Even among the crackle and roar of motorcycle engines, there’s room for the still, quiet voice of the gospel. Even as riders fly and flip through the air, the Holy Spirit can draw lost souls.
The churches of Lake of the Ozarks Baptist Association saw all these things first hand, Sept. 13, as more than 1,700 people gathered in the Eldon High School gym to see a motorcycle stunt show and hear the good news of Jesus Christ. After conclusion and a gospel presentation, trained encouragers from the Lake of the Ozarks’ churches counseled 116 who made professions of faith, along with 28 who rededicated their lives and 14 who made other decisions.
LIFE Outreach is a ministry of the Missouri Baptist Convention, and is led by Brad Bennett, the MBC’s making disciples director. Its purpose is in its name: L – leading people to Christ; I – identifying people with Christ; F – fully maturing in Christ; and E – equipping others to equip others. Bennett, often alongside his longtime Real Encounter evangelistic ministry, brings a highflying and heart-pounding experience grounded by a firm gospel-focused foundation.
Bennett and his team spoke in character assemblies in local public schools earlier in the week.
“I shared a message on mental health, specifically telling my story about how I struggled with panic attacks and anxiety and tied that to any struggle or difficulty,” Bennett said. “Then we invite them and their families back to the big event on Wednesday night.”
Team work
Timothy Faber, director of missions for Lake of the Ozarks Baptist Association, said he was encouraged by not only the response of residents to the gospel presentation, but also the level of team work he saw among the churches of the association.
“We had 19 churches participate in the training, 18 were represented as encouragers on Wednesday, and at least six churches each of the three nights were on the strip for Bike Fest,” he said. “We saw more participation in this than any other events we have done. To see that many churches working together was awesome.”
That cooperation wasn’t a spur of the moment thing, either. Conversations began nearly a year ago, and the churches began prepping with LIFE Outreach eight months ago to secure facilities, create publicity, organize logistics and train workers.
“You’re not going to just wake up one morning and do it,” Faber said, “but the association is the perfect broader tool to draw from to make it happen.”
That lead up is part of what can make an event like this effective, Bennett said.
His team works with churches and associations to develop the plan, and provides training materials for five different planning teams (financial, encourager, publicity, special events and the pre-event school assembly).
‘Long after we’re gone’
Beginning the Sunday before an event, LIFE Outreach comes into churches, with MBC missionaries preaching on Sunday mornings, and the churches coming together for encourager training. Monday through Wednesday, the team goes into local schools as a character assembly and inviting students to the main event, where the gospel is shared. Thanks to the encourager training, churches are lined up to come alongside any that make a profession of faith to ensure they aren’t left on their own after the event.
“They’re the ones who are tasked with following up on the new followers of Christ as they begin the process of integrating them into the life and culture of the church,” Bennett said. “The cool thing about LIFE Outreach is that not only is there an impact those four days, the goal and hope is that people will continue to share the gospel and disciple long after we’re gone.”
In the last year, LIFE Outreach events in eight locations around the state have seen more than 10,000 people hear the gospel, with 721 making professions of faith. For more about LIFE Outreach, visit mobaptist.org/life.
LIFE Outreach is possible because of the generous gifts that Missouri Southern Baptists give through the Cooperative Program and the Missouri Missions Offering. Additional funding from the North American Mission Board has also helped to offset the cost of the LIFE Outreach initiative.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Brian Koonce and originally published by the Pathway.
