The pastors of five area churches want to start a fire that would spread across the region, state and country.
Bayside and Brainerd Baptist churches in Chattanooga and Candies Creek, First and Westwood Baptist churches in Cleveland will host Heart Cry Southeast, a four-day spiritual movement that pastors say already may have begun across the world in some senses.
“This is not, per se, an evangelistic event,” said Jim Gibson, co-pastor of First Baptist Church in Cleveland. “What we are praying for and desperately hoping God brings is not just a spiritual movement within these five churches — or just within Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia — but a greater work of God that many sense is happening globally.”
All five churches will have nationally known evangelistic preachers for morning and evening services on Sunday, March 28, and evenings Sunday through Wednesday, March 31.
In addition, First Baptist of Cleveland and Bayside Baptist of Chattanooga will host educational sessions on what a revival is on Monday through Wednesday mornings.
The pastors say there is a growing awareness within the Christian community that a fresh encounter with God is desperately needed to radically transform the moral, ethical and spiritual decline that plagues the nation.
“The most desperate thing is we as a nation are spiritually far from where we should be with the Lord,” said Eric Stitts, senior pastor of Bayside Baptist.
The government is bankrupt, the family has decayed and the church has declined in attendance and is not the bride of Christ it should be, he said.
Robby Gallaty, senior pastor of Brainerd Baptist Church, said the church is full of undiscipled disciples.
“People don’t know what it means for to be a disciple of Jesus Christ,” he said. “After he blows his spirit through the people of God, then what’s the next step? We have to teach people to walk with Christ.”
“We’re crying out for God,” Mr. Stitts said. “We’re praying together as one heart that God will start a new Great Awakening.
“He has used little people in little places to do great things before,” he said. “We pray that’s going to happen in Hamilton County and Bradley County as we follow the leading of the Lord.”
Mr. Gallaty said he was “radically saved” years ago out of a past of alcohol and prescription pain pill addiction and asserted that Christ is equal to every need.
“Jesus is the answer to every question they have, the solution to every problem they face,” he said.
Mr. Gibson said such a religious movement must start within the church. It should not be expected of the government or the world, he said.
However, he said, “we can revive only people who have been alive, so that will be a result of revival within the church. We don’t want to be a dead church. We don’t want others to be dead churches. We want to bring light and salt into a world that is crying out.”
Mr. Stitts said while pastors hope Heart Cry Southeast will have many aspects of a revival, it also will transcend a typical revival by becoming an infectious movement.
“It’s a time of obedience to the Lord, of people becoming honest with the Lord,” he said. “Forgiveness takes place. As it does, it transforms us to the image of Christ. I think (the movement) is so focused … that we’re allowing the Holy Spirit to move us to godliness in every area of our life.”
Mr. Gallaty said the event should emphasize having both the experience of receiving God and the “daily discipled walk with Christ after the person steps over the threshold.”
“My prayer is that when people truly see God for who he is and realize who they are, I think we’re going to see revival,” he said.
Pastors said the event is not Southern Baptist-centric and should be seen as an opportunity for lay and clergy of all denominations to unite under a biblical mandate.
“Were in total agreement that there is a desperate desiring for God to do an incredible work,” said Mr. Gibson. “It’s a time to focus on being personally challenged and equipped and recognize that if revival is going to come it’s going to be a supernatural work of God.”
“We have as a group of pastors been fervently seeking the Lord and planning and preparing,” said Mr. Gallaty. “All we can do is stack the wood and hope God sends the fire.”
SCHEDULE
* Candies Creek Baptist, 294 Old Eureka Road, Cleveland, Tenn. — 8 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Francois Carr; 6 p.m. Sunday, Sammy Tippit; 6:30 p.m. Monday, Henry Blackaby; 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Byron Paulus; 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Richard Blackaby.
* First Baptist, 340 Church St., Cleveland, Tenn. — 8:30, 9:45 and 11 a.m. Sunday, Henry Blackaby; 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Richard Blackaby; 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sammy Tippit; 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Francois Carr; 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Byron Paulus.
* Westwood Baptist, 4001 Georgetown Road, Cleveland, Tenn. — 9:30 and 11 a.m. Sunday, Byron Paulus; 6 p.m. Sunday, Francois Carr; 6:30 p.m. Monday, Richard Blackaby; 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Henry Blackaby; 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sammy Tippit.
* Bayside Baptist — Sunday, Richard Blackaby; Sunday, Byron Paulus; 6:30 p.m. Monday, Francois Carr; 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sammy Tippit; 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Henry Blackaby.
* Brainerd Baptist — Sunday, Sammy Tippit; Sunday, Henry Blackaby; 6:30 p.m. Monday, Byron Paulus; 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Richard Blackaby; 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Francois Carr.
* Breakout sessions at First Baptist, Cleveland, and Bayside Baptist, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday-Wednesday.