Crossover ‘08 in Lakeland draws 842 to five venues

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Crossover ‘08 in Lakeland draws 842 to five venues

Blankets, sports clinics & car show are tools for sharing the Gospel

Nov 18, 2008
BARBARA DENMAN & JONI B. HANNIGAN

Crossover volunteers in Lakeland spread out to staff five venues Nov. 8, meeting people through sports clinics and the Compassion House Ministry on the campus of First Baptist Church at the Mall in Lakeland. ABOVE: One of six people baptized in a portable baptistry after making a profession of faith at an event at Compassion House.

ABOVE LEFT: Boys at the baseball clinic register. ABOVE RIGHT: Samantha Pratt and her two children receive blankets at Compassion House. FBC photos by Barbara Denman

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LAKELAND (FBC/FBW)—The Gospel of Jesus Christ was proclaimed in word and deed Nov. 8 in five venues during Crossover Lakeland resulting in 129 professions of faith and six baptisms.

The five evangelistic activities drew 842 residents and volunteers from every corner in Lakeland to the Compassion House ministry for the needy, baseball, basketball and golf clinics and a car show.

It is easy to attract persons to a Crossover event, said Dave McClamma, senior staff member of pastoral care and church ministries at First Baptist Church at the Mall in Lakeland, who spearhead the city-wide event prior to the Florida Baptist State Convention meeting.

“People respond to their interests. For some that’s basketball, for some it’s baseball. Some just need a blanket,” McClamma said. “But the purpose is the same—to help the sinner come to know Christ.”

McClamma said the city-wide evangelistic event, which involved 15 South Florida Baptist Association churches, also benefits churches locally. “People in participating congregations will find themselves doing evangelism in unique and creative ways.”

Secondly, he added, the ministry opened eyes of church members to see people in need.

Youngsters crowded around New York Yankee pitcher Jesse Hoover at a baseball clinic during a Crossover event where 101 youth and their parents got tips and heard the Gospel message. FBC photo by Barbara Denman

Members of First Baptist Church in Polk City were involved in every Crossover ministry, said Pastor Allan Moore, who fielded balls at the baseball clinic at the East Lakeland Ball Field in Combee Park. “We wanted people to come to know the Lord.”

The clinic featured major and minor league baseball players who demonstrated to both boys and girls techniques for pitching, batting, fielding and throwing.

They also shared their Christian pilgrimage to the 101 parents and youth in attendance.

Sam Marsonek, former high school All American, number one draft pick by the Texas Rangers in 1996 and former N.Y. Yankee pitcher told of the ups and downs of professional baseball. Shortly after achieving his big league dream of pitching in front of 55,000 fans at Yankee Stadium, Marsonek sustained a possible career-ending injury which required extensive rehabilitation and sent him back to the minors.

During his recuperation, he reflected on his life and witness he was presenting to his younger siblings. Then on Nov. 2, 2005, “I gave my life to Jesus Christ,” he said. “My purpose is not to play in the big leagues. My purpose is to live for Jesus Christ.”

New York Yankee right-handed pitcher Jesse Hoover said after accepting Christ as a child, he drifted away from his faith and did not make good decisions. He renewed his faith and now hopes to be a better example for his new daughter.

Although he does not attend church regularly, David Gidden brought four of his children to the Crossover clinic. “They love baseball. It has been a great event for the kids and parents. Their testimonies are nice,” he added.

Members of The Solid Rock ministry from First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks were involved in exhibitions during a car show as part of Crossover 2008 at First Baptist Church at the Mall in Lakeland. Courtesy photo

“Younger kids get their heart set on a career in baseball. It’s nice that the older ones can share their experiences and encourage them to make right decisions,” Gidden said.

After a time of commitment, 38 persons indicated they accepted Christ on a card and will be referred to a local church for follow-up. The children were given sports-oriented New Testaments and door prizes of baseball mitts, gloves and bats.

Breakfast, blankets, Bibles and baptisms were the order of the day at Crossover’s Compassion House, an on-going mission of Lakeland’s First Baptist Church that ministers to the city’s homeless and needy.

Pushing a stroller with two small preschoolers, Samatha Pratt was most interested in blankets to provide warmth for her small children, Lillian, 3, and Kevin, 2, when she came to the event. “Can I have two?” she asked the volunteers.

The young family lost all of their belongings when Pratt and her husband were evicted from their small apartment for not paying the rent.

