I want to thank all of you who have prayed for our GCR Task Force meeting today. I can assure you, we sense God’s presence and power. We have been so blessed with thousands of people praying for us. We are humbled, not only by the request of our convention to do this worthy assignment, but also by the prayers of God’s people.

As we move forward together, please do not forget to pray for this Great Commission movement that needs to occur first and foremost in the hearts of each one of us. It has to start there, move to our churches, and then into our various Baptist entities. Oh friends, we cannot lose hope. Jesus is Lord and wants this world to know Him.

Please enlist others and enlist yourself as a Prayer Partner at www.pray4gcr.com

Today I am in Dallas for our Great Commission Resurgence Task Force meeting. As our Task Force meets, we are excited about all the prospects for this day. On this pivotal day of our work, we are engaging some of the leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention to share their vision for the future of our convention.

This morning we will meet with 22 of our State Executive Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention. We have 42 state convention leaders, however, due to schedules and some state convention meetings, only 22 of them are able to meet with us. This meeting will consist of them making a presentation to us and then we will fill the rest of our assigned time conversing with them about it. As we work together towards our goal of more effectively and faithfully fulfilling the Great Commission, we stand in great need for prayer.

You see, people without Jesus Christ are lost and destined for an eternity without God in a place called hell. If the lostness of our world does not motivate us to get the gospel to the unreached peoples of the world, then what in the world will? Jesus has commissioned us. Jesus is the only Savior of the world. Jesus is the only way to heaven. What more do we need? We must do more to reach our regions, our own nation, and the unreached people of the world.

Therefore, I appeal to you in Jesus’ name, pray for us today from 7:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. central time. We stand in need of your prayer support more than ever before. Without Jesus, we have no hope. He is the only one who can rally us to reach a lost world.

Join us in prayer today.

I am asking all intercessors to please come alongside of us over the next two days, Monday and Tuesday. I am appealing to all Christians to pray for our meetings with the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force. These are important days and we need your prayer support.

As we make final preparations for our big meeting on Tuesday, October 27, we need your prayers. As we begin to chart the future we believe God has for us, we cannot discover that future without the supernatural hand of God moving among us. Unless we have His power, we will not see clearly.

On Tuesday morning, our GCR Task Force will be joined by 23 State Executive Leaders from our various state conventions. These men of God are coming to Dallas to meet with us on Tuesday morning. We want to hear what is on their hearts and what God is doing where they are serving. Together all of us have been encouraged by our Southern Baptist Convention to do all we can to present the gospel to every person in the world. This cannot be done without solidarity of purpose, a cooperative spirit, and personal sacrifice from all of us.

Therefore, to all of my Southern Baptist friends and to all Christians regardless of your denominational affiliation, please pray for us. How can you pray?

Pray for:

*God’s favor to be extended upon all of our work and to our convention of churches.

Friends, thanks for praying. Please share this prayer request worldwide. These are important days and we must discover a way to present the gospel of Jesus Christ to every person in the world.

Thanks for praying,
Ronnie W. Floyd

Let me encourage you to be here this Sunday October 25th for Friend Day! Our entire church has been working for the past five weeks leading up to this great day. We have challenged each of you to think of five people (Your “Fave 5”) to pray for, invest in, and invite to Friend Day. Each ministry in our church is having a special emphasis in Connection Groups this coming Sunday.

Also, this Sunday you will have an opportunity to hear an incredible speaker in all of our worship services. Tony Nolan from Atlanta Georgia will be our guest preacher. Tony is an amazingly gifted communicator. He recently finished a 119 city tour with the band “Casting Crowns” where he spoke every night seeing over 87,000 people come to Christ. God’s hand is upon Tony and his passion is to tell the story of how Christ has changed his life. You and your friends will enjoy hearing him.

The most important question is this, “Who will you bring?” God has placed people all around you who need encouragement and who need love. Will you be willing to reach out and bring them on this strategic day? Our goal for Friend Day is to see multitudes of new people connect with our church. Pray, invite, and bring those around you.

See you Sunday!

