Category Archives: Louisiana Baptists
Week of Prayer for Louisiana Missions
Hope you’ll join me for the Week of Prayer for Louisiana Missions as we pray for some of the great mission projects going on across Louisiana. You can follow each day of the week of prayer HERE. And videos to promote Louisiana Missions in your church & across your social media platforms are HERE.
And this month is also the emphasis for the Georgia Barnette State Missions offering. This years goal is $1.8 million. 100% of this offering will go to support missions in Louisiana. What kind of things does it support? You can find the 2016 allocations HERE. I’m grateful for the generosity of Louisiana Baptist churches that allows us to continue to plant churches, start compassion ministries, minister at our global ports, & much more.
Kick off today by praying for Level Ground Community Church, a new church in New Orleans. Get their story & how to pray for them HERE.
Pastor Daylon Taylor engages children from the Holly Grove neighborhood of New Orleans at Level Ground Community Church.
Starting an Associational Church Multiplication Movement
Good strategy should create the right conditions for a church multiplication movement to reach every people group & population segment in our communities. Here’s five steps to an associational strategy for church multiplication:
Step 1: Mobilize an Associational Missions or Church Planting Team. Intentionality will be best maintained by men & women with a heart for missions & church multiplication who work in concert with the Director of Missions & other partners to strategize for reaching the lost in the area.
Step 2: Conduct an Area-Wide Feasibility Study or Probe. A probe of the area should include intense demographic & ecclesiographic research. To maximize buy in, it may also include organizing a vision tour or windshield survey across the area with Pastors & church leaders. A probe may also include polling pastors & staff members & key leaders in the community about the need for new churches & ministries in the region.
Step 3: Map the Strategy based on the Probe. Combining extensive data collection with soundbites from organized efforts to determine needs, the church planting team should then be ready to go to a map & start pinpointing potential locations for churches & ministries. The LBC Engage Map can be a great tool for this & church planting priorities can immediately be available for recruiting planters & resources to projects determined by the the Church Planting Team via the world wide web.
Step 4: Discover & Develop qualified planters & team members. Once we know who we need to reach & where, we can best determine who we need to be looking & praying for to take on the mission of planting a church in that area. It will also help the state convention in planning resources & training events that will best assist planting in the region. Armed with data & vision for meeting the specific needs of communities we can be more intentional in gathering resources & recruiting partners & team members.
Step 5: Network church planting leaders & enthusiasts for celebration, encouragement, health, & recruitment. Engaging the lost community through church planting will lead to stories that need to be told, wounds & scars that need to be healed, & greater interest in diving into the church planting pool. A regular network meeting in the region will be a great tool to keep the movement going & keep points going onto the map & multiplication of disciples, groups, & churches going for years to come.
Utilizing this strategy, one of our Louisiana associations has started 14 new churches since 2000, with only one failed plant. That’s a 93% success rate! The Louisiana Baptists Missions & Ministry Team is here to assist with 10-3-1 Strategy Development. We can assist you & your team with each of these steps as we move toward a strategy that engages every person in Louisiana with the Gospel.
Out of the Box Ideas for Starting More Groups
Notes & Presentations from the 2015 ReGroup Conference. Shared today at the ReGroup Conference at First Baptist Lafayette. Enjoyed sharing some learnings on where Small Group Strategies & Church Planting intersect. Here’s my two presentations & my notes:
- Discovery Groups: Strategies for Starting Groups from the Unchurched Communities
- “Where Does Your Group Meet?” Small Group Strategies for Portable or Space Limited Churches
One of the least common denominators of New Testament Christianity is the small group of people gathered around the word of God. So we need to figure it out.
Sought to answer two questions in my breakouts:
- How do we start more groups from the unchurched population?
- How do we start more groups when I have no or limited space?
Notes from Session One: Starting Discovering Groups –
- Empower your Apostolic leaders to start new groups. Say yes to those with an itch to start new things in different places. More on Sending the Apostolic leaders in your church HERE.
