Baptist World Alliance® General Secretary Neville Callam recently reaffirmed that commitment to the Great Commission should be taken as a given in the life of the Christian believer, and that this also includes bearing witness to Christ in one’s daily life.
Callam was speaking at the African American Fellowship and Evangelism Conference hosted by the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) in Lewisville, held July 17-19.
“The Great Commission rests on the unassailable conviction that the church’s mission to evangelize the world is part of the taken-for-granted, run of the mill, reality of the daily life of each Christian and of the Christian community,” Callam said. Describing this commitment as a “compelling obligation,” Callam insisted it is not one that can be “reasonably avoided” by preoccupation with personal ambition or distractions caused by the pursuit of creature comforts, or even by difficulties or challenges in one’s life.
The African American Fellowship is one of several ethnically based groups operating within the BGCT. Callam addressed the group at their opening banquet, held annually in honor of James W. Culp, Sr. Culp was the BGCT coordinator of the Black Church Development Division from 1982 to 2001. The number of historically African American churches affiliated with the BGCT grew from 80 at the start of his tenure to more than 700 when he retired.
Those attending the event included Michael Evans, president of the African American Fellowship, who presided, David Hardage, executive director of the BGCT, and Charles Singleton, BGCT African American Ministries director.
Baptist World Alliance®
© August 2, 2012