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BIRMINGHAM, AL (BP) – Keeping the focus on the "Gospel Above All" theme is Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear's main goal going into SBC's annual meeting in Birmingham, Ala., June 11-12. But following a year of transition among five SBC entities searching for new leadership and the convention responding to reports of sexual abuse, Greear noted there will be other issues demanding attention. He acknowledged that confronting sexual abuse is among them. "I look forward to seeing our convention continue in the unqualified declaration that we abhor abuse of any kind," said Greear, who is spearheading a Sexual Abuse Presidential Advisory Study. "We will demonstrate this conviction with new processes -- informed by Christian counselors, victims and victim advocates -- that ensure not only that our churches and institutions are safe, but also that those who have been hurt experience the healing love of Christ." Southern Baptists, Greear noted, should not lose sight of "the only thing that can unite us and move us in mission -- the Gospel." He also will be promoting the "Who's Your One?" evangelism campaign in partnership with the North American Mission Board. See related Baptist Press story. "Churches all across the nation have already gotten involved," he said of the campaign, "asking every church member to identify one person in their lives that they can pray for, share the Gospel with, and invite to church. I'm excited to share stories and pray over these efforts at our annual meeting." Other personal meeting highlights, Greear said, will include the International Mission Board's Sending Celebration, Crossover and a more streamlined program that will forgo any evening sessions. The meeting will also feature three panel discussions: "Undivided: Your Church and Racial Reconciliation;" "Gospel Above All: Keeping Secondary Issues Secondary;" and "Indispensable Partners: The Value of Women in God's Mission." Ronnie Floyd, president-elect of the Executive Committee, also is looking forward to the meeting and helping lead Southern Baptists to tighten their focus on the Gospel. "While I have been involved at every level of Southern Baptist life," he said, "it will definitely be a great privilege to be there in my new role. "I look forward to speaking to our Southern Baptist Convention about reaching the world for Jesus Christ," he said. "I believe the time is now to prioritize, elevate and accelerate our pace to present the Gospel to every person in the world and to make disciples of all the nations. "I expect the Lord to bring us together around our mission of reaching the world for Christ ... I believe we will put the Gospel above all!" Crossover Birmingham This year's Crossover evangelism initiative is set to engage more than 20,000 homes with the Gospel. See related story. The North American Mission Board will partner with the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions to mobilize 400 teams of volunteers to knock on doors in the metro Birmingham area. "This year we have a really simplified approach that will help us make as big of a concentrated push as we can make in one day," Joel Southerland of NAMB's evangelism team said in a Baptist Press article. "We already have student pastors bringing students, and pastors who are bringing van loads of volunteers, because it can all be done in one day." The last two years, the focus of Crossover has been on evangelistic crusade events led by Southern Baptist associations and Harvest America. Last year's event in Dallas drew tens of thousands with more than 100,000 watching online, Baptist Press reported. Crossover coordinators also reported 4,229 people came to faith in Christ. This includes decisions for Christ at the crusade, online and through door-to-door and street evangelism. Elections Greear will be nominated by Pennsylvania pastor K. Marshall Williams for a second term, according to an April announcement. Greear is currently unopposed. See related Baptist Press story. SBC app The "SBC Annual Meetings" mobile app is now live. The app will include a listing of speakers for the SBC Pastors' Conference and SBC annual meeting as well as the daily program schedule, daily events, exhibitor listing, convention center maps, interactive map of the exhibit hall, 2019 Book of Reports and more. Download the app on your mobile device by accessing the App Store, Google Play or by visiting app.core-apps.com/sbc_am2019. Daily updates will be made to the app leading up to the SBC annual meeting. Attendees also can follow on Twitter @SBCMeeting, @BaptistPress, @SBCLife, @SBCCP, @SBCPastorsConf and @EC_SBC for the latest annual meeting updates. Many social media users will employ the hashtag #SBC19 and #SBCPC19 in their posts about the annual meeting and the pastors' conference. Sex abuse panel Prior to the SBC meeting, on Monday, June 10, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission will co-host with the Sexual Abuse Presidential Advisory Study a public conversation at 9 p.m. Greear initiated the study last year and is working with the ERLC to help congregations prevent sex abuse and minister to survivors of such abuse. The June 10 conversation, "Sexual Abuse and the Southern Baptist Convention," will be at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. Proposals Messengers gathering in Birmingham will consider a variety of recommendations during the annual meeting. Among them: -- a recommendation of an amendment to the SBC Constitution stating churches are not "in friendly cooperation with the Convention" if they "have evidenced indifference in addressing sexual abuse." To take effect, the amendment would need two-thirds approval at both the 2019 and 2020 SBC annual meetings. -- a recommendation of an SBC constitutional amendment specifying racial discrimination as a basis to disfellowship a church. The proposed amendment on racial discrimination would add a section to Article III of the SBC Constitution specifying a cooperating church as one that "has not acted to affirm, approve, or endorse discriminatory behavior on the basis of ethnicity." For more information, read related BP story. Other highlights -- Women attending the SBC's annual meeting in Birmingham are invited to an SBC Women's Session, a Ministers' Wives Luncheon, and a women's expo at the Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex. This year, all women across the SBC are invited to participate in a "Women's Session" at 9 a.m. on Monday, June 10, during the SBC Pastors' Conference. The three-hour event, which replaces the former Pastors' Wives Conference, will feature the newly launched SBC Women's Leadership Network (WLN). The event is "a collaborative community of women from the Southern Baptist Convention family who long to lead in diverse ways to significantly impact the Kingdom of God," according to the sbcwomen.net website. The event is free and no registration is required. Tickets for the Ministers' Wives Luncheon, which is open to all wives of pastors, church staff members, chaplains, missionaries and denominational workers, are $20/person and can be purchased online at https://www.lifeway.com/en/events/ministers-wives-luncheon. -- The IMB will host a missionary "Sending Celebration" Tuesday afternoon, June 11, during the SBC meeting. Attendees will hear testimonies from current IMB missionaries, as well as new missionary appointees. -- NAMB will host its annual Send Luncheon in the concert hall at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex at 11:45 a.m. on Monday, June 10. Attendance is free, but registration is required. Visit namb.net/events/send-luncheon-2019 for more information. -- Attendees of this year's Southern