Volunteers with the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board (MBCB) are celebrating 373 decisions for Christ during the Mississippi State Fair. The group organized an evangelism event at the fair this year, with 195 volunteers having 2,824 Gospel conversations with fairgoers this year. The group set up a tent where volunteers could share the Gospel with those who came by, giving a safe space for fairgoers to ask questions and encouraging volunteers to get out of their comfort zone.

Pastor David Haynes of First Baptist Senotobia, MS was one of the volunteers and he shared a story of his experience. “One of FBC’s members, who is named Mae, began praying that she would be able to tell someone about Jesus. Mae was able to talk and pray with a young man as he placed faith in Jesus.” Haynes added that “During our four-hour session at the state fair, we had 160 Gospel conversations and 15 of those resulted in salvation.” Don Lum, MBCB director of evangelism, shared how one teenager who had stood back while her parents and siblings engaged in conversation later came to her parents at 1 am in the morning declaring she needed Jesus. Haynes emphasized the importance of the event in increasing his members’ confidence with sharing the Gospel. “In my opinion, it is sometimes easier to share the Gospel with strangers than it is to share the Gospel with friends or family members,” he said. “However, once a person gains confidence in their ability to rely upon the Holy Spirit to guide them in Gospel conversations, then he or she will be more confident when talking with friends and family members about Jesus.”

MBCB spokesperson Linda Burris spoke with The Christian Post about the event, sharing that decisions for Christ have gone up every year. She also spoke about how the group pursues follow up with those who make decisions. “Our volunteers are assigned a number that they put on the cards of those they share with,” she said. “A copy of the cards of the ones who received Christ are mailed back to the volunteer who shared with them. They are then able to make contact with them.” Cards are then sorted by city and town, with that information going to a pastor in the area who can contact the person. Burris stated the event is just as important for the volunteers as it is those who receive the Gospel message. “It is rewarding to hear the stories of other believers at the fair and to share with someone hungry to hear the good news of hope.”