“We just couldn’t pay $560 a month on that rent when my husband was laid off from his job,” said the Steak and Shake waitress. Fortunately, they had a lead on a new apartment for $100 less each month.

“The economy’s bad,” she explained. “There are not many jobs out there for my husband. At least I have a job and maybe a place to live.”

This 1934 T-bucket owned by Ken McCleod of Lakeland won “Best of Show” in the Crossover car show which drew 105 participants. Courtesy photo

Nearly 200 persons down on their luck and 30 volunteers participated in the event held on the church property, which concluded with a Gospel presentation by David Burton, director of the Florida Baptist Convention’s Evangelism Division.

Forty-one persons indicated that they wanted to receive Christ as Savior. And six persons followed their decision by being baptized in the church’s portable baptistery there on site.

All those who make a spiritual decision will be invited to the church for follow up, McClamma said. Some have joined the church.

“We have seen 2,000 people in six years come to know the Savior through this ministry,” McClamma said.

At a basketball clinic at Southwest Middle School in Lakeland, Orlando Magic’s center Andrew DeClercq and Frank Lopez, an NBA and WNBA all-star sports clinician, led drills and shared their faith with dozens throughout the day.

Pro-golf clinician Wally Armstrong teaches four-year-old Sean Downing how to take a swing during the golf clinic. Armstrong shared his testimony during the clinic. Photo by Gary Nichols

McClamma said there were 12 elementary school-aged children registered at the morning session of the basketball clinic and 27 adults accompanying them. Four decisions were made at the end of the session, and of these, three were by adults.

At an afternoon session for middle and high schoolers, McLamma said 51 registered along with 36 parents and coaches staying to watch.

After about 90 minutes of drills and listening to DeClercq share his personal testimony, the youngsters heard David Burton present the Gospel in the morning, and McClamma in the afternoon.

“God was just all over that thing,” McClamma said. He said DeClercq’s testimony about having Jesus Christ in his life, and that being more important than all of the money he has made by playing basketball, seemed to hold the youngsters’ attention. “It was just high energy. He had them in his hand.”

The children and young adults who showed up were recruited by their coaches and through fliers placed in local businesses by volunteers from the Lakeland church—and the event was promoted by the local Fellowship of Christian Athletes, McClamma said.

McClamma said the names of those who made decisions at the event will be given to the appropriate age-group departments at FBC at the Mall for follow-up, and information about the church was given to all those who attended.

A car show at FBC at the Mall drew 105 registrants and about 225 spectators for about 330 total individuals, according to Walt Dearie, the church’s associate pastor of adult ministries.

The Crossover effort drew volunteers from an ongoing ministry at FBC at the Mall, Victory Lane Car Ministries which holds numerous car shows and sponsors other events throughout the year to “plant seeds” from which ministry opportunities grow, Dearie said.

Volunteers were joined by 50 members of Solid Rock Ministries from First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks in Largo who held a basketball exhibition, did various children’s ministries and shared testimonies during the car show. He said 11 people made decisions as a result.

“What is exciting is that we had an opportunity to make a difference to people who we might never see in the church,” Dearie said. “There’s a lot of prayer needs, a lot of physical needs and some spiritual needs.”

Door prizes donated by dozens of local business and given out included car washes and oil changes. A trophy for the “Best of Show” was presented to Ken McLeod of Lakeland for his 1934 Ford T-bucket.

The car show is decidedly a “different kind of ministry” that reaches both men and women, Dearie smiled. “One guy had a ’36 sedan and his wife pulled up in a hot rod.”

Bobby Hough, an FBC at the Mall volunteer, grinned as one driver roared out of the parking lot, revving up the engine of his 1972 Cheville.

“He just smoked some tires,” Hough said, laughing with the other volunteers milling around the parking lot.

Tearing up the greens across town at a YMCA Par 3 Course, former PGA TOUR member and pro-golf clinician Wally Armstrong taught the fundamentals of the game to little kids and adults—all while sharing his personal testimony in a way both children and adults could relate.

Armstrong, a University of Florida graduate, is a much sought-after instructor and co-author of The Mulligan: A Parable of Second Chances.

Nearly 40 watched and then swung a golf club, while Armstrong used three holes to teach the essentials, said Loy Reed, Florida Baptist Convention’s director of collegiate ministries. One person made a profession of faith after hearing Armstrong share.

“It was a lot of fun,” Reed said. “I think it may have been one of the most effective ways to present the message.”

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