By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Kevin Ulmer, pastor with First Baptist Church, Ferriday, is the new evangelism strategist for Louisiana Baptist congregations.
Ulmer, whose first day on the job was July 1, said he is excited to work with Louisiana Baptists toward one common goal in the state.
“I can’t think of a greater task to be carrying out than to encourage people to share the Gospel,” Ulmer told the Baptist Message. “I want to encourage them to not only have a sense of duty to evangelism, but to have a sense of desire for evangelism.
“I think for the most part, most church members have a sense of duty to evangelize,” he continued. “But how can I instill in them a desire to evangelize, to share Jesus as much as they have desire to share about football. If we had a desire to share the Gospel like we do about sharing our own interests, I think we could change and transform this state for Christ.”
A native of Laurel, Mississippi, Ulmer trusted in Christ while attending a fish fry at Victory Baptist Church in rural Jasper County, Mississippi, at age 17. Though he sensed a call to ministry soon afterward, he did not surrender to it because of a bashful temperament that he believed would prevent him from speaking to large groups.
However, Ulmer finally said “Yes” to that call nine years later while working as a design engineer at Hol-Mac Corporation, Bay Springs, Mississippi. During a revival service at his home church, Salem Heights Baptist Church, Laurel, Mississippi, Ulmer stepped forward in response to an altar call by the guest evangelist.
The church leadership began mentoring Ulmer for the next 13 years as he served as volunteer children’s director. During that time, attendance for that age group grew from around 35 to more than 100.
Eventually, the church asked him to become children’s pastor, a staff position he held from 2009-2015.
With the encouragement of other pastors, Ulmer and his wife, Melanie, moved to Fort Worth, Texas, in 2015 and he began pursuing a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. While taking classes, he was called as senior pastor with Maplewood Baptist Fellowship, North Richland Hills, Texas. During his time with that congregation, 2016–2021, attendance grew from 12 to 70 by the time he was called to serve as pastor with FBCF.
FBCF has grown, too, increasing in attendance from 80 to 150, and baptizing seven new believers since January.
Ulmer, who will remain at FBCF as interim pastor until the congregation calls its next pastor, said he is excited about partnering with other Louisiana Baptist churches to increase their evangelistic zeal in a state where researchers estimate that 60 percent of 4,648,794 residents are lost (about 2,789,276).
“With this number of lost people in Louisiana, we must foster, not only a sense of duty as it relates to evangelism in the state, but also a sense of desire to share the Good News of the Gospel with those that we encounter in our daily walk,” Ulmer said. “We must rekindle a love for lost people that will propel us to share the Gospel with people who are without hope. We have a hope worth sharing and that hope is found in Jesus.”
