ABA Spring Semi-Annual Meeting
March 23, 2010

Hyde Park Baptist Church
6:00 Meal and Fellowship
7:00 Short Business Session
Presentation by Dr. Billie Hanks Jr.

I hope that you will put this important date on your calendar. In fact I believe that an evening such as this has such potential that I am inviting every church to be represented. By that I would like to encourage every church to have 3 representatives present to hear the challenge that Billie will bring and then take it back to their own church.
Call today and make reservations. We hope you will join us for dinner at 6pm. The meal is grilled chicken and will cost $10.00. We need your reservations for the meal by March 15th.  What a great night to come together as an Association of churches and be challenged to make disciples in the Austin and surrounding area. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19) I can’t think of a better man to lead us than Billie Hanks.

Billie Hanks Jr.
Billie Hanks Jr., founder of “Operation Multiplication,” was born on May 24, 1944 in San Angelo, TX.  He was reared in a ranching family and at the age of 10 received Jesus Christ as his Savior.  In his teenage years, he recalls - “Every summer I would go to the revival services at my church and, ‘go forward.’” I always marked the box saying I wanted to re-dedicate my life to Christ. People must have thought I was very worldly!  The truth is - I wasn’t - I was just expressing the reality that I genuinely wanted to grow deeper in my faith. The problem was, I needed someone to show me how by their example.” “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1)
In 1954, Billie and his family were vacationing in Scotland and several members of the Billy Graham evangelistic team “happened” to be staying at the same hotel. Billie met Billy Graham and Grady Wilson (Billy Graham’s associate evangelist) and they became life long friends. Grady discipled him for over 23 years until he went home to be with the Lord.
At the age of 20, Billie became BGEA’s first intern. He traveled throughout the world with the Billy Graham team learning crusade evangelism and became an experienced evangelist in his own right having preached in 29 countries. Later, when Billie was 35, he was invited to serve as a “minister at large” for BGEA. In this capacity he equipped several thousands of disciple-makers to minister to new Christians.    
As a freshman in college, he read a book that would change the focus of his ministry forever.  It was entitled Born to Reproduce by Dawson Trotman. Later in seminary he read The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman. Realizing the importance of life-to-life training, he began discipling men who had a passion for carrying out the Great Commission. Together, they developed disciple-making materials for churches to use throughout the world. Billie graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth Texas with a Master of Divinity Degree, and received honorary doctorates from California Baptist University in Riverside, CA and Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO. 
In 1972, The International Evangelism Association was born and today it guides the highly effective ministry of “Operation Multiplication.” It implements this life changing New Testament disciple-making process in numerous countries and languages. His goal has always been to work through visionary Christian churches, colleges, universities, and seminaries.
He actively ministers widely throughout the world and at West Texas Ranch for Christ. The “Operation Multiplication” Lead Church strategy and friendship based equipping process is now being taught for credit in Christian seminaries in North America, South America, and Western Europe. Dr. Hanks is teaching thousands of Great Commission minded pastors from forty denominations how to close their “back doors” and “equip church members” to grow and multiply spiritually.

I look forward to seeing you there. What a great year 2010 is turning out to be.

For Christ and His Kingdom,

David