Kevin Roberts will never be mistaken for the Energizer Bunny, but for the past 16 months, he has been going, and going, and going.
STATEWIDE – Kevin Roberts will never be mistaken for the Energizer Bunny, but for the past 16 months, he has been going, and going, and going.
Starting last August, Roberts – and a core committee – have been attending one meeting after another, working the telephones, and crisscrossing the state in preparation for an event they hope will turn into an evangelistic explosion at the end of a three-day period in early November in Alexandria and Pineville.
The event, which precedes the 160th annual meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Convention on Nov. 12-13 at the Alexandria Riverfront Convention Center, is the second one held in Louisiana. Lake Charles hosted the state’s first last year.
Crossover, sponsored by the North American Mission Board in cooperation with local churches and associations, is an evangelistic thrust to reach the unchurched in the host area. It is patterned after the national event, which for the past 19 years has taken place the weekend before the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting.
During this time, thousands of volunteers have brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the streets and parks across the country through a variety of family-oriented events and activities and have helped thousands to come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
“Crossover has been taking place nationally for almost 20 years now. We were going to bring it to the state level before this year’s convention, but the group in Lake Charles did it first,” Roberts said. “That’s OK, because we’ve learned from what they did and we are hoping to be able to solidify it so it will become an annual event.”
To insure its success, Roberts and his committee have spent a great deal of time dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s.
“Just in planning, we have probably put in a good 100-man hours, and that doesn’t even include the time spent on the phones, in sub-committees, reading and writing e-mails,” Roberts said.
“We have been planning the seven events – Friday night’s Real Encounter, Saturday’s four block parties and Saturday evening’s bull riding and Sunday’s Freedom Fest. We have also been working on ways to raise money, finding as many volunteers as possible, and recruiting other committee members. It has been an extremely busy, but rewarding time.”
And he’s done all of this is in addition to his other duties as associate pastor at Philadelphia Baptist Church in Deville, La., and moderator of the North Rapides Association, while also trying to juggle his family life.
In the midst of all these meetings, this summer Roberts has also been involved in Camp USA, the annual visit to Louisiana of South Korean children and their chaperones for a two-week period.
“I felt led as moderator of this association to lead in this effort,” Roberts said. “I believe God can use these three days as the catalyst for a huge spiritual revival in this area and state. Truthfully, there is no limit what He can do.”
Last year, the Lake Charles event had “an estimated 200 professions of faith” and Roberts is hoping to see those numbers double, perhaps triple this year.
The committee has devised a plan to get the word out to all school-age children. Starting this month, a short 20-second clip will be seen in the movie theaters before each feature film. To help target the youth, they have six school assemblies planned to help them spread the word.
“We are hoping to draw over 10,000 to the seven events we have planned,” Roberts said. “And we would love to have 500-plus professions of faith, but that’s just an estimate. I don’t want to limit God or His work, because He could very well blow our socks off if He wants to do so.”
His hard work is paying off.
The event has received a significant amount of money through the different associations statewide, the Louisiana Baptist Convention, the state WMU, as well as a love offering from Georgia Barnette.
Additionally, through two statewide mailouts and by word of mouth, the committee, which has been drawing from a large volunteer-base locally, is starting to pick up others from around the state.
“We have been planning as if no one from outside would be here to help us,” Roberts said. “We knew this wasn’t going to be the case, but we planned on pulling this event off we just the volunteers from our local churches. As others volunteer we would pair them up with the event coordinators.
“In one aspect, a revival has already taken place. I believe the coming of this event has led to our local churches working more closely together. It is almost like it was an Acts 1:8 Challenge event … our churches have come together for the sake of the Kingdom.” Roberts said.
As a testimony to Roberts’ thoroughness in planning and organization, he plans on leaving for Korea in late October. He will be there for two weeks and won’t return until the day before Crossover is set to begin.
“I guess I’m about to find out if I have all my ducks in a row,” Roberts said. “I’m not worried, though, it is in God’s hands.”