COSBE EVANGELISM PLAN for Baptism Assistance Project in Churches

CHAPTER 18 THE EVANGELIST'S RELATIONSHIP TO THE STATE CONVENTION

The relationship of each individual evangelist to his state convention is affected by several factors. The first factor is the evangelist's attitude. If he is positive, helpful, understanding, and cooperative, their relationship can be outstanding. The second factor of importance is the stance of the state convention toward evangelists. The state executive secretary, the state secretary of evangelism and/or state missions’ director, and the budget of the state convention determine the policy towards the itinerant evangelist. A personal word of testimony will be the best explanation that I can give, especially as it concerns the state of Georgia.

The December 1975 evangelist's retreat sponsored by the Home Mission Board included an emphasis on the relation of the evangelist to the state convention. I was encouraged as a young evangelist to go home, to contact some older, well-respected evangelists and to form a state conference of evangelists with the support of the state secretary of evangelism.

I called evangelist Melvin Wise and shared my excitement about a state fellowship of evangelists. He contacted a number of evangelists in the state and O. M. Cates, then Secretary of Evangelism for the state of Georgia. As a result, the Conference of Georgia Baptist Evangelists was formed. Melvin Wise was elected president, Jim Dorriety became the first vice president, Dick Barrett was the music director, Emily Wise was secretary treasurer and Rev. Lester Buice of Rehoboth became the first pastor advisor.

At that first meeting at Curtis Avenue Baptist Church, Augusta, Georgia, over twelve people were present including O. M. Cates, State Secretary of Evangelism. The meeting was held between the other meetings at the Georgia Baptist Evangelism Conference. This practice has continued over the years with times such as breakfast, 3:15 p.m. during a special afternoon session, a supper meal, and finally had settled down to a luncheon meal provided by Dr. J. Mike Minnix (Director of the Executive Office for Evangelization), along for the evangelists. At the conclusion of that meal the Conference of Georgia Baptist Evangelists had their annual business meeting. Now we meet at a retreat sight and have our annual business meeting in early January.

Under Thad Hamilton (former Secretary of Evangelism) a retreat and meal with our own meeting place was established. Dr. J. Mike Minnix held the new position of Executive Office for Evangelization. Dr. Bob White sensed the need for evangelism to permeate all Georgia Baptists. Dr. White brilliantly created this new position. It places Dr. Minnix in a position to influence every division and department in the GBC to fulfill the Great Commission.

Dr. Minnix had a vision to have area crusades in every town in Georgia with over one thousand population. His experience in the pastorate was one of great success. He utilized evangelists throughout his ministry. He trained churches in revival preparation, soul winning and what ever it takes to win every man, woman, boy, and girl in the state of Georgia to Jesus Christ. He wanted to see a wave of revival sweep Georgia from the Florida state line all the way to the Tennessee border. He nearly pulled it off, but had funding promised, withdrawn at the last moment. His efforts were blessed but without the statewide radio, tv, and billboard advertisements to assist our churches the impact was far less than they could have been.

Mike Minnix wanted every church in the state to use God’s gift, the evangelist. He is sorely missed after his retirement.

For a brief stint one of our greatest pastors took the position that Mike Minnix had. He was there for only a couple of weeks and decided to go back to his great church.

In time our Sunday School head Specialist, Steve Paar, was asked to wear two hats and has taken over the Vice President for Evangelism post. Two consultants one, a former vocational evangelist Steve Foster and David Harill are doing much of the work in the evangelism area. I pray that they will have much success. It is difficult to ask a man to do two things at once.
Update history of Georgia to the current moment.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WORK OF THE CONFERENCE

OF GEORGIA BAPTIST EVANGELISTS

C.O.G.B.E. is the abbreviation for the Conference of Georgia Baptist Evangelists. It quickly became apparent that the acting power of the conference would have to be centered in the office of the president. Because of the difficulty of gathering officers together, one man could best act for all. He naturally would contact others by phone. However, if the work was done or not done, the responsibility was on the president's shoulders. From 1975-1985 there were seven presidents of the conference, Melvin Wise, Ted Moody, Jim Dorriety, Talmadge Amberson, John Adkerson, Keith Fordham, and Carl Marshall.

