By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer
PINEVILLE – Ron Herrod has traveled the world and trained thousands of pastors but none of his ministry experiences have been more pivotal than the teenage years that fundamentally shaped his spiritual journey.
Saved at age 15 during a youth camp in Macon, Miss., just two months later Herrod committed his life to the Gospel ministry just two months later. Then just shy of turning 16 years old Herrod started serving as pastor of his first church, Lambert Grove Mission in Chickasaw, Ala. It would be his first pastorate during 36 years of ministry to congregations in Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana.
Herrod, founder of Ron Herrod Evangelism Ministries Association in Knoxville, Tenn., will speak during the Jan. 22 morning session of the 2018 Louisiana Baptist Convention Evangelism Conference at First Baptist Church in Pineville, as part of a two-day program of speakers.
He will be joined in the program by Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, New Orleans, and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention; Brent Crowe, vice president of the Student Leadership University, Orlando, Fla.; Rick Gage, founder of GO TELL Ministries, Atlanta, Ga.; Sammy Tippit, founder of Sammy Tippitt Ministries, San Antonio, Texas; Greg Frizzell, founder of Greg Frizzell Ministries, Oklahoma City, Okla.; and, Karen Abercrombie, an award winning actress who played the spicy, 80-year-old prayer warrior, Miss Clara, in the film “War Room.”
The praise and worship lineup includes Ray Jones and the Community Bible praise team from San Antonio, Texas; Larnelle Harris, an award-winning Gospel singer; and, combined choirs.
LOVE FOR PASTORS
Throughout his ministry Herrod has emphasized the importance of taking an active role in missions, including during his service at First Baptist Church in Fort Smith, Ark., and First Baptist Church in Kenner.
His love for training pastors and sharing the Gospel to the ends of the earth are what inspired Herrod to found R.H.E.M.A. in 1995 – and since then he has trained 7,500 pastors who have shared the Gospel in nine countries.
“When God laid this ministry on my heart in 1995 it was so clear what we were to do,” Herrod told the Baptist Message. “It was a big move from church with large salary and perks and benefits to step out by faith. To see how God has blessed and used this has been the most rewarding thing I have done. There is no way to describe the satisfaction and joy of stepping out in obedience.”
As much as Herrod looks forward to bringing an encouraging word to pastors during ECON 2018, he is equally excited about returning to a state where he once served as a pastor and as a trustee of Louisiana College in Pineville.
“I’m so grateful for Dr. Hankins’ emphasis on revival and evangelism,” he said. “We have seen some great things happen at LC. No state convention has a man that has bene more effective and diligent in area of evangelism than Wayne Jenkins. He’s the kind of man the state convention needs to lead in that emphasis. I expect to see Louisiana Baptists be a leader in evangelism and baptisms in the future becaus of what is going on now with the leaders at the top.”
