Author Archives: Lane Corley
Do Something TODAY About Declining Baptism Numbers!
Christ’s Community Church in Denham Springs baptized 135 last year utilizing intentional strategy.
Annual pre-convention report on Southern Baptist Church life is out and again show baptisms in decline. I can’t (or won’t) speak to how to change the decline in the Southern Baptist Convention (plenty of other smarter people than I can & will do that), but I can think about how to address this decline in MY church. As a mentor of mine says, “The Southern Baptist Convention never baptized anyone. LOCAL CHURCHES baptize its converts.” And it takes intentionality! So here’s the To-do list of one small town, bi-vocational pastor of an average size (150 attenders) SBC church:
Question: Do we have a list of potential candidates?
1. Look over our church directory & circle the names of people that I know have not been baptized or that I’m not sure have been baptized.
2. Make appointments with at least one of these each day, until everyone circled has been challenged to consider where they are in their journey toward Christ.
3. Plan a sermon on Baptism where everyone will be challenged to follow and obey Christ with the opportunity to respond.
Question: Are we making Evangelistic Contacts?
4. Pray for open doors to share the gospel.
5. Plan a time today & at least three times each week, to intentionally interact with people that are far from God.
6. Put at least three outreach events on the calendar between now and the end of the year that are sure to engage people who are far from God. Get names, pray, follow up.
Question: Are we developing an Evangelistic Culture in our Church?
7. Plan at least one evangelism training for the entire church between now and the end of the year.
8. Put on the calendar at least one monthly special prayer time for lost and unchurched people in our community.
9. Challenge our church leaders by email and in person to right down the names of five people that they know who need Christ. If they don’t know five people, challenge them to get to know five people who need Christ.
Question: When’s the Next Baptism?
10. Put on the calendar at least 3 Sunday’s that the church will have baptism services and begin to announce those in every church communication.
11. Print up a brochure or pamphlet that answers questions about baptism & display it prominently throughout the church and in communications.
In Louisiana, Baptisms are actually slightly up over the last three years, but are down from an all-time high of 14,193 in 1994. 2016 is a VERY different world than 1994. 1994, was pre-netflix, pre-facebook, pre-email world where Billy Graham could still be seen on TV regularly. Intentionality, cultivation, consistent & deliberate action is needed to evangelize our communities.
You CAN do something today!
Finding Leaders vs. Developing Leaders
There is a mindset that hinders growth of people & organizations, especially volunteer organizations like churches. It’s the mindset that says leaders are FOUND. The opposite in a lot of ways is the mindset that leaders are DEVELOPED. Churches that multiply & grow exponentially have found a way to develop leaders instead of just hoping they find some.
Finding Leaders often means:
- Hoping leaders show up.
- Trying to talk leaders from other churches or organizations to come lead in your church or organization.
- Never seeing the potential in the people God actually sends you.
- Limiting the capacity of your church because you don’t see the potential in everyone.
- Always seeing who you don’t have instead of who you do have.
- Staying safe & never taking risks on people that don’t seem “ready.”
- A few leaders filling lots of roles.
- Little trust in people (and ultimately in God).
- Fear of Failure.
- Big back door as people come to understand they’re not needed.
Developing Leaders often means:
- Expecting leaders to show up.
- Seeing potential in every person that walks through your doors.
- Having intentional processes & systems to move people from where they are to where God wants them to be in leadership.
- Embracing tension & releasing people into leadership roles when they may not seem “ready.”
- A lot of trust in God the Holy Spirit to work in & through people.
- Failure as a valuable tool to teach & train.
- Sending people intentionally as their value expands to other organizations & churches.
Are you hoping to find leaders or intentionally developing leaders?
Things I Wish I’d Counted
Looking back at church plants that I’ve been a part of & thinking of things I wished I’d done a better job keeping up with. Like:
- Number of volunteer hours spent in the community. We’re trying to keep up with that now with Bridge Church with a goal of 10,000 per year. What if you could say, “In the 3 – 5- 10 years of our church’s history, we’ve mobilized ____ volunteers who have served ___ hours in our community.”
- Number of total individual who have attended. Most churches track average attendance each week & each month, but few track total individuals that attend. We’ve started tracking total individuals over the course of a month, because fewer people attend weekly than ever before. What if you could say, “Since the beginning of our church plant, ____ people have attended a gathering.”
- Number of individuals that came on Volunteer Mission Trips to serve through our church plant. Each of our plants were blessed with a lot of great partners who spent weeks in our community serving. All I can say is, it was a lot! Didn’t keep good track of how many with each team. What if you could say, “Since the beginning of our church plant, ____ people have come from out of town & volunteered in our community.” Add on how many hours of service for this group as well.