During the first eight years of the conference's existence, many barriers of distrust had to be overcome. The presidents of the conference did a remarkable job, for the most part. Dr. O. M. Cates, on more than one occasion, printed a directory of Georgia Baptist evangelists out of his meager budget. This demonstrated his love for evangelists and says much for the first four presidents' skills in relating the evangelists to the state convention.

Other difficulties had to do with handing out brochures and a booth at the State Evangelism Conference. An attempt at an "Afterglow" one night at the State Conference drew only a handful of people. The "Afterglow" featured great singing and testimonies. Lester Buice tried an outdoor July Fourth Evangelism showcase for the state evangelists to preach at his church, but the heat beat us; the crowds were poor. At least two recent attempts for one day revivals for evangelists in the city where the State Evangelism Conference was to be held on the Sunday prior to the conference has met with a little success. Local churches would take a love offering and pay the evangelists' motel bills for the Saturday through Tuesday nights of the conference. For evangelists using travel trailers, the churches would allow the evangelists to plug into the churches' electricity and water while spending the days of the conference on church property. This last event is improving every year and will one day be very fruitful.

Another area of difficulty has been in the area of including the evangelists on the pastors' mailing list and including the evangelists under a special category in the Georgia Baptist Convention Annual. Each evangelist having to sign a paper along with his pastor and the associational moderator proving his existence and activity in the Georgia Baptist Convention has accomplished the latter. It is a little inconvenient to have to do this annually, but it is well worth the effort to send this information to the State Executive Secretary.

In an effort to bridge a gap in the integrity of evangelists, the requirements for being a member of the C.O.G.B.E. were set up in 2001 as a part of the new by-laws. Men who are really fulltime in vocational evangelism are now members of the Conference of Georgia Baptist Evangelists.

A NEW BEGINNING

Dr. Jim Griffith became State Executive Secretary January 1, 1981. He had a great vision for evangelism and evangelists. Dr. Bill Clinton was chosen as the new Secretary of Evangelism and the evangelism budget was increased fivefold. When asked if the evangelists could be added to the pastors' mailing, so that we would know what was going on in the state, instead of hearing a big NO, we heard Dr. Griffith reply, "Send my secretary a list of names and addresses."

Dr. Clinton began to print a Georgia Baptist evangelists' directory every other year and to mail it to every pastor in the state. He continued a policy of meeting with the officers of the C.O.G.B.E. usually in February or March.

Dr. Clinton used evangelists to lead music or do special music at the State Evangelism Conference. He took a bold step in allowing the first in state evangelist as a program personality on the evangelism conference in over twenty years. He used the evangelists to lead in prayers at the conference so that they could be introduced. He announced who the new officers of the C.O.G.B.E. are at the Evangelism Conference and recognized them during the meeting. He paid for a half page ad in the The Christian Index that included the evangelist’s names, pictures, addresses, and phone numbers. Dr. J Mike Minnix is going much farther. He will have the president of COGBE speak on the State Evangelism conference every year.

Bill Neal, editor of the The Christian Index and his predecessors printed every article that the conference has asked them to print. In fact, without the The Christian Index we would not have a record of who the officers were for certain years, because the minutes for these years have been misplaced.

SOME STRATEGIES

During the first several years, the C.O.G.B.E. has encouraged fellowship among the evangelists. One year we had a fellowship and testimony get together at Christmas. It was a precious time of getting to know fellow evangelists.

A trust has developed between the state convention, and evangelists in fact two evangelists have served on the nominating committee for the state convention and one is currently serving on the historical committee.

The meal provided at the Evangelism Conference, a booth space, the directory, the picture in the The Christian Index, the developing of one-day revivals in the town where the Evangelism Conference meets on the Sunday prior to the conference, and a working relationship with Dr. Minnix are leading to more effective evangelism and use of evangelists in Georgia.