Baptist Convention Pastors' Conference will hear personal testimonies from speakers on living out "Kingdom character," the theme of this year's event. Conference preachers will examine the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, while focusing on a Scripture exemplified in their own life, said Pastors' Conference President Danny Wood. The event will convene June 9-10. -- Prior to the WMU Missions Celebration, Woman's Missionary Union will host an "Acteens for Life" dinner at its national WMU facility on Friday, June 7, at 6 p.m. The event will mark 50 years of lives changed through Acteens. The gathering is for all women whose lives have been impacted through Acteens in their teenage years, as well as current and former leaders of Acteens. Visit wmu.com/ActeensforLife for more information. Registration is required; the cost is $30. -- The Cooperative Program Stage and Platform once again will be located between the IMB and NAMB booths in the exhibit hall. The panels will include newly elected presidents of three SBC entities -- Ronnie Floyd, SBC Executive Committee; Adam Greenway, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; and Paul Chitwood, IMB. Each will share their vision for the future of these organizations. Panel discussions also will touch on topics such as church planting, Send Relief, adoption and foster care, and other Southern Baptist ministries across North America and around the globe. The panels will be held Monday through Wednesday throughout the day, beginning at 8:30 a.m. A complete schedule will be available on the SBC mobile app, in the SBC Bulletin and at talkCP.com. Registration Register online at sbcannualmeeting.net/sbc19 under the Messengers tab. NOTE: messengers, exhibitors and invited guests need to be registered and properly badged for entrance into the general sessions June 11-12. After completing online registration, each individual will receive an eight-digit registration code to present at the annual meeting's express registration lane. There, the registration code can be entered into a computer and a nametag will be printed. Resolutions Messengers planning to propose resolutions must submit them no later than 15 days prior to the annual meeting. Detailed guidelines on submitting resolutions are available at sbcannualmeeting.net/sbc19 under the Messengers tab. Resolutions may be submitted online but must be followed up by a letter of credentials from the submitter's church. Children & students Child care is available for infants through age 12 during the SBC Pastors' Conference June 9-10 and the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting June 11-12 and for grades 7-12 during the annual meeting June 11-12. All activities for children/youth will be housed at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. Please note there will be no on-site registration for the children's and youth programs. See related information. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shawn Hendricks is editor of Baptist Press. With reporting from Baptist Press staff and Southern Baptist Convention coverage team reports. #May19

BIRMINGHAM, AL (BP) – The 2019 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting will convene at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, Ala., on Tuesday, June 11, at 8 a.m. and conclude Wednesday, June 12, at 6:15 p.m. A full schedule follows. TUESDAY MORNING, JUNE 11 8:00 -- Worship -- Branden Williams, Convention music director; worship pastor, The Summit Church, Durham, N.C. 8:25 -- Prayer -- Rick Lance, executive director-treasurer, Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, Prattville, Ala. 8:30 -- Welcome and Call to Order -- J.D. Greear, SBC president; pastor, The Summit Church, Durham, N.C. 8:45 -- Registration Report and Constitution of Convention -- Don Currence, SBC registration secretary; minister of administration, First Baptist Church, Ozark, Mo. 8:50 -- Committee on Order of Business Report (First) -- Adam W. Greenway, president, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas 8:55 -- Celebrating Freedom -- J.D. Greear; General Douglas L. Carver, executive director of chaplaincy, North American Mission Board, Alpharetta, Ga. 9:05 -- GuideStone Financial Resources Report -- O.S. Hawkins, president and CEO, GuideStone Financial Resources, Dallas 9:17 -- Executive Committee Report (Part 1) -- Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO, SBC Executive Committee, Nashville 10:02 -- Introduction of New Motions (First) 10:22 -- Crossover Report & Birmingham Schools Postcard Project -- Johnny Hunt, senior vice president for evangelism and leadership, North American Mission Board, Alpharetta, Ga. 10:33 -- North American Mission Board Report -- Kevin Ezell, president, North American Mission Board, Alpharetta, Ga. 10:45 -- North American Mission Board Presentation -- Kevin Ezell 11:15 -- Worship -- Branden Williams 11:30 -- President's Address -- J.D. Greear 12:15 -- Closing Prayer -- John L. Cantelow III, senior pastor, Sixth Avenue Baptist Church, Birmingham, Ala. TUESDAY AFTERNOON, JUNE 11 2:30 -- Worship -- Branden Williams, Convention music director; worship pastor, The Summit Church, Durham, N.C. 2:40 -- Prayer -- Liz Encinia, executive director-treasurer, Kentucky Woman's Missionary Union, Louisville, Ky. 2:45 -- Election of Officers (First) 2:50 -- Introduction of New Motions (Last Opportunity) 3:10 -- Election of Officers (Second) 3:20 -- Panel -- Undivided: Your Church and Racial Reconciliation 3:50 -- Election of Officers (Third) 3:56 -- Woman's Missionary Union Report -- Sandra Wisdom-Martin, executive director-treasurer, Woman's Missionary Union, Birmingham, Ala. 4:08 -- International Mission Board Report -- Paul Chitwood, president, International Mission Board, Richmond, Va. 4:20 -- Mission Sending Celebration -- Paul Chitwood 5:05 -- Election of Officers (Fourth) 5:10 -- Committee on Order of Business Report (Second) -- Adam W. Greenway, president, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas 5:25 -- Election of Officers (Fifth) 5:30 -- Executive Committee Report (Part 2) -- Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO, SBC Executive Committee, Nashville 6:15 -- Closing Prayer -- Susie Hawkins, author; speaker, Susie Hawkins Ministry, Dallas WEDNESDAY MORNING, JUNE 12 8:00 -- Worship -- Branden Williams, Convention music director; worship pastor, The Summit Church, Durham, N.C. 8:25 -- Prayer -- Cameron Triggs, lead pastor, Grace Alive, Orlando, Fla. 8:30 -- Committee on Order of Business Report (Third) -- Adam W. Greenway, president, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas 8:40 -- Committee on Committees Report -- Sky Pratt, chairman; associate pastor, mobilization, Prince Avenue Baptist Church, Bogart, Ga. 8:50 -- Committee on Nominations Report -- Bucky Kennedy, chairman; evangelist, Bucky Kennedy Ministries, Gainesville, Ga. 9:00 -- Previously Scheduled Business -- J.D. Greear, SBC president; pastor, The Summit Church, Durham, N.C. 9:20 -- Panel -- Gospel Above All: Keeping Secondary Issues Secondary 10:00 -- Joint Seminary Presentation and Reports -- Daniel L. Akin, president, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, N.C.; Jason K. Allen, president, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Mo.; Adam W. Greenway, president, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas; Jeff Iorg, president, Gateway Seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention, Ontario, Calif.; Charles S. Kelley Jr., chancellor, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, La.; R. Albert Mohler Jr., president, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky. 11:15 -- Worship -- Branden Williams 11:30 -- Convention Sermon -- Stephen