WAYNESVILLE – Sharing Jesus is our Great Commission, and Larry Atkins – pastor emeritus of Buckhorn FBC, Waynesville, and member of the Fellowship of Missouri Baptist Evangelists – has made it a way of life.
“We all should make sharing a part of our work or whatever we are doing,” Atkins said. “We need to be on the lookout for an opportunity to share.”
In addition to being a pastor through the years, Atkins has led more than 200 revivals. “Whenever I was being considered as a pastor for the church,” he said, “I always requested that I be allowed to do at least four revivals a year. Sometimes, I was able to do six a year.”
Evangelist Larry Atkins
The strong desire to spread the gospel can be traced back to Atkins’ high school days. “I have seen God do great things. Back then, I was mainly working with youth. I was really motivated by the first evangelism conference that I attended in Springfield when I was in college. I remember Bertha Smith, the missionary to China, inviting all the preacher boys to come with her to the choir room. She prayed over me and asked God to take my life for the gospel. I was motivated by that and the entire conference. I believe we need more evangelism conferences for all to attend and to hear great preachers like I did at that first one.”
God has provided several opportunities for Atkins to share the gospel in unusual ways. “I had the opportunity to write evangelistic articles every week for three area newspapers,” he said. “Now, I write primarily for email and Facebook.”
Now, Atkins has a daily devotional on an area secular radio station, KFBD. God used his career to get the invitation. “My first few years out of college,” Atkins continued, “I taught school in Richland. I taught music to the owner of the station, and she asked me to do the devotional. So, each morning at 6:30 am, I broadcast the devotional to the local area, which includes Waynesville, St. Robert and Fort Leonard Wood.”
According to the Fort Leonard Wood fact sheet about the army base, 75-80,000 soldiers are trained there each year. “That is a huge audience for the gospel,” Atkins said. “They haven’t asked me to tone it down.”
Fort Leonard Wood has also been a great place for Atkins’ family to witness. “My wife, Jane Ann, taught in the elementary school on the base for more than 22 years, and my daughter is a principal. My son is also a teacher. It is a blessing to have my family near and willing to minister with me.”
Atkins is such a strong believer in sharing the gospel that he teaches laymen and women in churches how to witness.
“First of all I try to model sharing and I think it is great for all pastors to do it,” he said. “I love to teach them how to share. People are hungry to know about Jesus. They want real hope.”
“Most Christians are motivated to share the gospel,” Atkins explained. “They just need the simple handles to do it.”
Atkins outlined the handles:
“First, we need to let people know what Christ did on the cross and how you first heard about Him. Did a friend share or were you by yourself with the Bible?
“Second, you need to explain how you accepted Him. Using specific Scriptures like John 3:16, 1 John 5:13 or the Roman Road.”
Atkins continued, “Third, explain how Jesus has had an impact on your life. This is how they understand that the difference is authentic. All this needs to be explained in a loving, kind way, meeting needs if you can.”
Atkins offered proof that anyone could do it. “This is especially important for young people to understand. Real revival will start with the young people. After one of our evangelism sessions, a sixteen-year-old girl was able to lead a 96-year-old man to the Lord. The church was able to follow up with him.