Richard Ramont
Richard Ramont
Richard Ramont
Richard Ramont
The Georgia-Cumberland Conference has big plans for Evangelism in 2026 — particularly around the greater Atlanta, Georgia, area. The Atlanta North Church hosted one of the Conference’s evangelism rallies on September 13, 2025. International evangelist Mark Finley served as the main presenter for the rally. The purpose of the rallies are to inspire and train church leaders, elders, pastors, and especially lay members to come together to reach their communities.
Atlanta North Church served as a central location where many of the Atlanta area churches could come and represent their congregations. Mark Finley and his wife, Teenie, had previously worked with a group of younger Georgia- Cumberland pastors, so when it came time to find someone to help kick off the year-long plan for Atlanta, Conference administration knew that the Finleys would be a great fit.
Peter Kulakov, Georgia-Cumberland evangelism coordinator, worked with Finley for many years prior to working for Georgia-Cumberland. Kulakov has been instrumental in not only the Atlanta rally, but all of the local rallies throughout 2025. Kulakov shares that the rallies are primarily designed for lay member involvement.
“If we don’t have lay member involvement in evangelism, our pastors will have no support and infrastructure in their churches,” said Kulakov. “Pastors can be busy, so when lay members are trained and equipped, they can be that support that pastors need in planning those events and projects.”
Kulakov also shares plans for making Atlanta a point of focus for evangelism in 2026, but to make those efforts a success, the groundwork needs to be laid now.
“It’s not just one event next year, it’s like an expectant mother who needs nine months to deliver a baby. We believe we need a whole year to prepare for those new babies in Jesus. That’s why we plan lots of training events in various parts of the Atlanta metro area.”
The Atlanta North rally served as a launching point for the 2026 plans, and the attendance was beyond expectation. The church sanctuary and breakout rooms stayed full throughout the day. The rally also featured breakout presentations from the Georgia-Cumberland Reach Your Neighbor team of evangelism trainers.
This rally was one of several that the Conference has hosted throughout the year, and has since held two more in Savannah, Georgia, and Kingsport, Georgia. Apart from the rallies, the Conference also periodically hosts evangelism booster events for pastors. These events are just pieces of a greater picture on the Conference’s focus and belief in the importance of evangelism.
“Evangelism doesn’t just happen without an intentional plan,” said Gary Rustad, Georgia-Cumberland president. “These evangelism rallies are an integral part of who we are as a Conference. Every member sharing Jesus is how the Work will be finished soon.”
When it comes to reaching a community, it takes a church whose ministries share that common goal to make it happen. A church may have many ministries, but all exist for one purpose: “To preach hope, that Jesus Christ is coming soon,” said Kulakov. “Evangelism is the heart of Christianity. We are not here to make [churches] a great place for us; we are here to preach the Gospel. We are not inward looking, we are outward looking.”
Kulakov also expressed the importance of prayer – prayer for our churches, for evangelism, and for the world around us.
Georgia-Cumberland | November 2025
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