; and John Swadley, pastor of Forest Park Baptist, Joplin.
The Northeast conference in Hannibal will feature: Evangelist Jim McNiel; Paul Purvis, pastor of First Baptist, Forsyth; and Ralph Sawyer, pastor of First Baptist, Wentzville.
The Southeast conference in Sikeston will feature: Evangelist Clyde Chiles; Derek Griggs, pastor of First Baptist, Nixa; and Hosea Bilyeu, pastor of Ridgecrest Baptist, Springfield.
Ken Hemphill, evangelist and author of SPLASH, a new book on personal evangelism, will be at all three regional conferences. MBC Worship Specialist John Francis will lead worship for each of the three regional events.