Rummage, senior pastor, Quail Springs Baptist Church, Oklahoma City 12:15 -- Closing Prayer -- Cyndi Logsdon, senior project manager, International Mission Board, Richmond, Va. WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, JUNE 12 2:30 -- Worship -- Branden Williams, Convention music director; worship pastor, The Summit Church, Durham, N.C. 2:40 -- Prayer -- Ray Gentry, executive director, Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders, McDonough, Ga. 2:45 -- Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission Presentation (Part 1) -- Russell D. Moore, president, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, Nashville President's Sexual Abuse Study Group -- J.D. Greear, SBC president; pastor, The Summit Church, Durham, N.C. 3:05 -- Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission Report -- Russell D. Moore 3:17 -- Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission Presentation (Part 2) -- Russell D. Moore 3:37 -- Panel -- Indispensable Partners: The Value of Women in God's Mission 4:08 -- LifeWay Christian Resources Report -- Brad Waggoner, acting president; executive vice president, LifeWay Christian Resources, Nashville 4:20 -- LifeWay Christian Resources Presentation -- Brad Waggoner 4:40 -- Committee on Resolutions Report -- Curtis A. Woods, chairman; co-interim executive director; associate executive director for convention relations, Kentucky Baptist Convention, Louisville, Ky. 5:20 -- Previously Scheduled Business -- J.D. Greear 5:40 -- Committee on Order of Business Report (Fourth) -- Adam W. Greenway, president, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas Election of 2020 Convention Preacher, Alternate Preacher and Music Director 5:50 -- Recognition of Past SBC Presidents & Honoring Joyce Rogers -- J.D. Greear 6:00 -- Presentation of SBC Officers -- Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO, SBC Executive Committee, Nashville 6:10 -- Closing Words and Birmingham hand-off to Orlando -- J.D. Greear 6:15 -- Closing Prayer -- Tommy Green, executive director-treasurer, Florida Baptist Convention, Jacksonville, Fla. #May19

NEW ORLEANS, LA (BP) – My childhood was different than most. I grew up in the home of a funeral director. For the first years of my life, we literally lived in the funeral home itself in an apartment above the family rooms, casket room and chapel. Far earlier than most, I learned an essential truth about life: Death is inevitable for all. My father handled funerals for the elderly and the young, the healthy and the sick, the wealthy and the poor, the unknown and the famous, including a service for the Big Bopper, whose huge hit "Chantilly Lace" made him a household name until a plane crash ended his life. Some deaths were expected and natural; others were shocking and tragic. The causes of death varied widely, and the timing of death was often unpredictable. But whatever the cause or whenever the timing, death was, is, and ever will be the experience of all who live, whether we like it or not. Many seek to avoid this truth, but none can avoid its reality. I walked into the back of the funeral home very early one Saturday morning during high school and saw the name Walter Portius on the board listing those who passed away overnight. We were in class together on Friday morning, but he died in a wreck that night. We chatted about weekend plans and then he was gone forever. Death is inevitable for all. This child of a funeral director also learned a second truth early in life: People react to death differently. Some are calm and quiet. Others are hysterical and grief-stricken. Most are sad, but some are grateful, for a variety of reasons both good and bad. A surprising number of people die alone, unmourned. Some families go through the motions to get the funeral behind them as quickly as possible. Others take great care to celebrate and show respect for the one who passed. I drove the limousine to and from the graveside for many families, who sat in pervasive silence, or with tears flowing freely, or with laughter and joy growing out of family memories and experiences. While death is a reality all must face, we will not face it in identical ways. This opportunity to observe and serve those in the process of grief, loss and death over and over again through my adolescence made a third truth quite clear to me: The death and resurrection of Jesus makes a huge difference in how one handles the inescapable reality of death. On Good Friday, Jesus died and was buried. Because He went before us, we need not fear what lies ahead. A favorite preacher once said, "He cleaned out the grave and made it a pleasant place to be!" Jesus died and was buried. However, He went one step further. Jesus overcame death and rose from the grave. He demonstrated that death may be inevitable, but it is not undefeatable! As I grew up in the family of a funeral director, I saw again and again the enormous difference the resurrection of Christ makes to Christians when death comes calling on people of faith. Week after week and year after year, I watched 1 Corinthians 15:54-55 come vividly to life as Christians passed through my father's funeral home: "So when this corruption shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory?" The experience of death and funerals was consistently different for those who embraced Jesus. The sadness was real as it is for most, but the certain hope of death's ultimate defeat was also present, and that hope made all the difference. This is why you and your family need to fully embrace and celebrate Good Friday and Easter this year. In fact, don't call it Easter. Call it Resurrection Day. Death is coming for us all, but for every believer so is the unquenchable, eternal life of Jesus! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Charles S. (Chuck) Kelley Jr. is president and professor of evangelism at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. After 43 years at the seminary as a student, faculty member and president, he and his wife Rhonda will retire on July 31. He will continue his research, writing and speaking on the Great Commission. His latest work is "Fuel the Fire: Lessons from the History of Southern Baptist Evangelism." #APRIL19

FENTON, MI (BP) – Michigan Baptists are deepening their partnership with the North American Mission Board by adopting a new name for church planting efforts in the state: Send Network – Michigan. Tim Patterson, executive director-treasurer for the Baptist State Convention of Michigan, noted, "With this new initiative our state convention continues to coordinate our field-based strategy, as always, to create new churches throughout our region. The state's priorities and strategies remain ours." Now, however, NAMB's church planting Send Network "and its standards of excellence will be understood as synonymous with Michigan's church planting efforts." In the past three years, Patterson recounted, the BSCM "intentionally adopted NAMB's church planting assessment, orientation, training, coaching and pastoral care as our systems." "The processes and systems driven by NAMB's national staff function so well that our field-based staff, located in Michigan, are able to spend deeper, personal time with church planters, apprentices and partnering churches," Patterson said. NAMB President Kevin Ezell expressed gratitude "for our close working partnership with Michigan Baptists. We want to help plant churches everywhere for everyone and this name change reflects the team effort that has already been taking place in Michigan between the Michigan convention and NAMB. Now our efforts will be even more seamless." The request to share the label "Send Network" was initiated by the Michigan convention. Tony