Falls Creek adds Monday night invitations to youth weeks /// PREVIEWED ON COVER >> by Chris Doyle
MANAGING EDITOR
1
DAVIS—The summer youth weeks have returned to Falls Creek Conference Center, as well as the excitement and encouragement among Oklahoma Baptists who know how special this place in the Arbuckle Mountains can be. Many can share spiritual decisions they made as a Falls Creek camper, whether that came in the form of making a profession of faith in Christ, a recommitment to Christ or answering the call of the Holy Spirit to serve in full-time ministry. After the first week of youth camp at Falls Creek, June 7-11, more than 600 spiritual decisions were reported, including 246 professions of faith in Christ. Much rejoicing occurs after each week of camp over every spiritual decision made, for this is why Falls Creek exists. To encourage campers to heed the call of the Spirit in their lives, an element of the evening services has been enhanced this summer. Along with the traditional invitation times that happen Tuesday through Friday, this year’s camp is also observing Monday night invitations, where campers can publicly respond to the evening message. Todd Sanders, Falls Creek program director, said having an invitation time on Monday nights allows students who come to camp ready to make spiritual decisions to meet with counselors that first night. “I was convicted of increasing the prayer efforts, especially among adult sponsors and youth leaders, to pray for their students,” Sanders said. “The more you’re praying for people’s salvation, the more opportunities you are looking for to share the Gospel and for them to respond. “From there, I considered how we could expand on what we do during the services (at Falls Creek),
2
>> PHOTOS: CHRIS DOYLE 1) Todd Sanders speaks to students who publicly responded during the first Monday night invitation at Falls Creek this summer; 2) Zack Randles planned all along to offer a Monday night invitation, unaware they did not previously occur.
so I thought, ‘Why can’t we have an invitation on Monday night?’” Sanders admitted it can be an adjustment, especially with making sure enough counselors are available to meet with students making decisions. As the weeks continue, Sanders said, more Falls Creek summer staff members could be available to help counsel students. Angela Sanders, Todd’s wife, said she had the opportunity to counsel a student on that first Monday night. “It’s a testament that we handle those decisions carefully,” Todd said. “We are not trying to manipulate. Really, there is nothing you can manipulate on a Monday night—the first night. It’s ‘right out of the box.’ We are just providing another opportunity for students to respond, and really, for many weeks, most of our decision numbers are usually early in the week—Tuesday and Wednesday.” For the first Monday night invitation at Falls Creek this summer, 86 students made spiritual decisions including 53 professions of faith in Christ. Zack Randles was the speaker for Week One of Falls Creek. The pastor of Washington, D.C., Waterfront has made multiple visits to Falls Creek youth camp
over the years, either as a camper or a church leader, but this was his first time to speak at Falls Creek. “It’s a very special experience,” Randles said. “It’s always special no matter what seat you sit in. There was this feeling of excitement just being here. The Spirit was moving, as always.” When asked about starting the first Falls Creek week giving an invitation after his Monday night message, Randles said he planned all along for students to publicly respond after his sermon. He was not aware that Monday night invitations did not previously occur. “A month and half ago, I was putting together what I believe what God wanted me to say,” Randles said. “This message was planned before I knew you weren’t supposed to present the Gospel on the first night. That was extra cool.” And it shows how God is working through all the elements that are happening at Falls Creek. All evening services at Falls Creek are streamed live this summer at live.oklahomabaptists.org.