In 1988, the strategy changed to increased fellowship among evangelists by having a two day retreat for evangelists prior to the Evangelism Conference, and more involvement in one day revivals. The retreat took take place on the Friday and Saturday before the Georgia Evangelism Conference. The one-day revivals in churches where the State Evangelism Conference is held was on the Sunday before the Evangelism Conference. Another strategy was an emphasis on educating pastors about evangelists. Dr. Mike Minnix had a fact-based interview in the The Christian Index that year, concerning the use of evangelists.

Of all the men who have been the editor for the Christian Index in Georgia, none have had a greater passion for evangelism and evangelists than the current editor Gerald Harris. He has done all he could to showcase evangelism and evangelists. What a man thinks about, talks about and writes about is what he does and what he has on his heart. Gerald Harris is full of Jesus and wants everybody to know Him. This shows in our state paper. There was a time when a Georgia Evangelist could not advertise his ministry in the Index. That changed when Gerald Harris took the job. He even features articles about our evangelists to get pastors to know and use Christ’s evangelists for the church.

MASSIVE CHANGE AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY

In 2001-2002 the strategy changed to the most successful One-Day revivals that we ever had. A Monday morning preaching time for evangelists and singer to present their wares to pastors was held just prior to the Annual evangelism Conference. Thad Hamilton (then Secretary of Evangelism) pushed the Conference of Georgia Evangelists to get new by-laws. The GBC provided the expert parliamentarian, Dr. Lester Cooper to assist us in writing the new By-Laws. We basically copied Tennessee’s Fellowship of Evangelists model. Again the integrity issue came up. Men who are actually full-time in the work are to be differentiated from men who are part time. The new requirements for membership were placed in the new constitution and by-laws. One complaint had to do with men who after 2 or 3 years of not being used by the churches, have persisted to be advertised and have the benefits of the Conference of Georgia Baptist Evangelists membership while not actually serving as an evangelist. This lack of integrity on the part of a few men has caused much mistrust of evangelists among pastors and GBC workers for evangelists. The new by-laws helped to rid this problem. (A man who will not work and take care of his family is worse than an infidel. If you cannot make a living at your vocation because you are not being called to preach, sing, and witness, you need to find a different line of work!)

The new by-laws set forth the answer to the integrity issue and are as follows:

CONFERENCE OF GEORGIA BAPTIST EVANGELIST BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I

NAME: Name shall be Conference of Georgia Baptist Evangelist.

ARTICLE II

PURPOSE

1. To lift the name of Jesus.

2. To harvest the crop of souls ready to receive Christ through preaching, singing, drama, street witnessing, house to house witnessing, broadcast, radio, Television, internet, print media and all methods of communication necessary in calling men to Christ.

3. To promote fellowship among those engaged in evangelism among Georgia Baptist Churches.

4. To provide inspiration and information to assist the evangelist to better serve the Lord Jesus Christ and the churches among whom they minister.

5. To work with the Georgia Baptist Convention in bringing all Georgians to a saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

6. To promote revival-evangelism in all churches.

7. To commend God-called men to the Churches of the Georgia Baptist Convention.

8. To teach and uphold the office of evangelist. Ephesians 4:11

ARTICLE III

MEMBERSHIP:

(1) The membership shall be composed of full time vocational preaching evangelists and full time music evangelists who give their total energies and time to the pursuit thereof  and is their primary source of income. They are members of Southern Baptist churches in Georgia.

(2). Bi Vocational evangelists and bi vocational music evangelists shall be accepted as dues paying members and listed in the directory as such. You cannot be a pastor or minister of music.

(3) Retired pastors, retired ministers of music (ages 62 and above) who feel called to evangelism shall be accepted as honorary dues paying members, without voting privileges and be listed in the directory as Retired Pastor (Honorary Member), Retired Ministers of Music (Honorary Member), etc.

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