- How many pounds of food we’ve given away. Our church has had a food closet & different food related ministries. Wish we knew how many pounds we’ve given away over the life of that ministry & other opportunities. Other similar ministries of the church could be counted for their total impact over the years.
Church Planter – Pastor – Missions Leader, keep good records & find ways to communicate the impact of your ministry over the years.
Hot Summer Outreach Ideas
9 Ways to Reach Out, Serve, & Make Connections this Summer
Along with Vacation Bible School, summer offers us some great opportunities for outreach, servant evangelism, & gospel seed planting in our communities. Here’s a few that I’ve tried or learned from other Louisiana churches:
1. Water Bottles for Front Yard Lawn Mowers
Fill a few ice chest full of ice cold water or Gatorade, then head out on Saturday morning & watch for people working in their front yard. Interrupt them by giving them a bottle & a small connection card to your church. I promise they won’t mind. This is also great to do before church on Sunday!
2. Face Painting or Balloon Animals at Local Festivals
Every Louisiana community has a festival, car show, farmers market or something. Add to the gathering by offering something fun for kids. Face Painting is easy for almost anyone. Poll your team for other talents that might be unique & entertaining. Don’t forget to have invite cards to your church or Bible Study.
3. Fun for Kids at Multi-Housing Complexes
If you haven’t already, you should get to know the managers at local multi-housing complexes. They’re often required by upper management to provide events for the park & in my experience they are stressed about that! Offer to help by extending a VBS activity or showing up with a snow cone machine or bounce house a few times over the summer. Great way to build some relationships & show the community your church cares.
4. Snow Cones at Local Daycare’s
Private daycare’s are usually very open to engagement with churches. Especially if you offer free snow cones for every child in the afternoon! Snow cone machines rent for $100 or so, check around to see if another local church has one, or if you’re part of a Baptist Association, they may have a block party trailer equipped with a snow cone machine plus. Ask the daycare if they’ll send home an invite card or event invite from your church in backpacks in return.
5. Outdoor Movie Nights
Pick an area park, backyard, subdivision common space, & a short movie. Outdoor movie screens can be purchased for around $200. Projectors are available from partner churches or your local association. Pop popcorn & show the latest family friendly movie that has come out in theaters & a crowd is usually easy to draw. Our church gives away microwave popcorn with a sticker that says “Pop In On Us Sunday” inviting people to our church.
6. New Resident Welcome Baskets
If families are relocating, chances are they’re trying to do it during the summer. Help your members get their eyes open for the houses for sale around them & watch for new people moving in. Prepare a welcome basket with things that would be helpful for new movers & new residents in your community, along with a connection card from your church.. This also helps your members to make early connections & build relationships with their new neighbors.
7. Hurricane Prep for Local Mobile Home Parks
Great men’s group project. Connect with a local trailer park & offer to cut low hanging limbs back away from trailers in the run up to Hurricane season. This is a great service to residents & management that will never be forgotten. Pole saws rent for $125 or so & probably at least one guy in your group has a chainsaw.
8. Free Movie Day for Stay at Home Moms with Kids
Turn your church or a local meeting hall into a free cinema for the afternoon. Show a favorite kid movie with popcorn & box drinks. There’s probably a local mom’s Facebook group that you can spread the word through.
9. Outdoor Summer Concert
If your church or community has a nice green space, find a local musician or band (no shortage of those in Louisiana) & throw a free sunset concert. Offer free drinks & invite cards to your churches gathering.
There’s really no right or wrong way to reach out & make contact with people for the sake of the Gospel. We only fail, if we don’t try. Praying for many seeds sown across our state this Summer!
Got other ideas for summer outreach? Don’t be stingy. Please share.
Adventures in Limited Capacity
Faith + Character + Knowledge + Consistency + Systems = Capacity for Growth
Capacity is defined as the maximum amount that something can contain. Growing leaders & churches requires expanding capacity personally & organizationally. Our influence & the size of our church often matches our capacity. Over & over again as my church has hit growth barriers, I’ve come to realize that MY limited capacity has been the greatest barrier to our growth. Here’s some things that have limited my capacity to grow & have served as a lid on my ability to grow others:
1. Lack of Faith
Faith in God grows our capacity, because we see clearly the infinite power & potential of His power. Faith in God empowers us to take risk, overcome obstacles, & believe the impossible can happen for God’s glory.
