STATE COLLEGE (BRN) – More than 200 guests were greeted with warm smiles from Baptist Resource Network (BRN) team members as they escaped the brisk morning air on Monday, March 20, and entered Calvary Church in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, for the BRN’s second annual Advance Conference.
First launched in 2022, Advance is a one-day evangelism focused conference designed for the whole church to attend – including pastors, pastors’ wives, collegiate missionaries and church members.
This year, the event included worship led by Calvary Church and Unity Church of Jesus Christ, main sessions led by Dr. Nathan Lorick, executive director for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention; Personal Evangelism Director for the North American Mission Board (NAMB) J.J. Washington; and Dr. Anthony Hurst, part-time professor at Cairn University and adjunct professor at Eastern University.
Conference attendees also enjoyed a variety of breakout sessions led by BRN directors, consultants, and pastors throughout Pennsylvania and South Jersey. Women who attended were invited to participate in the annual Woven Women lunch, which focused on hands on evangelism practice and utilizing popular evangelism tools.
Main Session 1: Dr. Nathan Lorick
After a brief welcome message and opening prayer given by Calvary Church Senior Pastor Dan Nold, the conference kicked off with worship, followed by the first main session.
Dr. Nathan Lorick launched the day’s series of keynote speakers by diving into God’s Word and encouraging a Pauline approach to evangelism.
Looking at Romans 9, Lorick guided the audience through three main heart postures Paul embodied when ministering to the lost: (1) A heart that is broken; (2) a heart that is burdened; and (3) a heart that begs God on behalf of the lost.
Lorick challenged his audience to ask themselves the last time they shed tears over those in their lives who are lost and without Christ.
“When is the last time your heart hurt for someone in your life who doesn’t know Christ? When was the last time you shed tears over someone’s soul?”
Lorick continued, pointing out an unfortunate pattern in today’s church culture.
“The greatest tragedy in churches today is not a lack of technology, not a lack of people, not a lack of resources, but the lack of a broken and burdened heart,” said Lorick.
Heading into his second point, Lorick cited Romans 9 3-5, where Paul wishes that he himself “were accursed and cut off from Christ” for the sake of his brothers, to whom belong the adoption of God.
Lorick noted that Paul’s heart posture here is a clear picture of being burdened, not merely bothered, for the sake of someone’s salvation as Paul states he would give up his own salvation for the sake of others knowing Christ.
“There’s a difference between being bothered and burdened. When you’re bothered you can sleep at night, when you’re burdened you gotta get on your knees,” said Lorick.
He wrapped up his session imploring the audience to take on the third heart posture shown in Romans 9, a posture of begging God for the impossible. Lorick shared his personal experience with this heart posture, stating that he is the product of some 15 –18 year olds begging God for Nathan Lorick’s salvation.
“When God’s people get broken, when God’s people get burdened…don’t tell me God don’t listen…praying is my business, answering is His.”
The first main session of Advance 2023 ended with a call to those in the audience to approach the stage, to get on their knees and beg God to do the impossible for those they know who are lost.
Main Session 2: J.J. Washington
Personal Evangelism Director for NAMB J.J. Washington took the stage next for the second main session, imparting four important truths for evangelism from 1 Corinthians 2:1-5.
The first truth Washington cited was that when it comes to evangelism “we don’t need eloquence.”
“A lot of people think we need to have a certain type of mouthpiece in order to be effective for evangelism,” said Washington.
He debunked this myth by pointing to verse 1 of the text, where Paul writes about not using “lofty speech or wisdom” to proclaim the gospel.
“Friend, I’m telling you, you don’t need eloquence…all you gotta do is open your mouth and let the gospel out,” encouraged Washington.
For the second truth, he pointed to his own moment of salvation, saying it was a “simple gospel presentation” that led him to the Lord. Thus, when it comes to evangelism, we need simplicity.
“Sometimes we make this (evangelizing) too complicated,” said Washington. “The power is in the gospel itself.”
Departing from 1 Corinthians 2:2, Washington moved on to the third truth of evangelism: We need humility.
“Humility is very important when you’re sharing the gospel. We do not need to talk down to people, they can smell it from a mile away and they close their ears,” said Washington. “We need to remember that sinners do what sinners do and if it not be by the grace of God, so do I.”
Washington concluded his study of 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 by stating the fourth, and final, truth of evangelism expressed through Paul: We need the right motives.
Focusing on verse 4, Washington honed in on what Paul wrote about sharing the gospel “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.”
He related this truth to his first pastoral role at Woodstock Church in Austell, Georgia, which was a church in need of revitalization.
“Sometimes God puts us in places to remind us that, ‘You can’t do this. I do this.’” Washington continued: “Paul didn’t show up with no bells and whistles, he showed up with a simple message, a simple man and he opened up his mouth and the power of God came up in that place.”
“I’m telling you, you don’t need eloquence. Simplicity, humility, open your mouth with the right motives, proclaim the gospel, get out of the way and watch God do the rest.”
Main Session 3: Dr. Anthony Hurst
Following lunch and breakout sessions, Dr. Anthony Hurst concluded the conference with the third and final main session of the day.
He approached the audience with a confession. Stating that the story he was going to tell was one he had kept quiet for 35 years, and only just recently shared with his church; which he has attended all his life.
When Hurst was merely 8-years-old, he was molested by an unknown man.
“To this day, I can’t remember much. All I remember is being at the back of a vacant house, and someone behind me and a jar of Vaseline.”
Hurst adapted to the pain of this traumatic experience by living a homosexual life.
“There’s so much shame associated with sin…especially that one, because the church has been programmed that that (homosexuality) is the lowest of the low, but you see I read my Bible and I found out that the ground is level at the cross,” said Hurst.
Throughout his high school years and early on in his college career, Hurst often had close relations with older men.
Then one night, as he was departing from an older man’s home, Hurst got in his car and cried out to God.
”God met me, not because I was screaming, but because I was broken,” said Hurst. “Gay does not mean happy…when I was by myself, when it was just me and God, it was miserable…but God met me.”
For 44 years, Hurst has been fully delivered by the Lord, and for nearly 43 of those years Hurst has been married to his wife.
“Every time I look at her, I see God’s grace. Every time I see my children, I see God’s grace. Every time I see my grandchildren, I see God’s grace,” said Hurst. “The Lord was watching over me the whole time.”
Transitioning from his story, Hurst concluded by charging the audience with Matthew 28:19 and urged them to speak Jesus to others, not to point out sin.
“Don’t tell folks about their sin, it’s not in that passage. [Jesus says,] ‘Go tell them about me, I’ll take care of this thing.”
At the end of his session, the audience thanked Dr. Hurst for boldly sharing the great things God has done for him with a standing ovation.
Missed this year’s Advance Conference? Or want to rewatch this year’s main sessions? Visit brnunited.org/advance23 to view this year’s keynote speakers.
