 January 20, 1999
|
HEARTY SINGING accompanied preaching throughout last week's Texas Baptist Evangelism Conference, including the Hispanic Evangelism Conference, where Jose Amaya of Mision Bautista Ridgecrest in Greenville joined in chorus with about 1,700 others. (Photo by Melody Loggins)
|
Evangelism Conference briefs
___
___ GOD 'CAN DO ANYTHING' "If God can make a crack-head into a Christian, he can do anything." That's what an ex-convict turned prison minister told a group of black Texas Baptist pastors and wives at their annual banquet during last week's Texas Baptist Evangelism Conference.
___Willie Scott was born into poverty in Houston. Looking for escape and answers, he became addicted to crack cocaine. "I was on my way to the penitentiary for the third time when a Baptist preacher asked me a question that changed my life: 'Do you want to be free? You need to know Jesus.' I've got no regrets about going to jail, because I found the best thing in life there," he said.
___Scott now is a deacon at Rose of Sharon Missionary Baptist Church in Houston and the owner of his own business. He is on parole for another 20 years, and normally he would be barred from any contact with convicted felons.
___However, because his faith story was so compelling and his transformed lifestyle so obvious, prison officials and his parole officer have granted him permission to do prison ministry in the Jester II Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
___ EVANGELISTS HONOR TWO Vocational evangelists honored two of their own during the vocational evangelists' luncheon at the Texas Baptist Evangelism Conference. Bob Elliott of Baytown was honored for 28 years of service as volunteer coordinator of the REAP program, an acronym for Rural Evangelistic Associational Partnership. The program helps smaller churches have evangelistic emphases with full-time vocational evangelists. Elliott will be succeeded as coordinator by Paul Cherry of Wolfe City.
___Evangelists also honored Frank Harber, outgoing president of the Texas Conference of Vocational Evangelists.
___Also during the luncheon, new conference officers were introduced: Herman Cramer of Seguin, president; Rob Randall of McKinney, vice president; Christy Newberry of Dallas, secretary-treasurer; Jonathan Hewett of Celina, secretary-treasurer elect; Sherman Aten of Granbury, music director; Randy Fair of Fairfield, assistant music director; and Riley Hamilton of Greenville, pastor-adviser.
|
VOCATIONAL EVANGELIST officers Hewett, Hamilton, Aten, Fair, Cramer, Randall and Newberry. (Photo by Dan Martin)
|
___
Frontpage / Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!
|