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BreakOut ’98 and CrossOver ’98 to involve students in evangelism


LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. (BP)–More than 2,000 Southern Baptist college students attending Student Week ’97 conferences in Lake Junaluska, N.C., and Glorieta, N.M., Aug. 9-15 learned about two convention-wide programs with opportunities for evangelism in 1998.
Students were invited to participate in both.
BreakOut ’98 involves college students in sharing their faith during spring break at three different resort locations in Florida and Colorado, and CrossOver ’98 is an evangelistic outreach held prior to and during next year’s annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Bob Hartman, a consultant with the Baptist Sunday School Board’s national student ministry (NSM), said more than 2,000 college students are expected to participate in the six BreakOut ’98 events. A variety of ministries are planned to give students an opportunity to minister to their non-Christian peers during spring break, including beach games, free van rides, pancake breakfasts, sunburn stations and coffeehouses. Participating students are given six weeks of evangelism training before the events, Hartman said.
BreakOut ’98 events are planned in Panama City Beach, Fla., for BeachReach, March 7-13, March 14-20, March 21-27; Vail, Colo., for SkiReach, March 14-20; Daytona, Fla., for BeachReach, March 21-27; and Daytona, Fla., for Black Student Reunion BeachReach, April 16-19.
Hartman said this is the third consecutive year for BreakOut, adding more than 1,300 students participated in 1997. The program is sponsored by NSM, the North American Mission Board, and state Baptist conventions and local associations. For registration information, call 1-800-254-2022. For program information, call NSM at (615) 251-2777.
CrossOver ’98 is expected to involve 500 students from across the country in an evangelistic outreach June 4-14 in Salt Lake City, according to Rollin DeLap, a student evangelism consultant for NAMB. Two-day CrossOver events have been held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the SBC for nine years, DeLap said, adding more than 12,000 people have accepted Christ as a result of the program.
This year, however, is the first year a nationwide effort is taking place to involve college students in the project, he said, adding they will minister for seven days.
Participating students, who will receive free room and board, will undergo a 10-hour intensive training session and then participate in a variety of evangelism projects, such as door-to-door witnessing and block parties. In addition, Athletes for Christ will team with the students to conduct evangelistic sports clinics at parks throughout the city.
While acknowledging Salt Lake City is the “heart of Mormon country,” DeLap said approximately 700,000 residents of the Utah capital have no church affiliation.
“We’re not going there to argue, we’re not going to debate. We’re going to share our faith,” he said. “I believe we’ll have the potential of having the greatest impact for Christ in that city’s history.”
For more information about CrossOver ’98, call DeLap at (615) 833-0787, or e-mail him at [email protected].

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  • Chip Alford