2. Lack of Character
Character issues can put a lid on your leadership. Of course, immorality can disqualify you as a leader & hurt the growth of your church, but other character issues that are seen as tolerable or acceptable can no less limit your capacity. Pride & the insecurities that come with it, can keep us from letting go of the reigns of ministries that others can lead, limiting the opportunity for growth. Unforgiveness & bitterness toward others can keep you from growing spiritually & cause you to hesitate to trust others. Taking responsibility for the problems & priorities of the organization is also a huge character issue. Leaders that blame others instead of pushing to solve problems & give up easily when things get tough will put a lid on the growth of their church. To grow your church or organization, grow your character.
3. Limited Knowledge of the Community
Limited knowledge of the community leads to missed opportunities to reach out & missed application of the gospel to the real needs of the people in your context. Many times churches ignore community organizations, events, & environments, which would be valuable places to grow our influence & share the gospel, along with learning more about the communities needs & open doors that the gospel could penetrate. Someone said, “Don’t plant a church in your head, plant it in your community.” To do so, we must get out meet people & ask God to show us open doors.
4. Inconsistency
Axiom: “It’s not what you do today, it’s what you do everyday that counts.” One of the #1 complaints I here people make behind their leaders back & that I’m sure has been made about me is – “He starts a bunch of stuff that he doesn’t finish.” Which I usually, push back on them with – “What did you do to get behind the idea & move it forward.” But it is a great challenge for leaders that are wanting growth. Sometime we just try good ideas & when they fall a little flat, we give up on them. Instead, we should do the deep work of devising solid strategy, thinking long-term & then stick with it, even through dry seasons. This sets a solid foundation for volunteer buy in & consistency of action that is needed to bring a harvest.
5. Lack of systems in place
I think almost daily about Edward Deming’s great quote – “Your system is perfectly designed to give you the results you’re getting.” Systems involve more people & energy which expands capacity. As leaders, we often hesitate to build systems because of fear of losing control or because of added complexity in relationships. God designed the world in systems – hydrosphere, geosphere, atmosphere, biosphere. The human body has nine systems – Central/Nervous, Respiratory, Digestive, etc. Living organisms that expand & grow do so through systems. To expand capacity, a leader must know when to create a system out of the relationships he/she has built.
Faith in God + Character + Knowledge of the Community + Consistency of Action + Developing Systems = Capacity for Growth.
What is the lid on your leadership & the organization you lead? What may be limiting your capacity for growth?
Church Planting Story: Progression Church Baton Rouge
[UPDATED OCTOBER 25, 2016]
Great Church Planting story developing in Baton Rouge. Brian Crain and his wife Hannah moved to Baton Rouge in 2013 to start Progression Church. Sending church is His Church in Pineville. Progression is in month 34 and they are on a great track for self-sustainability by the end of year 3, with 140+ in average attendance and average giving around $8,000 per month.
Looking from the outside, I see four things that Progression has done very well that we can all learn from:
1. RECRUIT A GREAT TEAM
Brian’s team moved to Baton Rouge, found jobs, moved into neighborhoods, started building relationships, gave their all together on mission.
2. CONSISTENCY OF ACTION
Ministries have been consistent through some dry seasons. Progression has set a course and stuck with it.
3. LISTEN TO OTHERS
Brian has consistently attended trainings, connected with mentors in the area, and shown humble curiosity about speed bumps, etc.
4. INVEST IN CHURCH PLANTING
They are already co-sponsoring another church plant and talking about the day when they’ll send out from their church.
Great story developing in Baton Rouge! Praying for the Progression team as they continue to reach people.
Keep up with Progression Church on Facebook & Twitter.
Planters & Partners Needed in Baton Rouge:
>> Baptist Association of Greater Baton Rouge covers Ascension, East Baton Rouge (Louisiana’s most populated Parish), West Baton Rouge, Iberville, & Pointe Coupee Parishes.
>> Population: 640,059
>> 1 SBC church for every 7,202 person. Rest of LA is 1 to 2,895. NAMB’s goal is 1 to 2,000. 131 new churches would be needed to get to 1 to 2,895.
>> Only 1.2% of the population attended a Bible Study in a SBC Church in 2015.
>> Only 2.1% of the population attended worship in a SBC Church in 2015.
>> 49% of the population is non-anglo (41% African-American, 3.9% Hispanic, 2.5% Asian) with only 16 non-anglo SBC churches. 1 to 18,154.