Lynn, BSCM director of missions who oversees the state's church planting efforts, said NAMB's Send Network is "a highly respected and influential force among the nation's church planting agencies. Asking to be clearly seen as a partner with the Send Network brings a valuable advantage. Send Network's focus on brotherhood, multiplication and restoration echo the teachings of Christ when He referred to the Kingdom of God throughout His ministry. That focus is attracting quality potential church planters unlike ever before, including Michigan." Send Detroit, one of NAMB's 32 Send Cities, will continue to operate as it has in the past with its focus on the metro population of 4.3 million people. Detroit Send City missionary Wayne Parker hosts Catch the Vision tours each year for those who might become partners in planting new churches throughout the greater Detroit area. He said church plants are developing throughout the city at an increasing rate: in the suburban ring, in the rapidly developing midtown and in the core of the urban center. Parker and four church planting catalysts welcome contact from potential church planters and potential church planting partners who believe God may be calling them to serve the greater Detroit area. For more information on planting a church or supporting a church through the Send Network, visit www.namb.net/church-planting. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Reported by the Baptist State Convention of Michigan's communications team. #APRIL19

LOUISVILLE, KY (BP) –- The Gospel needs to spread throughout the world by ordinary people, just like it did in the book of Acts, J.D. Greear said during Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's chapel yesterday (March 26). Greear, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, used the example of Stephen in Acts 6-7 to bring this point home, describing the blueprint for the spread of Christianity as more like Stephen's dramatic sermon before the Sanhedrin than the Sermon on the Mount. "Jesus' plan for reaching the world is not gathering large groups of people to bask in the anointing of one prophetic teacher," said Greear, pastor of The Summit Church in the Raleigh-Durham, N.C., area, who once worked for the International Mission Board. "His Plan A is raising up ordinary people in the power of the Spirit and sending them out," Greear said. Stephen was not an apostle or elder in the early church. In fact, before he was appointed as a deacon in Acts 6, he was an "ordinary guy," Greear said. Even his deaconship was a supporting role as one of several men selected to help deliver food to widows so the apostles could focus on prayer and teaching the Word. He was the "Meals on Wheels" of the early church, Greear said. But Stephen's story marked a turning point in the book of Acts and all redemptive history, Greear noted. Stephen did his job so well that it got the attention of the angry Jewish religious establishment, who began to discredit him, Greear recounted. In Acts 7, Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin for questioning, where he delivered the longest and most comprehensive sermon in Acts, tracing Israel's history in great detail and showing from the Scriptures how the entire Hebrew Bible is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Even more angry than before, the Jewish leaders took him outside and stoned him to death. This moment inspired a brand-new age in the expansion of the Gospel message, Greear said. Whereas before Acts 7 the Gospel had not yet left Jerusalem, after Acts 7 it expands to Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth just as Jesus commanded in Acts 1:8. Stephen -- an ordinary man -- would be the springboard for global transformation, Greear said, noting that God wants to use ordinary people today like He used Stephen in Acts. "Not a single apostle is involved in the story. Not one," Greear said. "It is Stephen's witness that provokes the riot, and of those who leave preaching the Word, Luke the author of Acts seems to go out of his way to show you that not a single apostle was included. "For those reasons, I believe Stephen's story is given to us as an example of how the Gospel is supposed to spread globally. In Acts, Stephen is a picture of what ordinary Christians in the church are supposed to look like, and what will happen in the world when they do." The thing that makes ordinary Christians such extraordinary servants for the Kingdom, Greear said, is not self-confidence or positive thinking but the presence and empowerment of the Holy Spirit in their lives. One of the most surprising verses in the New Testament, Greear said, is John 16:7, in which Jesus tells His disciples that it is to their "advantage" that He would leave earth and send the Holy Spirit instead. It is hard to imagine that the presence of the Spirit is better for Christian ministry than the presence of Christ, Greear said, but that reality highlights the central role of the Spirit in the Christian life. Anyone can do anything, even the "least of the Kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 11:11) if they experience the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, Greear said. "What makes Stephen remarkable is his confidence -- a confidence he apparently gained from an awareness of the fullness of the Spirit within him," Greear said. "The most common characteristic repeated about Stephen was that he was 'filled with the Spirit.' What gives ordinary people such extraordinary confidence and effectiveness is the knowledge of the power of the Spirit within them." Greear acknowledged that Stephen's story does not end happily from a worldly perspective. After telling the Sanhedrin that he could see Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father in heaven, the Jewish leaders stoned him to death. In his dying moments, Stephen alluded to Jesus' final words and made it clear that he saw himself as a sacrifice for others. Even if ministry doesn't call us to give our lives, it often does require similar sacrifices, which is a difficult lesson to learn in comfortable American culture, Greear said. "We like to talk a lot about how coming to Jesus brings peace and fulfillment into our lives, and that's all true," Greear said. "But at some point, if people are serious about following Jesus, obedience to Him goes the opposite way of fulfillment, happiness and peace. At some point, coming to Jesus is going to take you 180 degrees opposite of the direction you want to go. And in that moment, there is only one thing that is going to propel you forward: a vision of Jesus being absolutely and totally worth it." Greear's chapel sermon can be viewed at http://equip.sbts.edu. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Andrew J.W. Smith is news manager for Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

