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Find it Here 2011 introduced to messengers
Melissa Lilley, BSC Communications
November 17, 2010
3 MIN READ TIME

Find it Here 2011 introduced to messengers

Find it Here 2011 introduced to messengers
Melissa Lilley, BSC Communications
November 17, 2010

After spending a year

focusing on evangelism, the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSC)

moves on to focus on discipleship.

Find it Here, a three-year

statewide evangelism emphasis, kicked off its second year Nov. 9 at the BSC

annual meeting.

Evangelism is the first

step, but the command of Jesus Christ to every believer is to make disciples —

not just converts.

In light of that command,

the Find it Here 2011: Embracing Christ emphasis is discipleship.

Lynn Sasser, executive

leader for congregational services, read the theme verse of John 15:8 and

explained that a disciple is one who “abides in Christ and does the things that

Jesus did.”

The Find it Here presentation

featured video interviews with pastors about the importance of discipleship.

Leon Hawks, pastor of Crosspointe Church in Concord, said the first step in

making disciples is to “be a disciple yourself. You cannot expect your church

to do what you aren’t doing.”

Sean Cordell, pastor of

Treasuring Christ Church in Raleigh, said discipleship encompasses all that

Jesus commanded His followers to do. Cordell shared that for a long time he

“equated discipleship with knowing and being able to tell other people.”

However, telling other

people often came in the classroom setting in the form of teaching and he

neglected other discipleship contexts such as the home. Cordell is now intent

on making his home a place where his family is discipled.

Sasser explained that Find

it Here 2011 does not dismiss measuring sticks such as baptism numbers, but

seeks to expand the scorecard when it comes to evaluating church effectiveness.

The expanded scorecard must

include whether or not churches are leading people to life transformation

through a discipleship journey.

Ultimate success is to “see

people following Christ and living on mission,” Sasser said.

Chuck Register, executive

leader for church planting and missions development, led messengers in a time

of commitment. Register asked messengers willing to commit to intentional

discipleship in 2011 to turn in a response card signifying this commitment.

Churches can also sign up or

get resources at www.finditherenc.org.

Don McCutcheon, executive

leader for evangelization, shared testimonials from the first year’s emphasis

on evangelism.

McCutcheon reported about

Woodlawn Baptist Church in Conover, where 26 people made a profession of faith

in Jesus Christ and six were baptized Easter Sunday.

Hephzibah Baptist Church in

Wendell baptized 11 people Easter Sunday and saw its second highest attendance

ever.

For six months leading up to

Easter Sunday Hephzibah members committed to increasing their efforts to be

intentionally evangelistic and during that time 26 people were baptized.

Register also previewed the

next and final Find it Here emphasis: Expanding the Kingdom.

The 2011 annual meeting will

launch an intentional focus on missions and taking the gospel to unreached people

groups of the world that have never had an opportunity to hear the gospel.