Jeffrey Dorval, a young administrative assistant in the Florida Conference pastoral ministries office, recently served as an evangelist for a two-week series at Emmanuel Church in Orlando, Fla. Initially, Dorval was invited by Dolphy Cross, district pastor, to preach for a youth week of prayer. Later, Dorval was asked to step in for a planned series of meetings when the invited evangelist had to cancel. Despite having never preached evangelistically before, he accepted the challenge.
In preparation, Cross and Emmanuel Church members held a spiritual emphasis week last May. The members engaged in need-oriented evangelism training, and invited the community to participate in cooking classes and health seminars. As the event approached, the members distributed invitation flyers throughout the community. In the final days leading up to the meetings, the members launched 52 days of prayer, during which they prayed daily at 5:30 a.m. and continued praying throughout the meetings.
Some questioned whether such an effort warranted a more experienced and dynamic speaker. Although nervous, Dorval remained confident. The meetings began on August 17, 2024, running six evenings each week for two weeks. Reflecting on the experience, Dorval shared, “As we started, the church was doubting, nothing was perfect, the preacher wasn’t perfect, but we were praying, and we knew God was doing something. It was suggested that five baptisms would be a good outcome and 10 would be great, but I was praying for 30.”
By the end of the first week, six precious souls were baptized. On Tuesday of the second week, four more were added. On the final Sabbath, nine were baptized in the morning and 10 in the evening. The total number of baptisms during the two-week series was 29. Cross reports that four more have been baptized since.
This story is a testimony of a pastor and a church willing to trust young people; a young man willing to believe and be used by God; and a congregation that prepared, worked, and prayed for souls.
Florida | December 2024
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