AMES, IA (BP) – In the lifetime of their congregation in Ames, Iowa, Cornerstone Church has launched more than 15 new churches across the Midwest. Planting these new churches became a core aspect of Cornerstone's DNA as they shifted into the mold of a sending church. "We are not doing church planting simply because it's a great strategy," said lead pastor, Mark Vance. "We practice church planting because it's a model of the Gospel." Vance described the picture of Jesus leaving His heavenly home and of God sending His Son to accomplish His mission. "We have to realize that we are the sent people of God," Vance emphasized. As they aim to reach college communities and university campuses, Cornerstone sends leaders and church members with each of those new church plants. "All of the people who were a part of the church planting process spent significant time here," Vance said. "Of those who went out were raised up, trained up and then sent out to participate in church planting." One of those church planting missionaries that Cornerstone sent out is Rob Warren, who leads Doxa Church in Madison, Wis., which launched in the Fall of 2018. Warren, who served as a 2019 Week of Prayer missionary for the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American missions, said the efforts of a sending church make starting a new church in a difficult mission field more feasible. See related Baptist Press story. "You're setting yourself up for success," Warren said of the relationship with his sending church. "If the goal is to come and plant a vibrant church, we are better together. You can go farther and faster with a sending church." Cornerstone's church planting emphasis grew out of the seed of a vision about the fields being "white unto harvest" based on Luke 10:02. While the church had seen growth in their local congregation, they looked outside themselves to notice the need to send workers, missionaries, to reach communities with the Gospel. "Generally speaking, the problem is not a lack of resources. It is a lack of vision," Vance said. "We were so focused on what was right in front of us that we didn't have a bigger picture of what God had for us. We had to lift our eyes up and see the harvest." Cornerstone's leaders saw planting in collegiate communities as their main target because that was the lane God was blessing in their ministry in Ames near Iowa State University. Many churches that have the desire to start new churches in a city or community that desperately needs a gospel witness may struggle to know where to get started. A sending church, Vance noted, must first establish a healthy, gospel-centered culture. "Many planters go out with the expectation to plant a healthy church," Vance said, "but if they are leaving an unhealthy church culture, they will unconsciously replicate what they know." For Warren, this meant his and his family's moving to Ames for a season and joining the team at Cornerstone. The church got to know Warren, and he gathered insight into how Cornerstone operated. "They were constantly allowing me to look under the hood, learning their system and how they did ministry," Warren said. While the majority of church planting missionaries that Cornerstone sends out are raised up from within the church, Cornerstone built a relationship with the Warrens, welcomed them into their church home and made sure he was "a part of the family" at their church. "It was about developing a relationship and launching Warren with everything that we have," said Vance, which entailed not only finances, but prayer and cooperating with a shared vision. While Doxa Church establishes itself in Madison, Cornerstone leaders serve as elders and participate in biweekly video conferences. "They are there for guidance and decision-making," Warren said. "They are able to provide the wisdom of guys who have been leading for years." Then to become a sending church, the congregation and its leadership must shift its mindset from addition to multiplication. This means doing more than simply bringing more people into one congregation. "At Cornerstone, our vision is not simply to invest more and more resources to become a bigger church," said Vance, "but to invest our resources into" other cities and college campuses. "We became so convinced that this is what God wanted us to do that we released our lead pastor [Troy Nesbitt] so that he could focus on sending," Vance said. Nesbitt now directs The Salt Network, a collection of churches set on planting new churches across the Midwest and beyond. As their vision developed into a movement, the North American Mission Board (NAMB) came alongside Cornerstone to encourage and boost their mission efforts. No matter what the next step may be, NAMB exists to help churches take their next step in launching new churches in communities where a gospel witness is sorely needed. For more church planting information and resources, visit namb.net/church-planting. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Brandon Elrod writes for the North American Mission Board. #APRIL19

FORT TOTTEN, ND (BP) – When we moved from Florida to North Dakota, I was surprised at the number of official documents we needed to change. Driver's licenses, vehicle registrations and insurance, health insurance, mailing address for all our bills, information for the IRS and other matters entailed hours of paperwork that had to be submitted. In addition, we changed our wardrobes. Clothing appropriate to Florida's climate was only a drop in the bucket to North Dakota winters. I only owned one pair of socks, and I didn't even understand what a heavy coat was. We changed the kinds of shoes we wore. We changed how we cared for our dog, a shorthaired, warm weather-loving animal. We even changed the kind of oil we used in our cars and had to put block heaters on the engines. We died to being Floridians and became genuine NoDakers. Even our accents changed. When, however, the apostle Paul wrote to the Romans that the old self must be crucified, he wasn't just talking about an external part of an individual. Crucifixion entailed the whole being. Everything about the old self had to be put to death and left behind in order to walk in newness of life. Crucify self? This concept seems extreme. Why total death to the self? What about self-expression? Self-actualization? Self-esteem? Our society does a lot of self-valuing. Paul answers that too in Romans 6:6-7: "... so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin." I was talking with a group of ladies recently who struggle with drug addiction. They were discussing the motivation behind their drug usage. "We use drugs because we have the freedom to do what we want," one said. "Yeah," another contended, "that judge can't tell us what to do. I love that feeling of being able to make my own choices. I can just be myself." In one moment, they spoke of drug usage as a freedom they choose, yet in the next breath, they sobbed about the horrible slavery their addictions had caused in their lives, acknowledging the full extent of the corrupted tyrant of self. Perhaps you don't have a drug addiction, but you may be a slave to fear, anxiety, pride, bitterness, depression or anger. When we choose to follow Christ, we must die to all these forms of slavery. "For one who has died has been set free from sin," Paul continued in Romans 6:8. "Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him." Once we have died to sin, we not only change our eternal residence. We also become a whole new creation. Instead of dressing, acting and being identified as a citizen of hell, we now think, love, speak and act like a citizen of heaven. We live with Christ, and our identity is in Him. Watching the struggle of drug addicts to crucify the old self makes it poignantly clear how difficult a step this is for all of us who have been slaves to sin. It is much more difficult than the identification and wardrobe changes we made when we moved. But there's good news to those who turn to Christ, Paul noted in Colossians 2:13-14: "And you, who were dead in your trespasses ... God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross." As Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, "With man, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible." ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sarah Dixon Young is the author of "God on a Shelf," available on Amazon. She is a homeschooling mother in Fort Totten, N.D., where her husband Paul is pastor of Dakota Baptist Church. Her daily Lenten readings are at www.facebook.com/SarahDixonYoung or will be sent upon request via email to harrietthespy33@gmail.com.

