We’re approaching several milestones:
-> 150 plants will put us 1/2 way to our goal of 300 by 2020.
-> also approaching 10,000 new commitments to Christ & 2,000 baptisms through church plants since 2010.

Grateful for the work God is doing through our church plants & our together giving through Cooperative Program & State & National Missions Offerings.

Every now & then, someone comments to me that we are planting too many churches in Louisiana. My answer:

• Church to Population Ratio. South Louisiana is well above national levels of church to population ratio with some communities near 1 church to every 10,000 residents. Our state goal is to get every association to our state average of 1 church to every 2,850 residents. Many north Louisiana communities are well below that. Church planting helps us close this gap.
• Percentage of the population actually attending churches are sinking across our state. This reflects the fact that many churches are in decline &/or churches are not growing as fast as their populations. Church Planting is needed to help close this gap, create more capacity for evangelism, & reach every people group & population segment in our community.
• 3%. Bill Easum has said that denominations & networks must plant 3% of their total population annually just to keep from being in decline. For us as Louisiana Baptists, with 1,600 churches, that would mean having a goal of 48 new churches each year. At that point our goal of 30 is quite conservative & reflects a priority to reach other areas of our nation with much lower levels of evangelical population.
• Saturating Our Communities with the Gospel. Our Southern Baptist strategy & that of other Evangelical partners, has always been a SATURATION strategy. We’re committed to doing ALL we can to get the gospel to EVERY person in our communities. Church plants are evangelistic by nature & by necessity. Existing churches tend to grow less evangelistic over time. We need church plants in every community to stay on the evangelistic edge & saturate every corner of our state with the Gospel.

Check out these resources to help you get started on your church planting journey:

• Does My Community Need a New Church? The Right Questions & Key Indicators 
• 10 Biblical & Practical Ways to Get Involved in Church Planting
• Every Church Can Encourage Church Planting and Multiplication
• Every Church Can Be a Church Planting Partner
• Your Church Can Be a Parent to a New Church or Campus
• 5 Things You MUST Do Before Your Plant a Church