The Evangelism Response Center (ERC) equips and mobilizes Southern Baptists to offer prayer and spiritual counseling via telephone or online chat with people all over North America. The goal is to point individuals to the life-changing hope found in Jesus Christ, then point them to a local church for follow up on their decision.
People who need to know Jesus contact the Evangelism Response Center through toll-free telephone numbers and Internet addresses. This contact information appears in television and radio ads, printed evangelistic materials, magazine articles, billboards, and gifts (like water bottles) distributed in local evangelistic outreach events.
People often think of this kind of ministry as counseling, but we prefer to consider it spiritual encouragement. You are not functioning as a professional counselor, and your purpose isn’t to provide psychological counseling. Rather, you want to help callers to evaluate where they are in their relationship with Jesus Christ and encourage them to take the next step in that relationship—whether that’s simply to recognize their need to enter into relationship with Him, to invite Him into their life for the first time, to repair a broken fellowship with Him or just to receive encouragement for walking through a hard time.
ERC Volunteers must be:
- A born-again believer with a vital relationship with Jesus Christ and the ability to communicate that relationship with another person.
- An active member of a Southern Baptist church.
- A growing disciple with a basic foundation of biblical truth.
- At least 18 years of age and not currently a high school student.
- A caring friend who is concerned for the needs of people, especially their need for a saving relationship with Christ.
If you meet these basic qualifications and want to take the next step to get involved in this unique Christian volunteer work, follow the registration and application process at the link below. On the next page, if you do not have a MyNAMB account, choose "Create Account" to get started.