2016 marks the first year of a five-year General Baptist initiative called TURNAROUND 2020. Turnaround 2020 will assist General Baptist churches to discover and to achieve their full redemptive potential by the year 2020. What if…

• What if more of our General Baptist churches would double or triple in worship attendance over the next five years?
• What if our General Baptist churches experienced the largest number of conversions and baptisms ever in our history? Would we be a healthier church? A healthier movement?
• What would happen in the communities where our General Baptist churches are located if we went outside the walls of our buildings and ministered to the hurting, the needy, and the underprivileged, just like Jesus did when he walked the dusty streets of his hometown?
• What if, as church leaders and members, we started praying intentionally for the lost and unchurched people of our communities to come and visit our churches for the first time?
• What would happen in our General Baptist churches if we wept and prayed over our communities as Jesus did over Jerusalem?
• What would happen to all of our General Baptist churches if we once again relied on the power of the Holy Spirit to change lives and bring a fresh wind of revival and renewal to every General Baptist member’s heart?

If this initiative called “TURNAROUND 2020” is going to happen, please allow me to challenge our pastors and church leaders in a few areas.

First

I want to challenge our pastors and preachers to remember God’s call. Go back in your mind and recall what it was like when you first heard His voice, as Samuel did, or as Isaiah did. Do you remember specifically what you felt and how you answered? Can you feel the heavy burden He placed upon your heart? Church leaders, do you realize we only have a limited amount of time to share the gospel?

We must remember that when God called us to preach, or to pastor, or to teach, or to minister, or to start a local church, it was not an afterthought – it was for a specific reason. God does not call a person or start a church without a specific reason for doing so. Continue reading →