NASHVILLE, TN (BP) – I am all for improving society and culture, but what should that look like? My Democratic friends tell me one thing. My Republican friends tell me another. Some of my evangelical friends tell me one thing. Others with more ecumenical, liberal views tell me another. Perhaps the best thing we can do is draft our own standards for society, gather likeminded believers, buy a huge chunk of land and start our own community. We'll follow the rules we've set up (based on biblical principles, of course) and everything will be perfect. Just one problem: History has shown over and over that trying to create a utopia just won't work. Early in American history, scores of people flooded to this continent in hopes of a better life. Even after we became a full-fledged independent country, scores more continued flooding in for the better life. This "grand experiment" with a democratic republic was good -- but for many it wasn't good enough. So the great expanse of untapped land (never mind the Native Americans already here) seemed to be the ideal solution: Start their own town and lead it according to their own rules and interpretation of Scripture. Starting your own utopian community was especially popular in the 1800s. Eighty were started in the 1840s alone. Probably the two most well-known are the Shakers, who practiced celibacy, and Oneida Community, where everyone was married to everyone else (they called it "complex marriage"). Two communities with opposite views, both espousing their way as integral to a utopian community. One of the utopian communities, the short-lived Fruitlands, was based on transcendental principles: People are inherently good, society has corrupted us, and we are at our best when we are fully independent and self-sufficient. So how do you achieve this transcendental goal in a community? Don't eat any meat, don't consume any "stimulants," don't use any form of animal labor, don't use any artificial light, don't take hot baths and don't drink anything but water! (A side note for fans of "Little Women": Louisa May Alcott lived for a while in this community because her father was one of the founders.) These communities are a fascinating part of our American history, especially considering how unique they were from one another. But note this: They are a part of our history, not a part of current culture. The reason is simple: They were created and led by imperfect, fallen, sinful people. And the people that flocked to these communities were imperfect, fallen, sinful people. We'll never reach a utopia -- a perfect place to live -- as long as imperfect people are allowed to start them or live in them. The only perfect utopia would be lived under God's law. His laws are perfect, but we've done a lousy job living up to His laws. As we read in Romans 3:10-12: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." (NIV) There is a "utopia" in the future of those who follow Christ, but we will only live in it when we are living in His presence in His eternal Kingdom. Until then, let me suggest the following: Instead of running off to start a utopian community, get involved with the culture you're in. Partner with your church family in engaging and interacting with the people in your community. You don't have to embrace everything in culture, but by your presence -- by living for Christ in the power of His Spirit -- you can infuse that culture with the Gospel. Be Jesus to those around you. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Lynn Pryor, online at lynnhpryor.com, is a team leader for ongoing Bible studies at LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. #APRIL19

EDITOR'S NOTE: April 7 is Cooperative Program Sunday in the Southern Baptist Convention. For information about the Cooperative Program, go to sbc.net/cp. MILES CITY, MT (BP) – A Montana pastor likens the effect of the Cooperative Program to a fence line. "It's like multiplying our labor, like building a fence two miles long together, rather than a quarter-mile if you had to do it alone," Jeff Cahill told Baptist Press. He's a rancher and pastor of Valley Community Church in the far-reaching prairies around Miles City, Mont. "We see the Cooperative Program as a way we can reach beyond our abilities." The Cooperative Program is the way Southern Baptist churches band together to advance God's Kingdom work in state and regional conventions, across North America and throughout the world. "Let's be found consistent in our actions and guilty of doing good," said Nick Garland, pastor of First Baptist Church in Broken Arrow, Okla. "God has blessed the Cooperative Program and the people who give to missions through it." Each church determines the amount or percentage of their undesignated offerings to be allocated for cooperative work outside their local reach. That amount is forwarded to the state or regional convention, which determines by vote at its annual meeting the percentage to be sent to Southern Baptists' national and international causes. "The genius of the Cooperative Program is that percentage-wise a small church is just as invested in missions as the church that gives millions," Garland said. "Both honor the Lord with their gift. The key to the success of the Cooperative Program is that it is not impulse giving, emotional giving, but that it is giving consistently." The Southern Baptist Convention allocates percentage amounts of what it receives to the International Mission Board (50.41 percent); North American Mission Board (22.70 percent); the six Southern Baptist seminaries (22.16 percent); Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (1.65 percent); and the SBC operating budget, 2.99 percent. These percentages were approved by messengers to the SBC annual meeting in Dallas last June. "We're better together," said Billy Russell, pastor of First Baptist Church in Bolivar, Mo. "We want to connect and serve people and reach people much further than just Bolivar. The Cooperative Program does that better than any other organization I know." Pastors across the SBC say their churches believe in and support the Cooperative Program with at least 10 percent of undesignated offerings. These same churches also cooperate hands-on in local, regional, national and international missions. Some examples: -- "We believe in missions, and the Cooperative Program is part of our missions strategy," said Steve Carne, pastor of Hamilton (Va.) Baptist Church. "We feel God would have us send missionaries throughout the world, as the International Mission Board does, to send church planters to underserved populations as the North American Mission Board does, and to train future pastors as our seminaries do. We give to the Cooperative Program because we yearn to be part of this Kingdom-building work." Hamilton Baptist gives 35 percent of undesignated income to missions, including 12 percent through the Cooperative Program. The church also has a longstanding partnership among Native Americans in the Dakotas and recently began partnering in Ghana, West Africa. -- Union Baptist Church in Harrison, Ark., where Bill Melton has been pastor for two years, for many years has given 25 percent of undesignated offerings to missions through the Cooperative Program. Union Baptist, averaging 90 people in Sunday morning worship, gives another 6 percent to the North Arkansas Baptist Association, 2 percent to church-generated missions causes, and its people pay their own way on mission trips. "As the new pastor coming in who has never seen this kind of percentage giving I had to ask, 'Does that kind of giving hurt this other ministry or that special project,'" Melton told Baptist Press. "It doesn't hurt anything! It helps everything. "I would love churches to have the courage to say, 'We're going to increase our giving dramatically