SOUTH BOSTON, Va.
— Beyond the celebration on the track when Lee Pulliam won the FindItHere.com*
NASCAR Whelen Late Model 200, there was rejoicing in heaven when three teenage
girls were led to Christ that same night.
The SBC of Virginia (SBCV) sponsored the
July 1 race at South Boston Speedway. The speedway’s annual Fourth of July
holiday weekend is a fan favorite and actually features three races (Pure Stock
50, Limited 100, Whelen Late Model 200) and fireworks afterward.
It was more than a one-time outreach, but part of a vision for churches to
share Christ with thousands of race fans and continue the “God’s Plan for
Sharing” (GPS) statewide evangelistic effort
begun in 2010.
Church planter/pastor Andy Ferguson of Brookneal, Va., tells drivers to “Start your engines!” during the FindItHere.com NASCAR race events July 1 at the South Boston Speedway. |
Jack Noble, the SBCV church health strategist for the region who developed a
plan to provide churches with an avenue of outreach not just for one race night
but for a number of races throughout the season, noted, “Good evangelistic
opportunities are not just one-day events.
“Good evangelistic events take days of preparation and follow-up,” Noble said. “That
is what we did by distributing FindItHere.com logo items at the four races that
preceeded the big day. Our newly ‘logo-ed’ trailer was a magnet that drew
hundreds of people who wondered what FindItHere.com was all about. Then we
enthusiastically shared the truth.”
More than 60 volunteers from 11 churches stood just inside the speedway’s gates
before the race personally to welcome the thousands of fans. They asked
attendees if they wanted to register to win a free flat-screen TV. Upon
registering, the person would hear a three-minute gospel presentation.
Jackie Carver, pastor of Palestine Baptist
Church in Moneta, trained his
volunteers personally — and then personally led three girls to Christ.
Carver noted the simplicity of an outreach for “faithful service” that led to
the girls’ prayer to turn to Christ. “God used me to be a light in someone’s
life that otherwise I would never meet,” the pastor said.
David Rathel, pastor of Fork Baptist
Church in Scottsburg, cited two key
benefits from the SBCV initiative. “First, it gave churches a chance to show
the people in the community that we love them and that we are interested in
ministering to them. I think many who came to the race were surprised that we
were willing to spend our time serving them on a July 4th weekend.
Using an Evangecube as one avenue of witness at the South Boston Speedway, volunteers and SBC of Virginia staff interact with fans at the FindItHere.com NASCAR race events July 1. |
“Second, it gave people in our churches opportunities to share the gospel. This
was the first time that many of the people in my church have ever participated
in a gospel-sharing event like this. I was impressed by their willingness to
boldly approach people and share. I’m excited that they’ve now had an
opportunity to get experience in personal evangelism, and I hope their boldness
infects all of our church family.”
Jack Stewart, pastor of Grace Southern Baptist Church in Virgilina, gave the
opening invocation for the race. He was among SBCV volunteers who took part in
parts of the race weekend, waving the green flag, presenting the winning
trophies, riding in the pace car, manning the children’s area and preparing
FindItHere.com funnel cakes.
“The preparation of working four races before the big event and the commitment
to follow up set the tone for a great day of evangelism,” Noble said. “The
spiritual tone was also increased when volunteers arrived the day of the event
and were each asked to take a prayer lap around the facility.”
Brandon Pickett, director of media services for the SBC
of Virginia, worked with the track and area media on coverage of the race.
“It was amazing how the track and community embraced this race and the theme of
FindItHere.com. Between the track announcer and the drivers, the name
FindItHere.com was spoken about every 10 minutes. On top of that, I was invited
to talk about the website on the radio on and off throughout all three races
totaling about 30 minutes of air time.”
Cathy Rice, general manager of South Boston
Speedway and a member of an SBCV church, was thrilled not only with the turnout
but how the community embraced the race theme.
“So many people came to me and said that this was a true
blessing,” Rice said. “God was with us all night and we are looking forward to
next year’s FindItHere.com (race) already.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Reported by the staff of the Southern Baptist Conservatives of
Virginia convention.)
*Findithere.com is different than the three-year emphasis by
the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina known as Find It Here
(finditherenc.org). This three-year emphasis draws attention to evangelism,
discipleship and missions.