What's the Secret to This Rural Church's 900 Baptisms in 6 Years?
When Joey Hanner began pastoring Union No. 3 Baptist Church near Gasden, Alabama, he felt something wasn't quite right.
After attending an event on discipleship, he discovered what was missing.
"I asked them to stand if they had been discipled one-on-one before and only two people stood up," he told Baptist Press.
That response fueled a movement toward discipleship at the church which has seen a record 900 people baptized in the past six years.
"We're a very strong evangelistic church," Hanner said.
He explained that about 50 people from the church go out every Sunday and Thursday to visit people in the community, followed by one-on-one discipleship.
"Since we started discipling, our church has matured. We've caught the vision of what a true church should look like," Hanner said.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth," the scripture reads.
The former trucker's personal story is evidence of that power.
When Hanner and his wife Connie were on the verge of divorce in 1995, they decided to attend church as a couple for the last time.
"We were going to give church one more try and then we were going to end our marriage."
He shared that they were so mad at each other they hadn't even realized that Sunday was their 12th wedding anniversary.
During the altar call, both Hanner and his wife separately ran to the altar to receive Jesus Christ.
"We both got saved that day," Hanner said.
"God healed me and got me out of my truck and into ministry."
Since that time, Hanner has had a burning passion to share the gospel with others.
The church's evangelistic model will be featured in a video at the 2017 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting June 13-14 in Phoenix, Arizona.
"I was impressed with the number of young men who are being discipled at the church," said Dan Garland, director of pastoral ministries and church consulting for LifeWay Christian Resources. "We're talking about a church in the middle of nowhere ... and some people drive more than a half hour to be a part. It's a great church and God is doing amazing things there."
The key to all of it has been the church growing and maturing in Christ, Hanner said.
"It's been humbling and phenomenal to see what God has done. We're just trying to stay out of His way."