and put our finances out of our hands and see what God can do,'" Melton said. "Too often we do what only we can do, what we feel comfortable doing. We limit God and what He can do when we do that." Union Baptist is known statewide for its willingness (with the association's activities trailer) to help churches put on block parties. Members go on short-term mission trips at least twice a year to Fort Worth, Texas, where they "feed the homeless, love on people and share Jesus," Melton said, through the Beautiful Feet street ministry. The church gives to missions first through the Cooperative Program because of CP's inherent strength, Melton said. "For a missionary to be able to be on the field and to not have to worry about where his support is coming from -- 'Is it going to show up this month and am I going to be able to stay?' -- the Cooperative Program is an aid for our missionaries." -- Cutting downed timber into sections and splitting logs for firewood shows how the Cooperative Program works, said Eugene Overstreet, pastor of Sierra Baptist Church in Pioneer, Calif. "The men work together, each doing something that leads to a shared goal: bringing God's love to those who need to hear of it, and in this case, to feel it," Overstreet said of the warmth for those who need firewood as well as the warmth of God's love. "That's what the Cooperative Program does. It supports the whole program of what Southern Baptists are doing throughout the world, and we do it together." Sierra Baptist starts by giving 14.5 percent of undesignated offerings to missions through the Cooperative Program, plus 5 percent to the Mother Lode Baptist Association. It's heavily invested in community ministries as well. "We try to share Jesus with the people around us," Overstreet said. "We need to be involved in our community, to be a witness for the Lord and hopefully reach people for Christ. "One of the reasons we continue to do well, I believe, is because when we give, God blesses and He brings more people here because we're willing to give and to share," the pastor noted. "That's very important, I think." -- Back to eastern Montana, where there is more space than people. "Neighboring," no matter the distance, is a necessity of life, said Cahill of Valley Baptist in Miles City. "Working together makes everything easier. That's the beauty of the Cooperative Program. When we all do our part, everything comes together like it's supposed to." ABOUT THE AUTHOR Karen L. Willoughby is a national correspondent for Baptist Press. #APRIL19

FENTON, MI – I love Easter Sunday! It’s my favorite service of the year. The worship, the Scripture, and the message all celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, and the hope we have in Him. Easter is God’s declaration that sin, Satan and death do not have the final word over our lives. Our hope is in the risen Christ who declared, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live” (John 11:25 CSB). Easter changes everything! As a pastor, it brought a smile to my face to look over the congregation on Easter Sunday, and see families and friends sitting together. It was common for people in our church to joyfully introduce me to people who were their special guests for the service. Often, I knew from previous conversations that some of these guests still needed to accept Christ as Savior and Lord. I considered it an honor and a sacred trust to faithfully share the Good News of the Gospel. Many of us will be inviting loved ones to our church’s Easter services. Our hope is that they will hear and respond to the Gospel. We want them to know Christ as their personal Savior and Lord if they do not already. There’s a new resource that I am using this Easter season to pray for someone I know who needs the hope of the Gospel. It’s called, “Who’s Your One?” Here is Day 1 of “Who’s Your One? Prayer Guide.” Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” JOHN 14:6, CSB “God, I know there is only one way to salvation. Jesus is clear; He is the only hope for a lost and dying world, and that includes____________________ . His/Her salvation depends on acknowledging Jesus is who He says He is, and He alone is the source of salvation. Use the people and circumstances in _______________________’s life today to point him/her to the reality of Jesus. Give me courage and boldness to call ________________________ to faith in Jesus when the opportunity arises, and help me make it clear there is no other way to be saved.” “Who’s Your One?” is an initiative of Southern Baptist President, J.D. Greear. It’s totally free, and is available in print or you can download it at whosyourone.com. You can use it on your own or as an emphasis with your small group or church family. There are Prayer Guides, Book Markers, Posters, Social Media and other helps. There’s a place where you can share the first name of the “One” you’re praying for on the whosyourone.com website. Another great feature for those of us who use the You Version Bible app is that you can use the Prayer Guide along with your daily Bible reading plan. Who’s Your One? is not just for Easter, but I’m using it this Easter season to pray for someone I care about and for myself as I look for opportunities to share Jesus. Easter is a great time to invite family and friends to church. It’s one of the times during the year that people are more open to actually respond “yes” to an invitation. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mike Durbin is the State Evangelism Director for the Baptist State Convention of Michigan. Before joining the state convention staff, Mike served as Church Planting Catalyst and Director of Missions in Metro Detroit since 2007. He also has served as a pastor and bi-vocational pastor in Michigan, as well as International Missionary to Brazil. #APRIL19

GRANDVILLE, MI – I’ll never forget that Saturday night. It was a night filled with great anticipation. The next day was our first vision-casting meeting at the church I was planting. As expected, there were a few last errands to run, so off I went to the store. I did my shopping, got in my car to go home, and then it happened. Smack! Head on. Airbags deployed. Knocked out. Car totaled. Later that night, when I finally came to in the ambulance, an officer said, “Man, you were out of it!” As I approach another busy Easter season, I wonder if I will find myself in that same spot. Not in another car accident, but being “out of it,” experiencing a head on crash with Easter busyness, only to “wake up” later having missed the celebration. Here is my fear this Easter (or for any day), that all I have to do would suffocate my joy in what Jesus has done. So what is the remedy for the pastor, parent or person who is gasping for joy amidst the stranglehold of busyness? The answer is not found in remembering all I have to do, but in remembering all that Jesus has done. Joy is found as I rehearse the Gospel. May we breathe, over and over, deep breaths of joyful wonder of that first, glorious Easter morning. Place yourself there, side by side with Mary and Mary Magdalene (Matthew 28). It was over. Jesus died. It was a long, emotional weekend. No tears left to cry. Walk with them brokenhearted towards the tomb on that brisk Sunday morning. Weep with them in extreme sadness as you hopelessly approach Jesus’ grave. Stop in disbelief as you see an open tomb and hear the angels announcement, “He is not here, He has risen.” Allow this breaking news to make your heart beat a little faster as your sorrow gives way to a ray of hope! Imagine peering in to the tomb, your eyes slowly adjusting to the deep darkness. Feel the change of temperature as you now enter the damp, dark, cold grave. Gasp with them in shock at the realization that Jesus’ body is gone. Lean in with them to place your