- Make it simple for EVERYONE to see themselves reaching their friends. (Example: The HOST Strategy)
- 3 out of 21 Meals – Encourage people to see meal times as opportunities to invest in unchurched people. And you’re going to eat anyway. More on this in the book Saturate: Being Disciples of Jesus in the Everyday Stuff of Life by Jeff Vanderstelt.
- Groups with a Purpose – People may get involved with a mission or project before they get involved in your church. What need can you meet in the community that will gather people in relationship & move step by step to sharing the gospel.
- “Discussion Group” – Go Hall of Tyrranus on your community. Some people will come only if they can ask questions & discuss.
- Start a Book Club – Yours &/or Theirs. At your home, church, or consider getting involved in book clubs in the community book stores or libraries to invite people to your group. Try a nondescript invite to a Bible Study or discussion & see what happens.
- Meetup.com & other social media sites – Utilize Social Media to gather people. People are looking online for spiritual connections & helps.
- Don’t neglect Community Bulletin Boards, Newspapers, Coupon Mags, Radio.
- Look for Affinity Groups: Stay at home moms, Sr. Adults, Service Industry (Monday nights), First Responders, Dads (Allprodad.com), etc.
- Look for Needs in the Community that Group studies can meet: Grief, Addiction, Money, Marriage, Parenting, Parenting Your Parents, Step family issues, etc..
Notes from Session Two: Out of the Box Ideas for Starting More Groups when you have no or limited space:
- Double the opportunity by launching a new service &/or new Sunday School hour.
- Clean out the Closets. Utilize EVERY possible space. Most churches under utilize their space.
- Groups that kill two birds with one stone. Service oriented groups. Make ministry & group life synonymous.
- Think beyond Sunday morning. It’s Biblical to start groups every day of the week.
- Go public with your groups! There’s more 3rd spaces today than ever before.
- No need to be afraid of Home groups. HOST Strategy.
Why Multi-Site Church? 6 Benefits
Multi-site Church development continues to be a great tool for multiplying & revitalize churches. A few observations about current multi-site churches among Louisiana Baptists,
- those churches have experienced a combined 30% growth in attendance since becoming multi-site.
- 80% have experienced growth in worship & small groups.
- Half have included a church merger or gifting of a building from a declining church as part of the multisite development.
- Half have requested & received cooperative funding from the Missions & Ministries Team of our state convention for the new sites.
- ALL of them were growing churches BEFORE multisite development, not BECAUSE of multi-site development.
One of the big takeaways: Multisite is NOT a tool for getting your church to grow, but to multiply your growing DNA to a new community.
Dennis Watson, Pastor of Celebration Church in New Orleans, which has 6 campuses & planning more gives six benefits of a Multisite Campus Strategy, Multi-site enables your church to:
- Grow larger and smaller at the same time.
- Overcome geographic and cultural barriers to reach new people.
- Address more community needs and provide more community support.
- Involve more people in growth and outreach opportunities.
- Staff with generalists and specialists, so that both groups can be utilized.
- Provide a new church vibe with a big church punch.
How can our church know if multisite is in our future:
- Do you have a vision for church revitalization that may include merging with a declining congregation?
- Are you running out of space, but do not feel led to build bigger?
- Has your church been in decline and could possibly be a candidate for merging with a sister congregation?
- Take this MultiSiteDiagnosis Self Assessment.
Doing some Multi-Site readiness roundtables this week in southeast Louisiana. Let me know if you’d like more info.
Old and New Churches Team Up to Plant in Bunkie
Love this story! One of Louisiana’s oldest congregations – St. James Baptist in Bayou Chicot (started by Joseph Willis in the early 1800’s) & one of Louisiana’s newest congregations – Life Point Church in Mansura, planter/pastor Jacob Crawford, are partnering to start a new church in Bunkie. Planter/Pastor is Reginald Arvie, who also serves Bi-vocationally as a hospital administrator in Mamou. Pray for Reginald, Jacob, & their team that are planting St. James – Bunkie!
Joseph Willis is credited with planting the first evangelical churches west of the Mississippi River. His life is remembered in the great book Twice a Slave.
