SPRINGFIELD – A set of brief “Transformation Talks” at the Missouri Baptist Convention’s Great Commission Conference here, Feb. 24, prompted Missouri Baptists to consider how they might take gospel-transformation into their communities.
Josh Branham, pastor of Fairview Baptist Church, Joplin, said that the “Transformation Talks” reminded him about the importance of developing a godly, deep compassion for those who don’t know Christ. And this compassion should drive Christians to take the gospel outside of their church buildings.
“If we truly believe in Christ,” Branham said, “we need to be carrying the message of Christ in every fabric of our lives. And if every church member carries that messages, then it will transform the world.”
Branham noted a consistent theme, within the “Transformation Talks” of reaching neighbors with the gospel. “A lot of times,” he said, “we’re so focused on the world that we forget who’s right next door to us.”
“Transformation Talk” speakers included Brian Key, pastor of Redeemed Fellowship, Kansas City, who urged Missouri Baptists to bring the truth and peace of the gospel to the racial tensions that exist in American society.
Additionally, Missouri Baptists heard from Kathy Litton, wife of Pastor Ed Litton of Redemption Church, Mobile, Ala., and a North American Mission Board national consultant for ministry to pastors’ wives. Litton, who also spoke during a WMU luncheon at the Great Commission Conference, urged women to “be on mission.” To the men in the room, she said, “When you see a woman on mission, validate her, encourage her, empower her – and you may want to stay out of the way.”