A recent Internet poll asked movie-goers to select their favorite road trip film—“Easy Rider,” “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” Tommy Boy” or “Road Trip.”
After 2011, Oklahoma Baptists will have another “road trip” choice—the MY316 Road Trip, which will take the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma’s evangelism group leader, Tim Gentry, and other group specialists to every association between the 2010 and 2011 annual meetings of the convention.
The MY316 Road Trip will feature a vehicle wrapped with MY316, Cooperative Program and BGCO ministry information. The vehicle, which resembles a NASCAR race car, was unveiled during the State Convention at Oklahoma Baptist University Nov. 15-16.
MY316, a creation of Randy Adams, BGCO Church Outreach Team leader, and the evangelism group, is a simple, resourceful means for Oklahoma Baptists to use as a witnessing tool. It features a person’s salvation testimony along with the well-known Scripture verse—John 3:16—“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” NKJV
“This resource takes what Oklahoma Baptists already know, their story and John 3:16, to share Jesus with their friends and family,” said Adams. “According to a 2009 BGCO survey, three out of five Oklahomans could quote John 3:16, and virtually everyone was familiar with the verse. And it is a verse most believers feel comfortable in sharing.”
MY316, which was premiered at the State Evangelism Conference in January, involves three activities: Pray for the lost, serve the lost and share Jesus with the lost. The 2010 SEC was a challenge to engage every Oklahoma Baptist in praying for the lost. Next year’s Evangelism Conference, Jan. 24-25, will highlight the serving portion.
“The strategy of the MY316 Road Trip is face-to-face contact with lay people, pastors and directors of missions in each association across the state,” said Gentry. “This personal contact with Oklahoma Baptists will provide the framework for continued implementation of the MY316 personal evangelism resource to help every Oklahoma Baptist in praying for the lost, serving them and sharing with them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s also an opportunity for me to have a significant evangelistic touch in each association across Oklahoma in 2011.”
The trip will also continue the promotion of the MY316 evangelism resources and help introduce Gentry to Oklahoma Baptists as well as helping him orient to the state. Gentry became evangelism group leader in April.
“We want to assist Oklahoma Baptists to reach every man, woman, boy and girl in the state with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, while highlighting existing ministry evangelism projects across the state,” said Gentry. “We also hope through this process, we can build awareness with the public of what Oklahoma Baptists are for and not just what we are against.”
Gentry said awareness of the ministries highlighted by the road trip will be built through the MY316.com website, the Baptist Messenger, social media and local media outlets. Examples include outreaches to expectant mothers, international students and at-risk youth, along with team roping evangelistic events and neighborhood canvassing to identify needs.
Gentry noted that 607 out of Oklahoma’s 1,780 Baptist churches have indicated a commitment to use the MY316 strategy and materials, and more than 40,000 youth and sponsors (representing 700 BGCO churches and 200 out-of-state churches) were trained to share their personal testimony this summer at Falls Creek youth camp. Also, almost 3,000 children and sponsors were trained at CrossTimbers children’s camp and various regional camps.
To date, MY316.com statistics include 1,533 members, 13,065 visitors, 102,994 page views, 7.88 pages per visit, 6 minutes, 16 seconds average time on site, 137 video testimonies and 8,314 YouTube Upload Views.
For more information on the MY316 car or materials, contact Gentry at 3800 N. May Ave., Oklahoma City 73112, phone 405/942-3000, ext. 4327 or e-mail tgentry@bgco.org.
