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Evangelists in the United States ready to boost baptisms

Some believe the falling number of baptisms in many of the 43,000 churches in the Southern Baptist Convention is partially due to the trend of fewer, shorter or no revival meetings. Some say the full-time vocational evangelist is a dying breed, reports Baptist Press.

Just don't say that to young evangelists like Ronnie Hill or Eric Fuller or the other 200 dues-paying members of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists.

COSBE -- which celebrates its 50th anniversary in June during the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in Indianapolis –- has no plans to post "going out of business" signs this side of the Rapture.

"I don't think we evangelists will ever be out of a job if we keep our noses clean," said Hill, 40, of Fort Worth, Texas, who holds an earned doctorate from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Hill said his calendar stays full and is already booked into 2009. An evangelist for the last 20 years -- many of those years assisting Florida evangelist Kelly Green -- he preaches at some 42 meetings a year. He believes in COSBE.

"Being in COSBE helps young evangelists. It gives them exposure, credibility and accountability to a group," Hill said.

Today's evangelists, he said, work hard to break the past stereotypes that still linger in some SBC churches.

"The three complaints I hear most about evangelists are pressuring people about money, manipulating invitations and evangelists with big egos," Hill said.

"I go in and preach a simple Gospel and give people a chance to respond. I don't manipulate the invitation. I don't hound the pastor about money and, in fact, I don't even want to talk about money. I don't want him to tell me how much money came in the night before. When he gives me the check, I don't look at it until I'm down the road or even the next day."

Hill said he is happy to work with churches that go "outside the box" to "seek" people who would never attend a traditional church, churches that have contemporary worship services or people attending in jeans. But he also believes some elements of the church service should not go by the wayside.

"Those are not critical issues and not what I object to. I have a problem with not giving an invitation to let people have an opportunity to respond to the truth of the Gospel."

Like many SBC evangelists, Hill likes to quote Roy Fish, well-known evangelism professor at Southwestern Seminary, who says: "Proclamation without invitation leads to frustration."

How does Hill respond to pastors who say revivals just don't work anymore?

"What doesn't work is when a pastor has a buddy come in and preach a so-called revival, but then people don't show up and they have no results. So then they say revivals don't work anymore.

"Too many churches are not using the gift of the evangelist," Hill said, citing Ephesians 4:11: "And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers."

One COSBE evangelist, Don Womack, goes so far as to say, "It is a sin of commission to reject the divine office of the evangelist; a sin of omission to ignore the office; and a sin of transgression to abuse the office."

Hill's Sunday-Wednesday revivals are popular because he uses a different theme every night.

"Mondays have an emphasis on children. Tuesdays, we emphasize youth, middle school to high school. Wednesday night is 'steak night,' aimed at men who love steaks and women who like a night off in the kitchen."

Hill said this format worked well at Trinity Baptist Church in Lake Charles, La., last August -- drawing 1,000 people each night and requiring extra chairs in the church foyer to handle the overflow crowds. The church had not held a revival in 10 years.

Brian Fossett, COSBE's current president, believes many churches are not only neglecting the gift of the evangelist, they don't even realize what they're missing.

"Not using an evangelist is like not opening a gift on Christmas morning," said Fossett, an evangelist based in Dalton, Ga. "It's like not using a gift that God has given you to help the church, to help you grow, to help you achieve what you want to achieve.

"When an evangelist comes in, it's like a realignment for the church, just like realigning your car," Fossett said. "You get your focus back on what it should be on -– reaching people for Christ. We sometimes fill our calendars with good things but not God things.

"We've got a lot of young guys who are coming into [COSBE], and we praise God for that because we want the next 50 years, if Jesus tarries, to be just as effective as the last 50," Fossett said.

Eric Fuller, 26, currently working on his second master's degree at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, is one of the "young guys" now active in COSBE. Eric will marry fiancée Katie in May.

First called as an evangelist as a 15-year-old in his native Piggott, Ark., Fuller says evangelists and revival services still have a significant part to play in the life of an effective, growing church.

"I know we're in a day and time when people say evangelists and revivals are a thing of the past. But I'm thoroughly convinced this is the biggest time ever for churches to have revival," said Fuller, who -- bucking the trend -- urges churches to conduct week-long revival/harvest meetings.

Fuller, who's been a COSBE member for just over a year, considers Ronnie Hill as his mentor and says other COSBE evangelists such as Fossett, Randy Helms, Carl Carrigan and Wayne Bristow also have been an influence.

"We have so many guys in COSBE who have truly been gifted as evangelists," Fuller said. "When you bring in guys like that with a fresh word, solely looking for lost people to find Christ, it's a gift to the church. If churches and their pastors are not utilizing the evangelist, I don't think that church can be as strong as God intended it to be."

Fuller said it's "wonderful being able to be influenced by these COSBE guys from all across the United States. They've been in ministry for years. They've got so many different backgrounds, different preaching styles. You're able to see a variety of ways these godly men are reaching people for Jesus Christ. You can ask the older guys what works, what doesn't.

"The [Gospel] message will never change, but there are many different methods of delivering the message. It keeps you creative. Times change, cultures change and you have to shift your methods," Fuller said.

The young evangelist also benefits from the continuing education he receives from COSBE, noting, "I've got a master's degree from seminary, but they don't teach you this stuff. To be able to sit down with Ronnie Hill and hear him say, 'This is how I did it,' is a tremendous benefit."

Fuller said he needs all the help he can get because the life of a young evangelist is not easy. He doesn't set fees and, although some financial support comes from individuals, businesses and churches, a church's revival offering is his primary source of income.

"When I was first called, I began asking pastors and deacons for advice. The majority said, 'Eric, don't do it. Don't be a full-time evangelist. There's not enough money. You'll never be able to support a family. Churches are not having revivals anymore. You'll never make it.'

"The thing is, I couldn't get away from it. The calling is there. That's why I've been placed on this earth. I can't do anything else. I couldn't be a pastor; I'd get fired in a week because it's not my calling," Fuller said.

"I just lay it all before the Lord and say, 'Lord, I realize it's a tough deal but this is what You called me to do.' If I have to live under a bridge in a cardboard box for the rest of my life, I'll have to do it. We have an urgent message to give. We can't stop at any cost."

[05/18/2008]

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