hand on Jesus’ folded burial cloth. Notice that the once dried up tears are beginning to flood your eyes again. No longer tears of sadness, but ones of hopeful anticipation! And then it happens. Smack! Head on. Out of nowhere. Instantly you remember His words. No, not the angels’ words, Jesus’ words — “After three days I will rise.” It clicks! Yes, He IS alive! But where? The angel announces, “Galilee!” Right now both Mary’s have a choice to make. We all have a choice to make. Do I stay in the tomb or run to Jesus? One option grovels amidst the things of death, and the other runs to embrace the Giver of Life. This is the choice I must make every moment of every day. Do I live in light of the reality of the resurrection or not? Do I run in glad and joyful surrender to my Savior, or do I continue wiping my tears with the useless burial clothes in the grave? The reality that our Savior is alive, has conquered sin, and left the tomb makes it possible for us to leave the tomb. Like Mary and Mary Magdalene, may we joyfully run to embrace Jesus (Matthew 28:8)! Because Jesus left the grave behind, we must leave the grave behind. This is our new life of joy that is only available through Jesus’ resurrection. What a joyous Easter morning! After my accident, I went home from the hospital with a sore knee, a number of cuts and bruises, and a pretty bad headache. I’ll never forget the response of my eight-year-old son that next morning. He said, “Daddy, looks like God is giving you another day to talk about Jesus!” Instantly, tears filled my eyes and joy filled my heart. My son was right. God has graciously given me another busy day, and another Easter, to joyfully talk about the joy that is only found in Jesus! Will you do the same? ABOUT THE AUTHOR Matt Thompson is a Church planter in West Michigan and a Church Planting Catalyst with the Send Network. He helped launch Redemption Church Grandville four years ago and is now being sent from there to plant Redemption Church Grand Rapids, launching April 14, 2019. Matt has been married to his wife Bethany for 13 years and they have three boys: Caden, Brennen and Aaron. #APRIL19

PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL (BP) – For many college students, spring break is synonymous with catching some rays at the beach by day and partying all night. But over the course of three weeks in March, nearly 800 beach-bound collegians used their spring break to serve and evangelize. Students from across the country along with student ministry leaders gathered in Panama City Beach, Fla., March 3-22, to participate in BeachReach, providing spring breakers free van rides, pancakes, Gospel conversations and prayer. Through the annual collegiate ministry coordinated by LifeWay Christian Resources, BeachReach participants demonstrate a willingness to meet people where they are with a witness for Christ. BeachReach also added a disaster relief component this year, partnering with local churches to help underserved schools repair playgrounds and other facilities damaged by Hurricane Michael. "The Christian college students who came to be a part of BeachReach were so bold in loving spring breakers and pointing them to Jesus," said Bill Noe, LifeWay's collegiate ministry specialist. "They weren't saying, 'behave better,' but 'let me point you to Jesus who's better than any other kind of life you might be living.' We had thousands of Gospel conversations." As a result of these acts of service and the conversations they sparked, 42 spring breakers expressed faith in Christ this year. To help students visualize how the Holy Spirit was working over the course of the three-week period, each new believer's name was written on a beach ball and attached to a display known as the Salvation Wall. Need a lift? At BeachReach, many Gospel conversations originate in church vans and buses used as free shuttles to transport students around the popular spring break destination. LifeWay employees serve as dispatch coordinators to handle the logistics of the service, which this year provided 13,247 free rides. "At 9 p.m. we turn on the phones, and the spring breakers start calling in," Noe said. "We take them where they need to go and try to engage in conversation along the way." Students often give vans creative names like Van Gogh or Sir Vancealot and write the phone number for rides on the side. Spring breakers also learn about the service through street teams who hand out cards and engage people as they're walking around. Each 12-passenger van is arranged with at least four BeachReachers -- a driver, a navigator who handles logistics, someone in the back to monitor the safety of the vehicle and one person in the "hot seat" to take the lead in steering conversations toward Christ. It's often passengers, however, who initiate the conversations. "People are curious why we're willing to serve them for free so they'll ask, 'Why in the world are you doing this?'" Noe said. "It gives our teams a perfect opening to tell them about Jesus." Meanwhile, street teams pursue similar conversations on foot around town. They pass out cards, help people call in for rides by letting the dispatcher know how many people are in a party and where they're traveling and starting conversations while waiting for vehicles to arrive. "The street ministry is always interesting because you never know what you're going to find," Noe said. "We have BeachReachers who go into 24-hour diners to buy folks a meal and strike up conversations over waffles. Others might help students who've gotten separated from their group. We help them get somewhere safe." Prayers and pancakes While teams in vans and on the street are serving people and sharing the gospel, another group of students covers them in prayer. "We have prayer shifts that run until 2 a.m. each night," Noe said. Back at the BeachReach home base, students gather in the prayer room to watch a large screen with a live feed of information texted in from BeachReachers in the field. "Those in the prayer room are always the first people to hear what's happening and celebrate," Noe said. "I'm always surprised at how many students say the prayer room was their favorite part of the week." While the prayer room and phone lines close at 2 a.m., BeachReachers serving in vans might not finish their runs until an hour later. For that reason -- and to accommodate the sleep-in habits of spring breakers -- a pancake breakfast is served in a bowling alley each day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with BeachReach volunteers preparing more than 12,000 pancakes. "The pancake breakfast serves as a great opportunity for people to continue building relationships," Noe said. "A lot of times, a good conversation starts on a van ride, but the passenger then has to get off. People will often make appointments to meet over pancakes the next day to continue the discussion." Catalyst for evangelism BeachReach is much more than pancakes and van rides, Noe said. It also serves as a classroom for teaching students to share their faith. "We have a lot of folks where it's their first time being thrown into a kind of environment where they're seeking to share the Gospel multiple times a night," he said. "For many students, it's the first time they've ever shared their faith." For this reason, Noe and other college leaders see the event's greatest impact happening in the lives of students who learn how to share their faith over the course of BeachReach. "One of the best things about BeachReach is that the impact lasts well beyond the month of March," Noe said. "BeachReachers are now going back to campuses all across the U.S. to more passionately and effectively engage the lost students on their own campuses." ABOUT THE AUTHOR Aaron Wilson is a writer for LifeWay Christian Resources. #APRIL19