The Arkansas Baptist State Convention’s Spring Outreach Strategy kicked off Sunday as pastors were invited to share the message of John 3:16 on March 16.
“Lots of synergy was created throughout Arkansas on March 16 as the basic truths of John 3:16 were preached and people were saved. Many more people were trained to share their faith and left worship services committed to intentionally passing on the message of salvation,” ABSC Community Missions Strategist Clint Ritchie said.
“It was our prayer that 3:16 on March 16 would launch a culture of evangelism in our churches that would continue through the Spring Outreach Strategy. I believe we are seeing this prayer answered.”
At Calvary Baptist Church in Corning, Pastor Kevin Simmons shared that leading up to Sunday they prayer walked and drove around the neighborhoods inviting folks to the service. He said they saw several first-time guests and had a higher Sunday morning attendance.
“Though I am unaware of salvation decisions from today, we look forward to hearing more of the impact. I’m encouraged and hopeful in our follow up with guests,” Simmons said.
At Ruddell Hill Baptist Church in Batesville, Pastor Tyler Bramlett said they had one salvation on Sunday and many others make a decision to further their walk with Christ.
“It was a great day,” he said.
Pastor BJ Chatman at Harrisburg First Baptist Church said they baptized eight people on Sunday amongst one of the largest attended services they have had in the last couple of years.
“God is moving at FBC Harrisburg as we are experiencing a true move of young people being saved, adults recommitting themselves to the Lord, families being restored,” Chatman said.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Friendship Baptist Church in Conway shared, “We love every Sunday at Friendship but there are some that just feel a little extra special! It was wonderful to see over 1000 of you gather for 3:16 on 3/16 and even more wonderful to celebrate 5 baptisms and 5 salvations!”
Several of the churches utilized a new evangelism resource, the 3:16 bracelet, available to those involved with the Spring Outreach Strategy. The bracelets provide a simple visual for an individual walking through a Gospel presentation. Its five symbols give reference points to ensure the key elements of the Gospel are covered. The final symbol on the bracelet is a question mark, which serves as a reminder to those sharing the Gospel to call for a response.
At Rugged Cross Cowboy Church, they handed out 300 bracelets.
“We had a good day using it to preach and teach how to share the Gospel,” Pastor Mike Launius said.
Spring Outreach Strategy is a comprehensive initiative designed to help churches engage their communities and share the hope of the Gospel during key moments in the spring season. It began on March 16 and culminates with Statewide Baptism Sunday on April 27.
Between those two dates, churches are encouraged to select a day during the week of April 12-19 to serve their communities, meeting practical needs and strategically sharing the Gospel. Serve Local is an opportunity for churches to demonstrate compassion through various ministries, opening doors for Gospel conversations. Serve Local ministries typically fall into one of three categories: Physical needs, community needs, and connection needs.
“Just as churches were intentional about 3:16, they are looking at ways to serve their local context, sharing the Gospel, and inviting people to Easter services,” Ritchie said.
Woodland Heights Baptist Church in Conway held its Serve Local event on Saturday, March 15.
“We strategically find areas of our community that we can partner with and we can serve,” Discipleship and Administration Pastor Rox Horton said. “We find local ministries that we can partner with, then also have evangelism teams go out that are strategically placed in areas we know people will be.”
This year, Horton said they sent teams to at least seven different locations throughout the city, including a laundromat, senior living home, local parks, The Call, and Deliver Hope.
“For us, the push behind it is just to help people come to know Jesus,” Horton said. “It was a great day. I think we made some great connections within the community, did some great work, and I know there were some great conversations from the evangelism teams.”
A key part of the ministries performed at Serve Local includes an invitation to Big Day on April 20 which is Easter. “Big Days” are recurring cultural days in the year that may be used to invite people to church.
For more information on the Spring Outreach Strategy, training, and available resources, visit absc.org/sos.