NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Church as it’s supposed to be.
That’s how “Share Jesus Without Fear” author Bill Fay characterized the outpouring of God’s spirit in an intensive six-day witnessing and discipleship seminar held earlier this month in Venezuela.
Approximately 300 people ranging in age from 10 to senior adults paid their expenses for the seminar followed by one to three weeks of witnessing throughout the nation. The annual multi-denominational Evangelistic March was sponsored by the Venezuela Baptist Convention and included participants from Mexico, Guatemala and Chile. “Share Jesus Without Fear” has been adopted as the official evangelistic method for the march.
Fay, chief chaplain for the Colorado State Patrol who travels throughout the world challenging Christians to become active witnesses, was part of a team from LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. He spoke in the evening worship services. Daytime sessions included conferences on “Share Jesus Without Fear” and “Life in the Spirit” led by LifeWay international consultants Luis Lopez and Estriberto Britton, along with other topics. Small groups took 30-minute slots for prayer, 24 hours a day.
“I saw church as it is supposed to be — prayer, confession in a spirit of love, praise and spontaneous worship — all in good order,” Fay said.
On the last night, Fay said he hadn’t completed the invitation to commitment when he saw all 300 people moving toward the altar.
“I was looking every night for one person who looked tired or indifferent. Never once could I find one person,” he added, noting that small group discussions and prayer rarely ended before 2 a.m. and participants were up again by 6.
Lopez said, “We saw a great movement of God every night. We saw people commit themselves to evangelism as a lifestyle and we saw people confirm their calling to ministry.”
In addition to gaining witnessing and discipleship skills for the Evangelistic March, Lopez said participants will return to their churches and train others.
“Leaders were able to see that LifeWay resources work effectively in the Latin American context,” he said. LifeWay resources currently are available from local distributors in 17 Latin American countries.
More than 600 professions of faith were registered through the 1999 march, Lopez said. Figures for this year aren’t in yet.
“We knew God had already been working through the Evangelistic March,” Lopez said. “We’re just privileged to join him.”
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