Record rains can't keep this church from its Crossover '08

By Mike Ebert

Each year before the Southern Baptist Convention, local churches and volunteers from throughout North America arrive early to reach out to the host city with the love of Christ. This year in Indianapolis was no different with plans for car washes, car shows, music events, block parties and much more to take place in communities throughout Greater Indianapolis.

But when we woke up this morning, it was clear that things would not go exactly as planned. Middle Indiana was hit with a 10-inch downpour which flooded rivers and streams and stranded hundreds of residents in their homes. At least two major interstates and dozens of local roads were closed due to flooding.

Needless to say, many Crossover events were cancelled. But about 17 miles west of Indianapolis, Hope Community Church in Brownsburg, carried on with a block party attended by 250 people from surrounding neighborhoods. When the torrential rains hit Saturday morning, members moved the event indoors and made the best of the situation.

"I was up praying at 6 o'clock this morning hoping the Lord would change His mind about this, but He didn't, and we said rain or shine we are committed to this event," said Jim Bohrer, Hope Community's pastor. "We advertised it, we told people we were going to do it, and we were going to keep our word whether or not it was convenient."

At least 90 people who are not regular attenders showed up for the event and at least five indicated they prayed to receive Christ. Volunteers from Michigan helped train local church members for the event, and a team of college students from Tennessee was on hand to help. When flooding cancelled other Crossover events, volunteers from North Carolina diverted to Hope Community to add their evangelistic efforts as well.

"We had some people who had done it for awhile show us the ropes so we didn't get stuck or confused or miss a beat. We were able to see this run smoothly, even with the rain because of the assistance we were given from other Southern Baptist brothers and sisters in Christ," pastor Bohrer said.

Frank Page, president of the SBC, dropped in on the block party after spending two hours sharing Christ door-to-door in the rain earlier in the day. He said Crossover is still a very important part of the annual convention.

"I know they are important because they combine the energies of the local people with visitors such as myself in a beautiful partnership and then the Gospel is shared far more than it normally would be. So it's very important and I believe it's just a great practical way to express the Great Commission."

Page said it's important to start each year's convention with Crossover "Because it shows what our priority is—winning people to Christ."

Steve Davis, executive director of the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana, said he takes encouragement in the fact that the impact of Crossover will last far beyond a weekend event.

"We're doing some other things connected with these events so it's not just an event but a process," Davis says. "It's the beginning of helping us plant nine new churches in the Indianapolis area. And every event is connected to a local church. So we're going to have much better follow up and we should see a much better result coming from this in terms of baptisms and strengthening church membership."

Davis said this weekend's evangelistic emphasis also is a healthy reminder for the state's evangelistic believers.

"Eighty percent of the people in Indiana do not attend any Christian church on any given Sunday," Davis said. "One of the things we're trying to do is remind Christians that Indiana is a mission field."