>> Current Planters: Brian Crain with Progression Church, Guillermo Mangieri with Istrouma en Espanol, MacArthur Greensberry with New Beginnings Baptist, Josh Morris with Crosscreek Cowboy Church, Pastor Lama with Louisiana Kachin Fellowship, Ed Scott with New Life Temple, & Miguel Angel Flores-Olivera with Jefferson Baptist Hispanic.
>> Associational Director is Dr. Tommy Middleton. Staff: Chuck Lowman, Randy Osborn, Dana Truitt, Jan Terral. Check out BAGBR.org.
Church, Let’s Keep It Going!
I am a Christ follower today because of God’s grace and because in hopes that I and others would receive God’s grace other Christians…
>> prepared and taught kids sunday school lessons
>> prepared worship services and sermons
>> got to church early to turn the lights on, make the coffee, get things ready for me and others
>> in relationship ask about my spiritual life
>> opened their home for Bible Studies
>> picked me up when I didn’t have a ride
>> organized youth camps and took a week off to go with me to youth camp
>> gave money sacrificially to their church
>> made Christ like decisions that challenged me and showed me what it means to be a Christian in the daily
>> prepared mission trips and on mission experiences
>> took me to breakfast and lunch and talked to me about what it means to be a Christian man
>> called me when I went through difficult times in my life
>> took a chance and ask me to serve on a church team
>> took a chance and ask me to teach a lesson
>> didn’t laugh when I flopped and failed
>> encouraged me not to quit
>> hugged me and patted me on the back regularly
>> prayed for me when I got discouraged
>> and so much more
Lord, please don’t let it end with me. I don’t want to be a cul-de-sac on the highway of God’s grace. Church, let’s keep it going!
Give Georgia Barnette a Hug For Me!
Each year, Louisiana Baptist churches give over $1.5 million to the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering. 100% of this money goes to fund various missions projects throughout Louisiana. So far in 2016, 37% of last year’s offering has been disbursed & it is fun to watch this offering at work! Here’s some of what it’s doing so far this year:
- Supporting 74 church plants across Louisiana. $132,000 so far!
- Supporting the work of 39 different Compassion Ministries across Louisiana & 3 Seaman Ministry Centers reaching out to International Seafarer’s docking in Louisiana. $21,750 so far!
- Provides funding for the Baptist Mission Builder Program which mobilizes construction volunteers & provides contracting services for the building or renovating of first unit buildings for new churches across Louisiana. $27,800 so far!
- Provides training & networking opportunities for church planters, disaster relief volunteers, & missions leaders across Louisiana, including camps for kids in RA & GA programs & Missions conferences for Elementary through High School. $64,000 so far!
- Provides money for special evangelism projects & block parties across Louisiana.
- Provides money for Prison revivals & outreaches across Louisiana.
- Supporting the work of Collegiate Ministry teams across Louisiana. $85,000 so far!
- Supporting the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Extension at Angola. $30,000 annually.
- Provides money for Literacy training, Multi-housing ministry, Chaplaincy training, Pregnancy Resource centers, & Inner City ministries. $38,000 so far!
Still around $1 million to be dispersed this year for these & other ministries across our state! Grateful for the generosity of Louisiana Baptist churches who contribute to this offering that generates so much incredible ministry in Louisiana.
Last year a church planter that had received support through Georgia Barnette texted me to say thank you & he said, “I’m going to give you a hug next time I see you.” I texted back, “Instead of that, give Georgia Barnette a hug for us both next time the offering rolls around.”
This years goal is $1.8 million. For the sake of the Gospel & ministries across our state, I hope you & your church plan on giving Georgia Barnette a hug this year too!
Your Church Can Grow This Summer!
Last year our small church actually grew by 30% between Memorial Day & the first day of school. Here’s what we did that helped us beat the summer slump. And it does not even include VBS!
1. Celebrate Summer
Memorial Day Outdoor Worship Gathering on the River in Madisonville.
There are at least four great opportunities already on the calendar to build in celebration over the summer: Memorial Day Weekend, Father’s Day, Fourth of July Weekend, & Back to School. Plan on doing something special & unique for each of these weekends. These four Sunday’s were the highest attended weeks of the summer for our church. Sure, some people went out of town, but we made each a special opportunity for people to invite unchurched family & friends & we reached out to each prospect with a special invite. The guests made up for the vacationers. Make the most of the holiday weekends!
2. Break the Routine
When summer comes around, everyone is thinking, “I need a break,” including your church’s teachers & volunteers. Structuring the calendar in such a way that gives some relief to hard working volunteers will help them stay enthused about their teams work all summer. It also builds in the expectation that volunteers will be out of town in such a way that momentum is not lost & relationships are not strained. Our kids ministry combined classes for special days several times & our holiday celebrations were planned in such a way that kids volunteers & setup crews had those weeks practically off.
