Hymns set stage for evangelism congress

United Methodist News Service
SAVANNAH, Ga.—With Charles Wesley’s “Spirit of Faith, Come Down” providing the theme, the 2008 Congress on Evangelism brought together more than 700 United Methodists this month to share strategies for spreading the Gospel.
The congress is where “we can come to use the ‘E’ word without being ashamed or looking over our shoulders,” said Bishop James Swanson of the Holston Conference. “We need to lead people to Jesus.”
The Jan. 2-5 event was on Hutchinson Island in honor of the 300th anniversary of Wesley’s birth. Both Charles Wesley and his brother, John Wesley, founder of the worldwide Methodist movement, landed Feb. 6, 1736, on Cockspur Island, Ga., just downriver from Hutchinson Island. They served as missionaries from the Church of England and ministered to the settlers living there.
“We United Methodists are here at the birthplace of the Wesleys’ work in the new land … the colony of Georgia,” wrote the Rev. David Kerr, president of the congress, in a message to those attending. “In one way, the Savannah River is akin to the Sea of Galilee in that it reminds us of God’s acts. … This is the place from which the seed of revival would eventually spread and take root.”
The congress is sponsored each January by the Council on Evangelism and the General Board of Discipleship with the support of the Foundation for Evangelism.
Bishop B. Michael Watson of the South Georgia Conference offered the welcome with the saying that “the ‘angel’ in evangelism could be you.”
Swanson said the 40-year decline in United Methodist membership has “happened on our watch” and that reversing that trend will require the power of the Holy Spirit.
Swanson criticized those who depend on the latest program or gimmick to grow their church.
“We cannot grow the church by a formula or trickery,” he said. “We must surrender ourselves to God.”
The Rev. Evelyn Laycock, retired director of the Lay Ministry Center at Lake Junaluska, N.C., got the congress’ attention by saying that “82 percent of those under 18 have never been in a sanctuary.”
Laycock used the Parable of the Talents, calling talents a simile for the kingdom of God.
“To reach people in the world,” she said, “we cannot be afraid, like the servant who buried the talents, to venture out and share that kingdom with everyone we meet.”
The Rev. Robert “Bob” Tuttle, professor of evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary’s Florida campus, spoke on the first principle of evangelism and Christianity.
“The only way to gain your life is to give it up,” he said. “The only way to be great is to be a servant. The only way to be first is to be last. Sin begins when we seek to be autonomous from God.”
Participants said they found the gathering worthwhile and uplifting.
The congress offered a “new look at things we as United Methodists can do without being professional evangelists––by just being there and loving people,” said the Rev. Ray Petty of Macedonia UMC, Knoxville, Tenn.
The Rev. Michelle Williamson, pastor of Whitfield UMC, Sioux City, Iowa, said she was reminded that “the Holy Spirit works through you to bring the word to folks.”
The Rev. Ken Fuller of Hiawassee, Ga., has attended the congresses on and off since 1974, and said the gathering is part “inspirational time,” part family reunion.
The Foundation for Evangelism announced the awarding of 18 scholarships to individuals under 40 attending their first congress.
The National Association of United Methodist Evangelists presented the “Philip Award,” named in honor of the evangelist Philip in Acts, to the Rev. William Bouknight and the Rev. Bob Nelson for outstanding leadership in evangelism.
The 2009 Congress on Evangelism is scheduled for Jan. 6-9 in Nashville, Tenn.