In an open letter recently sent to Oklahoma Baptist pastors and churches across the state, leaders with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO) called on Oklahoma Baptists to stop what they are doing on Wednesday, August 9 at 9:38 a.m. and specifically pray for evangelism in the state.
The letter, which was co-signed by the BGCO’s Anthony Jordan, Bob Mayfield and Mike Napier, said, “Pastor, we know that evangelism beats strong in your heart. Also, we know how heartbreaking it can be to see the thousands of lost people in our communities who live just one heartbeat from an eternity in hell apart Jesus Christ. We want to see Christ proclaimed in every city, every community and every neighborhood in our state, our nation and our world. The task of making disciples in our world is enormous, but we know that our Savior has a plan, and it starts with prayer.
“Wednesday, August 9 at 9:38 a.m., we are praying the biblical prayer that Jesus gave us in Matthew 9:38… which reads ‘The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’”
The prayer emphasis, which is a prayer for workers/church members to “go out into the fields that are white for the harvest and share their faith, marks the beginning point of the #Share72 Evangelism Emphasis that encourages every Oklahoma Baptist to share their faith at least one time in a 72 hour time period, from September 10-13, 2017.
The open letter also asked people to “set an alarm on your smart phone for 9:38 a.m. every day from now to September 10, and let’s unite in prayer and ask the Lord to send workers into His harvest.” And also asked pastors to “consider inviting 2-3 other pastors in your association, or perhaps your church leaders or Sunday School teachers, to meet you on August 9 to join together to pray for workers to go into harvest fields and share the Gospel.”
Included with the open letter were wristbands as prayer reminders, as well as print literature and guides that any church can use. For more information about the Share72 evangelism efforts, visit http://www.reconnectss.com/share72.