Years ago at our Mega-Metro for Pastors, Dr. Charles Lowery shared an idea with us. He was using this idea to gather the guests to his church in an informal setting and give them the opportunity to respond to Christ and connect with his church. We took his initial idea and have made several revisions to it through the years as we contextualized it for our church. Today it is what we call, “Dinner with the Pastor.”

Let me share with you 17 insights into reaching people through this “Dinner With The Pastor” event:

Therefore, this event is simple, but helpful. People learn a whole lot about us before they ever make any kind of decision. This week, through two of these events, we have seen God move and change the lives of people.

Isn’t it amazing how powerful the most simple experiences can be?

Zach Kennedy is the Minister of Creative Media for First Baptist Church of Springdale and The Church at Pinnacle Hills. Zach and his family recently took on an unusual assignment. They packed up their family of six and headed to Malawi, Africa to help get Esther’s House Orphanage started. We hope you enjoy this peek into their life while in Africa.

Life in America is tough. Life in Africa is tougher. I don’t know if that is proper English, but truth rarely fits into neat grammar.

For the last two months, my family of six lived and worked in the African nation of Malawi. With a life expectancy of 37 years and an AIDS pandemic that is unrelenting, Malawi is tougher. However, it took me a while to admit it out loud.

At first, everything was an adventure. From driving on the wrong side of the road to learning which hole-in-the-wall grocery store had the cleanest chicken, our days were filled with new experiences and perspectives. We learned a lot about what we take for granted and what luxuries we don’t ever notice. For instance, when our hot water tank went out for the second time, we thought we learned a valuable lesson about the luxury of hot water. Then, the city ran out of water. Literally. Our faucets ran dry. Suddenly, hot water seemed like a silly concept and running water became our new standard of luxury.

Somewhere along the way, the adventure wore off and the reality set in. I am not sure what caused the transition, but I certainly didn’t want to admit it. Adventure was fun. Reality wasn’t. Reality was four funerals for teenagers in the small village of Madzanje during our short time there. Reality was a 16-year-old orphan caring for her 14-year-old sister. Reality was a mother withering from AIDS while her young boys watched. Reality was not adventurous. It was life.

It wasn’t until my Mom and Dad came to visit us that I was able to say it out loud. I think it was because my Mom said it first. “This place is hard,” she said through tears. I have heard it said that the most comforting words you can ever hear are “me too.” To hear someone else share your fears, worries, and temptations makes you realize that we are all in this together. When my mom affirmed that it was indeed a difficult place, it gave me permission to admit it as well. To say, “me too.”

“Me too” is the unique power of the gospel. Hebrews 4:15 says that we don’t have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one that can say “me too. I have been there and done that and I know.” (Zach Paraphrase)

In times that you feel like there is no one else who understands what you are facing, rest assured that He knows. He has faced it before. Because our God became flesh and dwelt among us in order that He might be able to say, “me too.”

Four weeks ago yesterday, we launched our new 10:55 service at our Springdale Campus. Let me share a story from yesterday morning that I hope will encourage you. A few weekends ago, I spoke to a friend of mine named Tom over the phone. Tom is a student at the University of Arkansas. He shared with me that he had a friend who was having some questions about the Lord and wanted to see if we could all get together. That next week, I invited them to attend our 10:55 service.

As a church, we are in the second week of our series on Romans 8 called “We are Free.” The passage we dealt with on Sunday was perfect for this young woman to hear. It really dealt with our lost state apart from Christ and the change the Holy Spirit brings in our lives. As we moved towards the end of the service, I gave the congregation a chance to respond. This young girl responded by giving her life to Jesus Christ. This was a simple reminder about what we are all about. Our missional vision as a church is, “Reaching Northwest Arkansas, America, and the World for Jesus Christ.” What Tom exemplified is someone who is living out this mission personally.

If you think about what Tom did, it is relatively simple. He was there for a friend when she was asking questions. He brought her to a place where those questions could be answered. In other words, he took someone who was having questions about the Lord and brought her to a place where she could hear the gospel. A young woman’s life was changed for eternity because of this message of Jesus. She will be forever grateful to a guy named Tom who loved her enough to bring her to church.