Fall Equipping & Networking Opportunities for Church Multipliers in Louisiana:
>> I-12 Multi-Site Church Luncheon, August 13th, 11:30am-1:30pm at The Way Church in Denham Springs. Join Chad Merrell from First West Fairbanks in Sterlington, LA, to hear a great Louisiana multisite story & talk multisite readiness for your ministry. Good especially for churches in a more rural or suburban setting. RSVP by joining the Facebook event or calling the Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association at 225-664-9309, or email David Brown at amc4elba@elba.brcoxmail.com.
>> ReGroup Small Group Conference, August 15th at FBC Lafayette. Matt Papa, Jeff Iorg, Eddie Mosley & others for a day of working on Small Groups Strategy. I’ll be leading two Church Planting Breakouts:
- Discovery Groups: Strategies for Starting Groups from the Unchurched Community
- “Where does your group meet?” – Small Group Strategies for Portable or Space Limited Churches.
>> Total Church Life Conference, August 22nd at Jefferson Baptist Church in Baton Rouge. Annual Church Leadership Conference hosted by the Baptist Association of Greater Baton Rouge. Breakouts literally on every area of church life! I’ll be leading the session called Social Media & the Local Church – How social media can help your church grow & equip people for ministry.
>> Basic Training for Church Multiplication, September 11-12 at FBC Mandeville. A great workshop for churches in years 1-3 or in the process of restarting or revitalizing. Church Planters that have attended a Basic Training Workshop over the last five years have experienced 50% higher attendance and 65% more baptisms than those who haven’t.
Sessions covered:
- Where are we? Understanding Your Context and Community
- Who are we? Discovering Your Church’s Unique Purpose for Your Community
- What do we do? Establishing the Strategy and Systems for Your Church to Multiply Disciples, Leaders, Groups and Churches
>> Century XXI Hispanic Leadership Conference, September 18-19 at Calvary Baptist Church in Ruston. Contact Carlos.Schmidt@LouisianaBaptists.org for more info.
>> E4 Preaching Conference, September 18-19 at FBC Pineville. E4 is designed to encourage expository preaching and encourage pastors. Partnership of Louisiana Baptists, First Baptst Pineville, Louisiana College, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Know of other Equipping or Networking Opps happening in the next few months?
Top 5 Places to Plant a Church in Louisiana #SendNorthAmerica #churchplanting #send2015
I like to call south Louisiana the back pocket of the Bible Belt. Still many cities & communities in need of new churches in one of North America’s most unique cultures. Here’s the top five places to plant a church in Louisiana:
1. New Orleans
Population: 956,000. Only 2.1% attend a SBC Church. Only 11% Evangelical. 432,270 unaffiliated with any church.
Includes the Parishes of Orleans, Jefferson (Louisiana’s 2nd largest Parish), St. Bernard, Plaquemine, & St. Charles. New Orleans is strategic for a lot of reasons: one of North America’s most influential ports, a cultural icon for the world. For Louisiana, it makes up 20% of our population. For Southern Baptists, its one of only three Send Cities in the South.
Contacts: The New Orleans Baptist Associaton, DOM Jack Hunter. George Ross, North American Mission Board Send City Coordinator for New Orleans.
2. Acadiana
Population: 675,000. Only 1.8% attend a SBC church. Evangelical population only 9%. 229,049 unaffiliated with any church.
Includes the cities of Lafayette, Youngsville (one of Louisiana’s fastest growing), Abbeville, Carencro, Opelousas, Breaux Bridge. This is true Louisiana. Cajun Country. The images most shared about Louisiana come from these areas. Amazing food. Gators. Live Oaks. It’s also home to Louisiana’s second largest University, University of Louisiana – Lafayette.
Contacts: The Evangeline Baptist Association, DOM Bert Langley.
3. Baton Rouge
Population: 630,000. Only 2.0% attend a SBC Church. 23% evangelical. 242,000 unaffiliated with any church.
Includes the cities of Baton Rouge, Prairieville, Gonzalez, Port Allen, Plaquemine & others. Louisiana’s state capital & the center of political life & becoming more influential in the Business life of the entire I-10 corridor. Growing refugee populations have been noted & this year will begin receiving Syrian refugees. Also, home to one of America’s most influential universities, Louisiana State University.
