Oct 1, 2020
By Nick Kersten, Director of Education & History
And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”
—Ezekiel 37:4
There are a variety of ways to measure the life and vitality of a church, but surely one way is how public the faith of a congregation is outside the walls of the meeting house (or the frames of your screen, if that’s a more apt picture in this season). Revitalization of a congregation includes an uptick in the life of the members of the congregation. That uptick should include, if it is being driven by the Holy Spirit, an increase in engagement with those who most need to hear the Gospel. In other words, Gospel saturation, church revitalization, and kingdom advance are all linked.
One of the relationships our Conference has is with the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism at Wheaton College. The BGCE convened the Evangelism Leaders Fellowship—which we have participated in since its inception several years ago—to bring together denominations, ministries, and individuals with a passion for evangelism to share strategies and discuss challenges in the sharing of the Christian faith in this generation. For the past five years, the BGCE has also held the Amplify Conference (www.amplifyconference.tv), to gather those who wish to grow their public witness. Our Conference has had increasing representation at this Conference since 2015, when the first one was held.
This year, we once again planned to bring a contingent to the Conference, but plans were held up by the COVID pandemic. We were concerned that Amplify would be cancelled this year. Instead, we were presented with a holy opportunity. We received word that our original registration fees for the in-person portion were refunded and instead they were offering a fully online Conference in a different time window (mid-May instead of mid-June). This seemed a holy opportunity springing out of the difficulties of the pandemic, so the members of the Evangelism Task Force (Garfield Miller, Patty Petersen and I) aggressively recruited for the event, hoping that God would use the change in plan to open the doors to broader SDB representation at this year’s Conference.
Our hopes were realized. More than 60 SDBs participated in the three days of the online Conference, held May 19-21. Speakers included Kevin Harney, J.R. Briggs, Lee Strobel, John Jenkins, Sr., Christine Caine, Laurel Bunker, and Rebecca McLaughlin. Speakers taught on a variety of important witnessing strategies and methods, and addressed changing cultural conditions, both in the unbelieving culture and in the church itself. In addition, through online Zoom sessions, SDB participants joined breakout sessions on a variety of topics and engaged one another in SDB-specific sessions. Also, a Facebook group and a Slack channel were created for those engaging in the Conference to speak with one another and share content while the Conference was going on. It was a blessed time of worship, equipping, and challenge.
The group of SDB Amplifiers has had two online meetings to continue the momentum of what was begun during the Conference. More meetings are scheduled. It is my hope that such incredible turnout for an evangelism event is a sign that God is doing great things among the congregations of our General Conference and that a move of God is underway to use us in this generation to actively advance God’s Kingdom in this difficult and broken season.
Is God doing something in you and in your church in this season to stimulate your desire to reach out to others with the hope you have found in Jesus Christ? If you are feeling the pull to help your faith become more public in a loving and helpful way in this season, I encourage you to contact me (nkersten@seventhdaybaptist.org) and I will connect you to resources and people who share your calling to witness to our broken world. May we all be fitting ambassadors for the Kingdom and increasingly equipped in the work of representing Him!
