Chicot State Park off I-49 in Central Louisiana.

Central Louisiana (CenLA) is a wide area across the middle of Louisiana. For the purpose of this report I’m including six Louisiana Baptist Associations – Central LA, North Rapides, Big Creek (Grant), Acadia, Louisiana (Marksville), & Mt. Olive. This area covers all or part of seven Louisiana parishes – Acadia, Allen, Avoyelles, Evangeline, Grant, Rapides, & St. Landry.

Most people think of this area as heavily evangelical & a Baptist stronghold, & it is. But the numbers show some changing realities that demonstrate the need for multiplication & church planting as part of the strategy to reach the next generation. Here’s a short report:

• Population: 475,349
• Churches: 184. Church to Population Ratio = 1/2,583.
• Worship Attendance at SBC Churches: 18,283 or 4% of the population
• Small Group Attendance at SBC Churches: 9,963 or 2% of the population
• Evangelical Adherents (via thearda.com): 107,047 or 22% of the population
• Nones or Unclaimed Religious afilliation: 138,616 or 29% of the population

This region is illustrative of evangelical decline across the south. As Chuck Kelly reported earlier this year, “Southern Baptists are closer to losing the South than we are to reaching North America.”

Planters, partners needed.