I’m just back this week after having had the privilege of speaking at the PULSE 09 Conference for the Dakota Baptist Convention. On Monday morning in Fargo it was 37 degrees, a bit of an adjustment compared to the 85-degree days we’ve been having in Atlanta lately. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Fargo, but you haven’t seen “flat” until you’ve seen Eastern North Dakota. There’s a beauty in seeing the vast land stretch out to the horizon as far as the eye can see.

What a great group of pastors and leaders are ministering in the Dakota Convention! I was impressed with their leadership and passion as they focused the entire conference around the theme of our new evangelism initiative, GPS—God’s Plan for Sharing.

The worship, preaching and seminars were all inspiring, but the highlight of the week for me was when the group went out to distribute care packages to some of the people who had been affected by the recent flooding in the area. The Dakota churches raised more than $15,000 toward the cost of the care packages.

Those delivering the packages had the opportunity to pray with people and to ‘sow down the Gospel,’ which means an intentional sharing of the essential content of the Gospel so someone may come to Christ or take a step closer to a relationship with Christ.

Signs of the Red River flooding were still visible throughout Fargo. It was challenging to navigate through some parts of the city due to the huge earthen dikes, which were constructed to prevent flooding. Some of the major street intersections were still blocked by these dikes.

It was fascinating to learn more about the history of the Dakotas, especially about the Lakota Indians, who were great agriculturalists. They planted corn, which they referred to as “sacred corn, the source of life.”  I was reminded as we sow down North America with the Gospel that we also have a sacred seed—the Word of God—and the Gospel is the source of eternal life.

North Dakota has more churches per capita than any other state in the Union. It has a relatively cohesive demographic with traditional values and a great can-do spirit. I’m praying God will use Southern Baptists in North and South Dakota to become part of a Great Awakening that will sweep across the plains. An early settler called the land of the Red River basin too hard and barren to be of any value for agriculture. Today, we know it is one of the most fertile soils in the world for growing crops. I pray that as a result of the continued ministry efforts of Southern Baptists in this area, the Lord will give us a great harvest of souls in the land of North and South Dakota.  — Geoff Hammond

Filed under: God's Plan for Sharing, NAMB, North America, State Associations, Uncategorized on May 4th, 2009