Baptist Press Archive

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

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  • Luis Palau’s DC Festival draws 50,000 in nation’s capital
    by Shannon Baker, posted Tuesday, October 11, 2005 (18 years ago)

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    High-flying witness


    “Chaos on Wheels” daredevil Don Johnson wows the standing-room-only crowd at the Livin’ It stage during Luis Palau’s DC Festival on the National Mall in Washington Oct. 9. Photo by Shannon Baker


    WASHINGTON (BP)--With Luis Palau’s Oct. 8-9 “Great Music and Good News” DC Festival and the upcoming June 2006 Metro Maryland Franklin Graham Festival, Southern Baptists all along the I-95 corridor between Washington and Baltimore are joining efforts to reach their neighbors for Christ.

          An estimated 50,000 people attended the DC Festival on the National Mall, sponsored by the Luis Palau Association and supported by 899 churches and 3,500-plus youth and adults who were trained in friendship evangelism during the buildup to the weekend.

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    Evangelist’s hope


    Luis Palau proclaimed his hope that DC Festival participants would be able to say, “I met God on the National Mall!” Despite torrential rains on the first day, more than 50,000 people attended the Oct. 8-9 event. Photo by Shannon Baker


          The Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware was intricately involved with the DC Festival from its inception, said Thom Thornton, BCMD consultant/specialist for evangelism and collegiate ministry.

          “From early meetings ... up to and through the event, we have partnered with the Luis Palau organization to equip people for evangelism, engage churches to the opportunities of the festival, and reach our area for the cause of Christ.”

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    On the Mall


    Volunteer counselor Howard Simmonds of New Life Open Bible Church in Springfield, Va., ministers to Jared Bendy, 15, of Calvary Baptist Church in Woodbridge, Va., during Luis Palau’s DC Festival Oct. 8-9 on the National Mall. Photo by Shannon Baker


    Several BCMD churches took advantage of the evangelism and counseling training events to participate as volunteers during the festival, which highlighted the best elements of today’s most popular music festivals (everything from contemporary music acts and exotic food stands to a full-blown, stand-alone extreme sports skate park).

    Included on the festival’s main stage were contemporary Christian recording artists Third Day, Steven Curtis Chapman, Cece Winans, TobyMac and Kirk Franklin and former Mexican soap opera actress and performer Yuri, among others.

    In the festival’s “Sports Zone,” professional sports personalities, including Carlos Baerga and Nick Johnson of the Washington Nationals baseball team, Mark Simpson of the DC United soccer team, PGA golfer Bernhard Langer and former NFL player Steve Fitzhugh of the Denver Broncos, shared testimonies of their faith. Read More

  • Record 7.3 million meals provided to Gulf hurricane victims
    by Mickey Noah, posted Tuesday, October 11, 2005 (18 years ago)

    ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--An all-time record has been reached -- more than 7.3 million meals prepared to date for victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita under the Southern Baptists’ mammoth disaster relief effort across the Gulf Coast. Read More

  • Steeple remains seminary’s beacon for the Gospel in N.O.
    by Gary D. Myers, posted Tuesday, October 11, 2005 (18 years ago)

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    At the steeple


    Endel Lee, a New Orleans Seminary professor and Navy chaplain, leads a brief worship service Oct. 5 for relief workers and seminary families on the steps of Leavell Chapel with its beacon-like steeple. Photo by Gary D. Myers


    NEW ORLEANS (BP)--Visible from miles away, the steeple of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s chapel has always been a symbol of hope in the city of New Orleans.

          In 2002, when seminary administrators chose a new logo for the school, they chose the steeple as a symbol for the NOBTS. The symbol represents the seminary’s witness in the city and the world.

    As seminary families returned to campus in the early morning hours Oct. 5-9, the steeple was the only light visible for miles and miles. This lone point of light shining in a sea of darkness represented the hope many have for the seminary and city -– a hope rooted in Jesus Christ.

    “The steeple was the first thing we lit when power was restored,” NOBTS President Chuck Kelley said. “It really is a light in the midst of darkness.” Read More

  • In BBC interview, Yarnell discusses Miers & American religion
    by Brent Thompson, posted Tuesday, October 11, 2005 (18 years ago)

    FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--The BBC interview was about President Bush’s nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, but it wasn’t long before Malcolm Yarnell III was discussing American Christianity before a large European audience. Read More

  • FIRST-PERSON: The Bible and capital punishment
    by Jack Graham, posted Tuesday, October 11, 2005 (18 years ago)

    PLANO, Texas (BP)--Several years ago, the state of Texas executed the first woman since the Civil War -- well-known murderer and death-row inmate Karla Fay Tucker. Surprising to many, the day Karla died, she was a radically changed, born-again Christian. But just 14 years prior to her death, she was as far away from a relationship with God as one could possibly be. Read More

  • FIRST-PERSON: Making evangelism good news again
    by John Avant, posted Tuesday, October 11, 2005 (18 years ago)

    ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--It's been eight months now since I left the pastorate and came to be the vice-president for evangelization at the North American Mission Board. I did it because I sensed that God was beginning to do a new thing -- that Southern Baptists were ready to move into an evangelistic resurgence that could lead to the next Great Awakening in America and across the world. Read More