ORLANDO, Fla. — A friendly
conversation, a story, a realization and a prayer: that’s the gist of what
happens when one person shares and another accepts the simple gospel of Jesus
Christ. And while the methods and venues may have varied, the scene played out
more than 1,400 times June 7-12 as Southern Baptists expressed their core
message of hope through Crossover Orlando.
The effort, held just prior
to the Southern Baptist Convention’s June 15-16 annual meeting at the Orange
County Convention Center, involved more than 70 local churches and 1,200
outside volunteers. Venues included weeklong Hispanic Crossover and Intentional
Community Evangelism (ICE) efforts, as well as a one-day blitz June 12 that
included 15 neighborhood block parties, visits to homes, food distribution at
five churches, free water bottles for tourists on International Drive and a
huge family festival for the Hispanic community at the Central Florida Fairgrounds.
“The best thing summing up
the week for me was for people to see Southern Baptists at their best —
cooperating with one another at association, state and national levels,” said
Mike Armstrong, executive pastor of First Baptist Church of Winter Park and
coordinator of Crossover Orlando. “They saw the best of what Southern Baptists
truly are, and that is a cooperative people.”
Crossover is coordinated
nationally through the North American Mission Board. Bill Faulkner, director of
missions for the 168 churches in the Greater Orlando Baptist Association, said
he believes the benefits will extend far beyond the spiritual decisions that
were made.
“Encouraging churches in an
event like this will help them see that they can do this all the time,”
Faulkner said. “It doesn’t have to be a special event. It doesn’t have to be
necessarily with volunteers from outside. They see it and they say, ‘Wow, we
can do this.’”
Additionally, decisions
recorded throughout Crossover are distributed to local churches for immediate
follow-up with individuals.
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Dotson and
Noah are writers with the North American Mission Board.)