This could be your story this coming Sunday. As we move towards Friend Day, think about who you can bring. Who do you know that does not know Christ? Why don’t you bring them with you this week? Our guest preacher will be Tony Nolan. Tony is a powerful speaker, and this week will be one that you will remember! Trust me, you do not want to miss this week. Do everything you can to bring your friends who do not know Christ. They will hear the gospel! Who will you bring?

Dear GCR Prayer Partners:

Since the last time I communicated with you, there have been so many things happen in Southern Baptist life. Your Great Commission Resurgence Task Force has been focused on our assignment and working diligently. During this same period of time, we have been as surprised as you to learn that both of our mission boards and our Executive Committee will be searching for new leaders. With you, we trust in our Sovereign God to do His will among us.

As Chairman of the GCR Task Force, I want to clarify to everyone what I know we are not charged to do by our convention. We are not in the personnel business, but in the Great Commission business. Each of these three entities that have the need for new leaders will choose their own leaders. Their trustees have selected their own search committees, and we have confidence that God can work through this system to place the right people at the right time to provide leadership for the future. While it is not our role to select leadership, it is our role to pray for each of these entities and their need for future leadership and I have been faithful to do that daily. I hope you will join me in this privilege of interceding for them.

Please do not let these sudden vacancies take us off point on our urgent assignment of providing leadership to our convention that will move us towards this Great Commission Resurgence we are all praying for and desire. Our task force takes seriously the overwhelming charge extended to us at the 2009 convention that Southern Baptists want to move towards a new, higher, and greater commitment to the Great Commission. As we work towards creating this Great Commission vision and paradigm for the future, we are cognizant of our assignment and embrace it with prayer, faith, and courage.

While search committees have the immense task of selecting leaders for their respective entities, any leader will serve for only a limited number of years, or if you may, one generation. Our assignment on the GCR Task Force may result in affecting not only one generation, but many in the future. I appeal to you in Jesus’ name to come alongside us now as we labor together in this significant assignment. We are in great need of your most fervent intercession for us daily.

Over these next few days, I am asking you to pray for a very important meeting that will take place in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday, October 27. I have requested that each State Executive from our 42 state conventions meet with us. Due to matters of scheduling and some who have annual conventions at this same time, we are very grateful that 22 of our state convention executive leaders will be able to meet with us. I have asked their Chairman, Bill Mackey of Kentucky, to lead their group in a presentation to us about what is on their heart about the Great Commission. Following their presentation, we will dialogue with one another about the Great Commission related to the future of the Southern Baptist Convention. This pivotal meeting may be unprecedented in at least recent history and needs our highest support in prayer and hopefully even a day of fasting. It is my prayer that we can all go together towards a bold, visionary Great Commission future. The need is urgent and calls us to act together now.

Finally, we are listening, learning, and committed to leading our convention towards experiencing this Great Commission Resurgence. We do not have all the answers. As Chairman, I am in desperate need of God and His leadership. There are days I am overwhelmed with this task and feel it upon my life heavily. Our task force is agonizing not only over our desperate need, but also about what we must do to move together towards seeing every person in America and the world afforded the privilege of hearing the Gospel and coming to Jesus Christ.

Therefore, prayer partners, pray for our upcoming meeting. Pray for your GCR Task Force to have clarity, direction, power, and courage from our Lord and His Spirit. Thank you for standing with us in prayer. As you pray for us and watch for the outcome of our work, join with us in anticipation about what our God will do among us. Continue to share the need for prayer with others, encouraging them to enlist as a prayer partner on www.pray4gcr.com.

1,000 Thank Yous for Praying,

Ronnie W. Floyd
Chairman, Great Commission Resurgence Task Force
of the Southern Baptist Convention

I have been given some recent statistics on North America. My work on the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force has provided so many insights into what is happening in America and around the world. Without getting into too many specific statistics relating to the United States and Canada, let me just provide some generalities that do exist.

The United States and Canada have 341 million plus people. The demographics of the two countries is diverse. I believe what we need to understand more than anything is that of these 341 million plus people:

*83% of the American population lives in its 363 metropolitan areas.

*45% of the Canadian population lives in the 8 largest census metropolitan areas.

Okay, enough statistics, now for some brief observations:

1. The vast majority of Americans and Canadians live in major Metropolitan areas.

Pray for North America today.