Send Conference emphasizes unity, mission and Gospel focus >> by IMB, NAMB & Messenger staff NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)—The Send Conference featured several prominent pastors and speakers from across the nation, June 13-14. Jointly hosted by the North American Mission Board (NAMB) and the International Mission Board (IMB), the conference’s theme “Together on Mission” was designed to unite Southern Baptists around the Gospel. Speakers, from Tony Evans on Sunday night, June 13, to David Jeremiah Monday afternoon, emphasized the importance of Christian unity in the fulfillment of the Great Commission. Evans, author and senior pastor of Dallas, Texas, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, spoke about how the Great Commission in Matthew 28 frames the way Christians are to operate as “Kingdom people” who both proclaim the Gospel and live out the transforming power of the Gospel in their everyday lives. “Our true calling is not to be part-time saints but fulltime Christians pulling heaven down to earth as true reflections of the imago Dei,” Evans said. “We have watched our nation decline because there aren’t enough accurate reflections of Christ invading the culture.” Kevin Smith, executive director for the Baptist Convention of Maryland-Delaware, delivered a sermon from Ephesians 4, focusing on the need for maturity and unity in Christ’s body, the Church. “The unity of God’s people in the Scripture is essential for the anointing and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit,” Smith said after observing how some Christian leaders seem to trivialize unity to the point of even mocking those who pursue it. “Jesus said the unbelieving world will know that we are Christ’s disciples by the love we have for one another,” Smith said. “Being disunified, being schismatic, like the Corinthians, undercuts our witness.” Vance Pitman, pastor of Las Vegas, Nev., Hope, spoke next, and he pointed out the purpose of a local church: “When God births a church, He does so for his glory.” The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has
1
2
>> PHOTOS: 1)ERIC BROWN; 2) BRIAN HOBBS1) Tony
Evans preached the opening session of the Send Conference; 2) Caleb Freeman, left, shares his testimony alongside his dad Jeremy Freeman, pastor of Newcastle, First, to room filled with more than 400 students.
played a role in the expansion of God’s Kingdom as churches have come together to support missionaries and plant churches. The SBC has been about so much more than any earthly, political ideology, but Pitman shared a humbling reminder. “God does not need the Southern Baptist Convention,” Pitman said. “The Southern Baptist Convention needs God, and if we don’t seek first the Kingdom for His glory and continue to be the best Kingdom investment for the dollar, He will use somebody else.” Jeremiah, pastor of El Cajon, Calif. Shadow Mountain Community Church, concluded the pastor’s track of the Send Conference with a sermon that focused on the transforming power of the Gospel. “The Gospel gets into a person’s life, and it begins to change everything,” Jeremiah said. “And not only is the message of the Gospel transforming, but the work of the Gospel is also expanding.” Jeremiah reminded pastors about the ministry of Billy Graham. Through wars, civil unrest and spanning the lives of 12 presidents, Jeremiah said, Graham preached the Gospel as if it was the only hope humanity had. In concluding his message, Jeremiah encouraged Southern Baptists not to let side issues distract them from proclaiming the Gospel. Students challenged to live missional lives The Send Conference also included separate tracks for women and students who met at Nashville, First.
During the student track, which was attended by more than 400 students, Caleb Freeman shared his testimony. Caleb, whose father Pastor Jeremy Freeman of Newcastle, First, joined him in a presentation, sharing about Caleb surviving an automobile accident and a traumatic brain injury. The Freemans credit God with Caleb’s miraculous healing, as they travel the country sharing the Gospel with students. Robby Gallaty, who pastors Hendersonville, Tenn., Long Hollow, and opened the conference with a special time of prayer, told students about the greatest insight that changed his life: the Holy Spirit. Gallaty urged students to recognize the significance of having the gift of the Holy Spirit. “Because of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, it’s as if Jesus Christ were here with us in person today,” he said. Sharing how Christians can come together despite cultural differences, Scott Long, discipleship pastor at Louisville, Ky., Highview, preached from John 17. “Every one of us come from different backgrounds, different colors, different cultures, different languages,” Long said. “Apart from the grace of God we are a broken mess. Jesus, as a skillful designer, has a vision for the broken mess…He bleeds over us and out comes a beautiful, unified mosaic.” Shane Pruitt, NAMB’s national next gen evangelism director, gave an invitation during one of the student sessions, and 20 students received Christ. The nearly 1,000 students who attended also participated in a service project.
Features | June 24, 2021 | The Baptist Messenger | www.baptistmessenger.com
7
