Mickey Noah & Eva Wolever

“Red Hot” takes Triad-area bull rider Terry Owens for a wild ride during a June 10 rodeo in Archdale, N.C., sponsored by Triad Cowboy Church. Owens was the only one of 10 riders who stayed on his bull for the required eight seconds. Photo by Jonathan Blair

GREENSBORO, N.C. (BP)--Whether the person was a motorcycle rider in leather, a cowboy in boots and jeans, a Native American in Indian headdress or a kid in shorts and tennis shoes, the message of Crossover Triad 2006 was clear: Jesus Christ.
      A motorcycle rally and ride, a cowboy rodeo, an international fair, sports clinics and a series of evangelistic block parties took place at the same time as more than a thousand other Southern Baptists made door-to-door visits and prayerwalked in the tri-city area of Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point.
      Crossover, which preceded the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual June 13-14 annual meeting at the Greensboro Coliseum, is sponsored jointly by the North American Mission Board, the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and the 200 SBC churches of the Piedmont, Pilot Mountain and Central Triad Baptist associations. Ninety-eight churches took an active part in hosting events.

A common love for the thrill of NASCAR racing gives Rich Shipley of Archdale, N.C. (left), and Al Roberson of Greensboro, N.C., an opportunity to get acquainted June 10 during a Crossover Triad block party in Archdale. The race car belongs to Elliott Sadler. Photo by Jonathan Blair

      Early reports indicate at least 500 decisions for Christ were reported by Intentional Community Evangelism (ICE) teams who have been sharing their faith on the streets of Greensboro for the past week.
        Nearly 300 salvation decisions were reported at 30 or so Crossover events in the Triad area, with additional numbers still coming in.

Children careen around inside an inflatable at an International Festival June 10 at Ben L. Smith High School. Photo by David Lema

      “When you’re ministering to bikers, it’s different from other segments of the population,” said Mike Young, coordinator for the Carolina Faith Riders, a group of 350 Christian motorcyclists. “If you’re a Christian, they want to make sure your walk matches your talk, or they won’t have anything to do with you.”