May 6, 2006, evangelism conference at
St. Matthew's Cathedral

n May 6, the Diocese of Dallas hosted "Good News for the 21st Century: An Evangelism Conference for Today's Church." It was a fruitful, joyous, and positive day in the life of the diocese. The keynote speaker for the conference was the Rev. Cn. Dr. Michael Green, one of today's most influential evangelists and Christian writers. He has spoken to thousands around the world and served as chief advisor for evangelism to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. In addition, he has been principal of St. John's College, Nottingham, England, professor at Regent College, Vancouver, and Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University, and he is the author of over 50 books on evangelism.

The conference began at St. Matthew's with a Festival Eucharist at 9 a.m. Over 300 people from parishes throughout the diocese attended, and Bishop Stanton commissioned over 70 lay into the Evangelism Leadership Network. This network will serve as the foundation for evangelism initiatives for the diocese. The Missioner for Evangelism, Carrie Boren, will work with these lay leaders, share innovative ideas for communicating the good news of Jesus Christ, and provide tools for bringing new people into their churches.

After the Festival Eucharist, all attendees filled the Great Hall for two teaching sessions by Canon Green. His first session was on "Lessons Learned in Evangelism from the Early Church." His second was on "Lessons Learned in Evangelism from Today's Church." From time to time, he would call up some of his parishioners from the "Green Team" to share their testimonies. Carrie Boren, who worked with Canon Green for a year in England, said, "Michael Green is known for taking a team of lay people with him wherever he goes. He is not a one-man show. He models for all of us the importance of working together in evangelism."

In the afternoon, attendees for the conference broke into nine workshops for further equipping. The day ended with a final prayer and send off.

After the conference, many people attended "An Episcopal Revival" at St. Paul's in Greenville. Under the leadership of Fr. Gary Herbst, St. Paul's has held an annual revival for the past four years. It was an exuberant occasion with worship led by David Gisch, the Joyful Noise Choir, and a troop of liturgical dancers. Canon Green preached from the Gospel of Mark on "Halfway to Faith" and invited people to make a commitment or recommitment to Jesus Christ. Twelve individuals made Jesus Lord of their life that night.

May 6 is a day the diocese will not soon forget. It was indeed Good News for us all.