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DALLAS—The elderly woman drove by slowly, then turned her car around and entered the parking lot at Inglewood Baptist Church in Grand Prairie on Saturday. Church members there were offering something she knew she needed.
Prayer.
Inglewood was among the 80 or so churches that participated in Crossover Dallas, a weeklong evangelistic outreach held each year just prior to the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. Across the Metroplex, churches held outreaches ranging from the traditional (block parties) to the unique (pickleball), partnering with the North American Mission Board to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.
At Inglewood, smiling curbside volunteers held signs stating, “Let us pray for you,” and ministered to people in approximately 30 vehicles. The church also hosted a block party nearby, complete with two bounce houses, yard games, and hot dogs.
More than half of Inglewood’s 100 or so attenders—average age 70—helped with the Crossover outreach. NAMB volunteers from other states pitched in, too.
“She just needed somebody to pray for her,” Inglewood Pastor Ricky Guenther said of the woman who had lost her son. “If we had just had her come through, it would have been worth it.”
Pickleball with a purpose
In Crowley, Redeemer Community Church parlayed its popular sports ministry into a pickleball outreach with a purpose. Dexter Laureano, pastor of the largely Filipino American congregation, said the church’s sports ministry began with recreational basketball on Tuesday nights. Adding open play pickleball on Saturday afternoons before a 5 p.m. Bible study made for a natural progression.
Redeemer’s Crossover event began with worship and praise in the gym, followed by a message from Laureano in which he presented the gospel. He encouraged those who had not already done so to follow Jesus, and to those already saved, he urged “sincere witnessing.” He also introduced the man who led him to Christ in 2012, Rodel Chiu.
Chui and fellow pickleball coach Sherrie Panter then teamed with Laureano to offer basic pickleball instruction, followed by group play. After a break for a traditional Filipino meal of sizzling skewered barbequed pork, egg rolls, and pancit (noodles) prepared onsite in a food truck owned by Redeemer members, participants enjoyed more pickleball.
Why pickleball? Saturday’s crowded gym provided the answer, with Chiu noting how the sport’s popularity lends itself to evangelism opportunities.
“It’s the fastest growing sport. People want to learn it,” Laureano said. “It’s not gender exclusive. Couples, kids, all can play.”
‘You literally exist for Jesus’
Food trucks offering coffee, shaved ice, and tacos dotted the parking lot of Cross Church’s North Richland Hills campus, where nearly 250 students and leaders from 11 churches flocked to one of two Crossover student rallies. Another student rally was held Friday night at First Baptist Church in Rockwall.
At Cross Church, groups clustered around outside tables or engaged in energetic games of nine-square on the asphalt or human foosball in an enormous inflatable. A massive inflatable obstacle course beckoned, as did a smaller castle. Later that afternoon, students headed to the worship center, where they competed for gift cards in a warmup game led by Cross Church Student Pastor Daniel Simmons.
Christian rap artist Dillon Chase of R.A.G.E. Ministries got the crowd moving—literally—as dozens rushed near the stage to dance and sing while Chase, with his daughter Melia as DJ, belted out favorites like “Do It Scared.” Hearkening to his time in Japan on mission, he taught the group Japanese lyrics and shared how Jesus saved him when his family fell apart. Chase’s younger daughter, Sami, hopped on stage to show her dance moves, as well.
After worship led by Cross Church’s North Fort Worth praise team, Shane Pruitt, NAMB national next gen director, delivered a powerful message from Colossians. Pruitt noted that among 8.5 billion people on the planet, one overwhelming question looms: What is my purpose?
“You literally exist for Jesus,” Pruitt said. “We are not created to follow our heart. We need Jesus to give us a new heart. … We may be big sinners, but Jesus is a bigger Savior.”
Fourteen trusted Christ at the rally, according to Simmons.
Jokes for Jesus
Across the Metroplex, North Garland Baptist Fellowship provided yet another unconventional Crossover outreach.
“Welcome to the North Garland Comedy Club!” exclaimed Jason Earls, the church’s pastor, who is also a stand-up comedian. About 175 people consisting of members and guests filled the worship center, which had been transformed by replacing rows of chairs with tables accented with LED candles to mimic the ambiance of a private venue.
Announcing that he had brought in three of the best nationally known comics “within driving distance,” Earls launched into what became two hours of side-splitting, clean humor.
The three guest comics included Reggie French, who started the hilarity with jokes about his recent diabetic diagnoses: “I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. I never did drugs. Now I am done in by a honey bun.” Alluding to his youth, he admitted that his family was poor—“Not dirt poor, but we were dusty.” The lineup also included Isaac Witty and Trey Mark, the latter fresh from a gig on a cruise line.
The energy onstage, the power of humor, and a series of gift card giveaways kept the audience in a festive mood. “I am the pastor of this church. I like to give something to people who visit my house,” Earls said near the end of the event. That final gift was an explanation of the gospel.
“If Jesus saved me, He can save you,” Earls said. “I’m not perfect … but a perfect God called me. I had to make a decision.”
Ending on a heavenly high note
First Baptist Church in Murphy, which has participated in the SBTC’s Regenesis church revitalization process, capped off a week of Crossover events with Summerific Sunday on June 8. This year, the church expanded its usual seasonal outreach by collaborating with Crossover to include a week of door-to-door evangelism and four nights of outreach at two local parks.
Church communications director Megan Phillips, daughter of Pastor Ben Phillips, coordinated events. She praised the assistance of NAMB volunteers who energized the work as the week progressed. A record 146 children, plus their families, participated in this year’s park outreaches, she said. All heard the gospel.
Filling the pulpit on Sunday at First Murphy was the pastor’s longtime friend, Tarvoris Uzoigwe, an apologetics and evangelism associate with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Uzoigwe, or “Coach Tee” as he is known, started his message with videos in which he shared the gospel with two young men. The first, former Arkansas State basketball player Rakeem Dickerson, prayed to receive Christ. The second young man, whom Uzoigwe met at a skateboard park, did not.
Within 11 months of those videos, both young men had died: Rakeem from a blood clot and the second in a motorcycle wreck. Their funerals occurred on the same day, Uzoigwe said. Only one was in heaven, he added.
Citing the example of Judas Iscariot, Uzoigwe said, “Judas repented … but he did not believe.” Similarly, people can believe but not repent, for “even the demons believe.”
Neither does proximity to Jesus guarantee salvation, Uzoigwe added. Who walked more closely with Jesus than Judas?
“Check your symptoms,” Uzoigwe said, referencing the account of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16. Uzoigwe cautioned against emphasizing religion over relationship with God. Disconnection, distraction, disbelief, and a lack of discipleship too often interfere with spiritual growth.
As his sermon concluded, Uzoigwe provided an evangelistic object lesson, asking for a volunteer from the audience to help. Ayden, a young man who had been attending the church a short time and who had assisted throughout the Summerific week, jumped up. Following instructions, he grasped Uzoigwe by the forearm, after which Uzoigwe did the same to him while saying, “The reason you are getting to go to heaven is not because you are holding onto Jesus, but because Jesus is holding onto you.”
Moments later, as Uzoigwe issued an invitation to trust Christ, Ayden walked forward again. He had never trusted Jesus, but today he decided to begin trusting Him. As Uzoigwe and Ayden knelt together, students and young adults spontaneously left the pews and surrounded the pair for several minutes as the congregation sat in hushed, prayerful awe.
There could be no better way to end the church’s Summerific week than with a salvation—which is the heart of Crossover.
