![]() Larry Doyle, director of missions for Piedmont Baptist Association in Greensboro, N.C., said his community was hugely impacted by Crossover and church planting efforts in 2006. Nix has had many students who were skeptical about spending a week practicing intentional evangelism, but their lives and ministries were ultimately changed by the experience.Įspecially from a student standpoint, Nix said, participants “gain experience, and they’re equipped to more effectively share their faith.”Ĭrossover efforts, in partnership with local associational initiatives, have also made an impact on communities through church plants. Crossover allows the students to lead people to Christ one on one rather than from behind a pulpit. It may be hard to believe, but some seminary students - including those who are active ministers - have never shared their faith outside a church setting, according to Nix. Crossover Louisville resulted in 1,035 recorded salvations. ![]() ![]() “We’re intentional about verbally communicating our faith to the lost so they can come to faith in Jesus Christ,” Nix said. Students partner with Intentional Community Evangelism teams or local church members to participate in door-to-door and street evangelism the week before the SBC annual meeting. Since Crossover Louisville in 2009, seminaries have offered personal evangelism training courses that coincide with Crossover outreach. “It changes students’ lives, and it affects and impacts their ministry,” he said. Preston Nix, director of the Leavell Center for Evangelism and Church Health at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, has seen Crossover transform the lives of his students, some of whom were already serving as pastors. Participating in Crossover equips believers to share their faith more effectively, including the next generation of pastors and ministers who are going through seminary training. Throughout its 25-year history, Crossover has continued to impact lives and souls long after the volunteers returned home. Second, “Crossover Australia” inspired images of believers traveling across the country to spread the Gospel.Ĭhapman’s original vision for “Crossover America” focused on church planting, but the name ultimately found its home with the pre-convention evangelistic thrust that Southern Baptists know today. The theme of the conference was “Crossover Australia.” In an interview with SBC LIFE, Chapman recalled being struck by the dual meaning of the name.įirst, he said, picturing the cross over Australia reminded him of Jesus’ words in John 12:32: “As for Me, if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to Myself” (HCSB). The name “Crossover” was inspired by an evangelism conference in Australia where Chapman spoke in 1987. ![]() Crossover Atlanta that year involved door-to-door witnessing, serving meals to the homeless, street evangelism, and prayer throughout the city. Chapman worked with the HMB to expand the one-day outreach into a full week. The annual saturation evangelism initiative became known as Crossover in 1991, when then-SBC president Morris H. ![]() The following year, the SBC Home Mission Board (now NAMB) planned a second evangelistic event to coincide with the SBC annual meeting. They visited more than 100,000 homes and led approximately 470 people to Christ. The week prior to the Convention’s annual meeting in Las Vegas, more than two thousand volunteers participated in door-to-door witnessing campaigns and revival services. Photo courtesy of the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives. Volunteers participate in the first Crossover event which preceded the 1989 SBC annual meeting in Las Vegas. ![]()
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