By Lindsey Williams
Writing Specialist
Intended to embolden Mississippi Baptists to go and proclaim the Gospel, the 2024 State Evangelism Conference succeeded to start a spark — but not quite as expected. In the middle of the conference, the Holy Spirit began to light His fire from within the church.
Sponsored by MBCB’s Evangelism Department, the conference was held at Northcrest Church in Meridian, Jan. 28-29. Sunday night, the William Carey University Choir and Orchestra led a worship service which the congregation could not help but join in praise. Following the worship, Shane Pruitt, Next-Gen Evangelism Director of the North American Mission Board (NAMB), shared a message from Genesis 1-3 themed around the statement “Tell Me the Truth.” His message answered the questions “Where did I come from?” “Why am I here?” “What is wrong with me?” and “What is the solution?”
“Your heart was created to be full of passion for the Lord,” Pruitt said. “Your hands were created to serve the Lord. Your knees were created to bow before the King of kings and the Lord of all lords. Your feet were created to follow the Lord. You exist for the Lord, and you always feel something is missing in your life as long as someone is missing.”
An answer to prayer
Wade Phillips, Senior Pastor of Northcrest, remarked on the evening, “The invitation that night was the culmination of everything that we had prayed and hoped for in our months of planning. We began to discuss having Shane and the William Carey Choir here on Sunday night about a year ago. Additionally, our goal was to have lots of students there. Northcrest has seen a significant movement of the Lord among students for a couple of years now, and I was expecting Him to do something. Most every Sunday, our altar is full of young people, so I expected at least that much.
“When the invitation began, and I began to see people raising their hands, then responding, it was an answered prayer. I think the most surprising thing was the number of students in the choir who responded! That was a huge blessing!”
A total of 13 students came to the altar to repent of their sins and accept Christ as their Savior. Others joined them at the foot of the cross. Adults and high school students prayed at the steps of the altar. Believers came forward to answer calls to ministry. Over 30 people surrendered to Jesus, from repentance to obedience. The Spirit moved hearts throughout the church, from the choir loft to the very last pew.
On fire with the Spirit
On Tuesday, Feb. 6, the William Carey students who accepted Christ at the conference were baptized at Carterville Church in Petal. An excited crowd of friends and families, and Carterville and Northcrest members, made up the congregation. Still on fire with the Spirit, the Northcrest staff desired to serve lunch to the students and other attendees, and drove all the way to Petal to take part in God’s work.
“The Evangelism Conference is not normally a conference where people give their lives to Jesus, because it’s made up primarily of adults who are already involved in church,” commented Don Lum, director of MBCB’s Evangelism department. “So we expected to be challenged, to be encouraged, but it was a very special night to see God at work.”
The work and the fire has not finished. Northcrest continues to be abuzz with the testimony of that Sunday night. Having baptized the adults and high school students who accepted Christ, they helped start the new believers on their discipleship journey.
For the students who were previously not connected to a local church, William Carey University is working with them to find a church home.
Fanning the flame
“Our school is faithful to present the Gospel in every rehearsal in some form or another,” said Wes Dykes, William Carey Choir and Orchestra Director and Dean of the Winters School of Music. “We teach our students about worship, how to live a life of worship, how to encourage in worship, and that we were created to worship Him, according to the Word of God.
“We have been praying over those students who made decisions for quite some time. I believe the Holy Spirit moved mightily in all of our hearts during the worship service, and the Holy Spirit used Shane Pruitt to reap a mighty harvest that night! My hope from that night is revival — campus revival that will spread beyond our campus to the world!”
“It is a joy to see God working in the lives of our students!” said Brandon Hardin, Interim Worship Pastor at Carterville and Assistant Professor of Music at William Carey. “To be able to speak into the lives of our students is a privilege we don’t take lightly. We are grateful to serve at a university that places a high value on the spiritual growth of our students.”
With the spark still catching fire, Phillips shared his prayer for the months ahead: “I hope this is just the beginning! I believe we are seeing a genuine move of God among Gen Z, in our own church and others. I’m praying that this further fans that flame!”
