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Trinity Baptist
By Mark Maynard,
Kentucky Today
Pastor Abram Crozier says the best time to get the Gospel to Every Home is now.
The ball-of-fire pastor of Trinity Southern Baptist Church plans to have those on his church’s list reached before the Easter lilies bloom. A mid-March blitz day is part of the outreach strategy and everybody seems ready to roll up their sleeves and help.
Crozier , 32, was part of the advisory team when plans were being developed by the Kentucky Baptist Convention for the Gospel To Every Home initiative. “From the beginning, I’ve known about it,” he said. “Back in late summer of last year, we were already talking about it to the church and how we’re going to be a part of it.”
Not even the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down Trinity, which is one of the few churches anywhere who are not only meeting pre-COVID numbers but exceeding them. They counted 160 in attendance on Sunday morning in two services. They averaged about 140 pre-COVID. The church has baptized 39 in the past two years and when Crozier became pastor in January 2019 there were only about 20 members.
So to say Trinity Southern Baptist Church is having some good vibrations and a spiritual movement would be an understatement.
“The fact that we are even maintaining that (pre-COVID numbers) is unbelievable,” he said. “It’s a big God thing.”
There are three Baptist churches in Falmouth – Trinity, Falmouth Baptist Church where Crozier’s father is the pastor, and First Baptist Church Falmouth. The three churches will divide and conquer to spread the gospel to the Falmouth community, he said.
“One of the biggest things that drew me to be excited was being able to work together with the other churches,” he said. “A lot of churches don’t work with each other and are even distant from each other most of the time. Now, because of Gospel to Every Home, churches are getting together and associations are coming together. We’re not having to compete for something. We have all joined together and that’s one of the most inspiring things.”
For instance, the flyers they have put together for an Easter invite include all three churches, Crozier said.
Trinity is doing a blitz about three weeks ahead of Easter on March 13. “We’re going to blitz the town with sharing our faith,” Crozier said. “Our big goals for 2021 has been an evangelistic focus. All of my sermons have been about why we’re doing outreach and why it’s important that we share our faith. It’s all leading up to that March 13 blitz.”
They have giant Gospel to Every Home posters in the church and members have written the names of friends and family members who need to be reached with the gospel. He said it serves as a perfect reminder about the importance the initiative which has a goal of reaching every home in Kentucky, more than 1.7 million of them, with the gospel .
“It’s sort of a Who’s Your One kind of thing,” he said of the names on the posters and referencing the Southern Baptist Convention’s initiative from a couple years ago.
“I stress the fact that we all have family members and friends who are lost and, with COVID, maybe even dying,” Crozier said. “A lot of them are scared and asking questions about what is life about? It’s the perfect time to be sharing our faith with people.”
He also used an analogy with a family pet.
“If your dog is stuck in a muddy pit, what are you going to do?” he asked. “You get yourself muddy and get him out. We have people stuck in muddy situations.”
He said the presence of the pandemic makes taking action even more urgent.
“People are lost all the time but now they’re dying,” he said. “People are more open to hearing.”
The church has followed their enthusiastic pastor into the community. They have paved the way by reaching out with community projects on a regular basis. About two weeks before COVID hit last March, they hired an outreach director, Brenda Higgins, and she has been a godsend for the church, Crozier said.
“It has been the biggest blessing throughout COVID,” he said. “We’ve had so many community outreaches, so we already have that in place.”
Only about 10% of Pendleton County goes to church on any given Sunday so there are plenty of opportunities to reach people with the gospel, Crozier said.
Fair warning to those in Falmouth: Trinity is coming at you with the gospel on March 13.
“We’re so excited about what’s happening in the church,” he said. “The Holy Spirit is moving and it’s time for us to go out and share our faith. The resources we’ve been getting from the KBC have been amazing. There’s something for everybody, even sermons for pastors.”