First Annual BLAST University Announced

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

At the North American Division’s Annual Council on Tuesday, Tim Bailey (pictued in the featured image above), president of the Mountain View Conference (MVC), announced that MVC will be offering a First Annual BLAST University in July 2027 in Charleston, W.Va.

Every pastor in that territory will receive training in how to run BLAST (Building Lives Around Solid Truth) evangelistic initiatives, designed to show love to people while preaching the gospel. 

“If we’re not reaching people where they’re at, we need to figure it out and keep trying,” said Bailey, who said that MVC is increasingly using this method and has experienced an increase in baptisms and tithe in the last year. “Ohio [Conference], thank you for showing me something that works.”

Bailey added, “My appeal for us is to put all the energy into soul winning because Jesus is worthy. We need to put our hearts in this process. “We’re still doing traditional evangelism. … But I’m going to do everything possible for that ‘one more soul.’” 

The training will be taught by Ohio Conference pastors who have previously used this method, helping the conference achieve 1,220 baptisms so far in 2026 alone, reported Bob Cundiff (pictured, right), Ohio Conference president.

Encouraged by such positive responses from Annual Council attendees, the North American Evangelism Institute offered to make this a national program. 

The Columbia Union staff will share more information on the training as it becomes available.