The West Tennessee Evangelism Rally will take place on Sunday, March 3, at 3:30 p.m. in the G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel and will be followed by several breakout sessions in various places on campus.
The Evangelism Rally will consist of about 15 speakers from various backgrounds and positions. Each of the speakers will be conducting a breakout session, during which they will discuss a topic of their choice related to evangelism.
Among these speakers are Hal Poe, a professor of faith and culture, as well as Ray Van Neste, a professor of biblical studies and the dean of the School of Theology and Missions.
Poe will be leading a breakout session about evangelism and pop culture. This is something that Poe has been doing here at Union for a number of years, especially in classes such as Harry Potter and the Gospel, C.S Lewis and Science and Religion.
The goal is to help students see how they can use pop culture as a bridge for the gospel. Poe believes that so much of the media we consume today raises issues, gives us an opportunity to talk about it and ultimately pushes us toward the gospel in order to find a solution.
“God has placed a question in every heart that only the Gospel answers,” Poe said.
Also leading a breakout session is Van Neste. He will be speaking about turning mission trips into evangelism opportunities. Van Neste’s point is to try to help people think about what the main goal is on mission trips: coming alongside the church and aiding them in their mission. A key component is to talk about how they plan and prepare the members to fulfill the goal and share the gospel.
“Ultimately, we want to leave the local church enhanced, because they are going to be the ones carrying on the work after we are gone,” Van Neste said.
The rally will begin with a welcome time in the chapel, followed by the first breakout session. After dinner, there will be a second breakout session, and the evening will conclude with a corporate time of worship in the chapel.