3. Get Outside
4th of July Weekend Worship Gathering at an area State Park.
For Memorial Day & Fourth of July, we held our Worship Gatherings at some of our communities favorite outdoor venues. Every community has a park, picnic area, lake area, etc. where people like to gather & hang out. Incorporate cooking out, fishing, games, water slides, etc. & you’ve got a crowd. Share the gospel clearly & gather info from visitors. And depending on the location, you may can even maximize the hearing of the Gospel with people that show up not knowing that a church would be meeting there that day. Everybody loves being outside in Louisiana & in our case, outdoor worship gatherings have been a great tool for connecting new people to our church.
4. Connect New People
Of course, sustainable growth depends upon the systems you have to connect people to Christ, to one another, & to a mission greater than themselves. Plan for new people by continuing or starting a new comers class & by having special opportunities for connections with small groups throughout the summer. Also, keep in mind, if new families are relocating to your area, it will likely be during the summer. Make your gatherings accessible to new people in the community & plan on helping them feel welcomed & help them make meaningful connections. Our Connections Team prepares New Resident Welcome Baskets for people to give to new people moving into their neighborhoods throughout the summer.
Summer is a great time to grow things. Churches included. Celebrate. Have fun. Get outside. Get ready for new people. Expect God to bring an increase.
Father’s Day Pancake Breakfast. All you can eat pancakes right through the sermon! Yea!
Church Planting Update
Louisiana Baptist Missions Support Committee met yesterday. The MSC allocates cooperative program & mission offering funds for the work of the Missions & Ministry Team that includes Church Planting, Disaster Relief, Compassion Ministry, & Missions Education. The committee’s actions this week:
- Allocated $398,000 in Church Planting & Compassion Ministry grants to 14 new ministries. $131,000 of the allocation to New Orleans. Including Revival Life in Houma – planter Dexter Gaspard, Immanuel Community Church in New Orleans – planter Matthew DeLaughter, Walker Community Ministries – Planter Joey Beeson, Crossroads Community Church – planter Larry Johnson, Christ Church Abbeville – planter Scott Guillory, Barker’s Corner Mission – planter Derek Kitterlin, The Way Church Livingston – planter Cameron Gober, Faith Church in Franklinton – planter Larry Lucas, Still Water Baptist Church New Orleans – planter Burnell Darnesberry, City of Lights Church – planter NaJee Johnson, Suburban West – Nicos Elzy, Touchstone Community Church – planter Herschel Moore.
- Allocated $125,000 in grants to five new churches acquiring first unit buildings. Including Philadelphia Baptist’s Alexandria campus – planter Clay Fuqua, Genesis Church in Walker – planter Jeff Smith, The Way Church in Livingston – planter Cameron Gober, Stillwater Church in Hammond – planter Lonnie Tucker, Fellowship Church’s South Ascension campus – planter Todd Blount.
Other reports shared at this week’s meetings:
- 13 new churches planted so far in 2016. 6 in New Orleans. 7 Non-Anglo. All 13 in South Louisiana. 20 in development for 2016. 137 new churches planted since 2010.
- 76 baptisms, 336 new commitments to Christ reported Jan-Mar 2016 by church plants in Louisiana.
- Since 2010 – 1,804 baptisms & 9,532 new commitments to Christ. We’re approaching 2,000 baptisms & 10,000 new commitments to Christ this year.
- New Orleans – Since 2012 when Send New Orleans launched – 27 new churches started, 348 baptisms, 1,352 New Commitments to Christ. This month the Mission Support allocated for New Orleans will exceed $1 million since the 2012 launch.
- The President’s 2020 Commission identified the greatest needs for new churches in Louisiana among different people groups (40% of the population of Louisiana is non-anglo, but only 5% of our SBC churches in Louisiana were non-anglo), in South Louisiana (1,200 of our SBC churches in Louisiana are in North where only 1 million of our population is. 400 churches in south Louisiana where 3 million of our population is). Since 2010, 60% of our churches started have been non-anglo & 79% have been in South Louisiana.
- Church Plants receiving Cooperative Funding in Louisiana have increased from 39 in 2010 to 74 in 2016.
Grateful for the opportunity to be a part of Missions Support & Church Planting in the great state of Louisiana. Grateful for the generosity of Southern Baptist churches in Louisiana who contribute to the Cooperative Program, Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering, & Annie Armstrong Offering for North American Missions that makes the work of this team possible.
Lane Corley 