Contacts: The Baptist Association of Greater Baton Rouge, DOM Tommy Middleton.
4. Bayou
Population: 208,000. Only 1.8% attend a SBC Church. Only 6% Evangelical. 70,672 unaffiliated with any church.
Includes the cities of Houma, Thibodaux, Grand Isle, Galliano, Cutoff, & others. One of the best places for fresh shrimp in North America! Beautiful people & incredible culture. Also, very influential because of the thousands that work out of these communities in the drilling & oil production industry across the Gulf of Mexico. Home to Nicholls State University.
Contacts: The Bayou Baptist Association, DOM Joe Arnold.
5. I-12 Corridor
Population: 541,234. Only 4.8% attend a SBC Church. 25% Evangelical. 270,687 unaffiliated with any church.
Includes the cities of Denham Springs, Walker, Hammond, Ponchatoula, Covington, Mandeville, Slidell & others. Fast growing for years due to suburban life. Now robust corporate life developing. Home to Louisiana’s third largest University – South Eastern Louisiana State University in Hammond.
Contacts: Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association, DOM David Brown. And Northshore Baptist Association, DOM Lonnie Wascom.
And VERY close behind or tied with these FIVE:
- Lake Charles – Center of Louisiana’s Chemical Corridor. Expected to add 20,000 jobs over the next 10 years.
- Avoyelles Parish region – Still several communities that have never had an evangelical church.
Planters & partners needed. Message me for info about these and other communities that need new churches in Louisiana if God may be leading you to the Bayou.
Find other info on Church Planting in Louisiana at https://louisianabaptists.org/churchplanting.
And connect with other church planters in Louisiana by joining our Facebook Group – Louisiana Church Multiplication Network.
Church Planters Share Their #1 Resource… It Might Surprise You
This summer we held Church Planting Network luncheons across the state of Louisiana. Over 100 leaders attended the luncheons & were asked to share three things:
- Biggest Recent Win
- Current Greatest Challenge
- Best Resource
The discussions were great & inspirational. God is truly doing some historic things across the Bayou state. It was a great experience to share a meal & get to spend some time with these incredible leaders.
What was the top resources? The #1 resource shared by church planting leaders across Louisiana was… PEOPLE! At every meeting several of these leaders would wisely say, “My best resource is the people that serve with me, support me, & that I can call on when I need them.” Fits a church planting axiom that I heard years ago, “The resources are in the harvest.” Church planting leaders MUST learn how to gather, develop, encourage, deploy, & depend upon people. Our best resources will always be those around us.
Here is a list of 25 other resources shared at our statewide gatherings this summer.
- Website: http://bookdepot.com/ – Great site to check when doing book giveaways. Recent releases for as low as $3 each. Must order $100 worth.
- Website: http://www.rightnowmedia.org/ – Video Bible Study & Kids Entertainment Library.
- Website: http://erlc.com/ – Keep up with culturals shifts & how to respond to issues.
- Website: http://evernote.com – for sermon prep, planning, staff communication.
- Website: http://get.planningcenteronline.com/ – for team & volunteer management
- Website: http://story4all.com/ – for info on Gospel Storying
- Website: http://Eventbrite.com – for event planning, registration, AND also social networking for events in your area.
- Book: It’s Personal: Surviving & Thriving on the Journey of Church Planting. This years network giveaway. Great book on the personal, emotional side of planting & leadership.
- Book: Rediscovering the Church Fathers: Who They Were and How They Shaped the Church
- Book: When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself. Start healthy compassion ministries.
- Book: Truth That Sticks: How to Communicate Velcro Truth in a Teflon World. on storying the Bible.
- Book: Contagious Disciple Making: Leading Others on a Journey of Discovery. Great book on discipleship movements.
- Book: The Rise of the Nones: Understanding and Reaching the Religiously Unaffiliated. Must read for church planters!
- Book: Saturate: Being Disciples of Jesus in the Everyday Stuff of Life. Book of the year on discipleship & church life.
- Book: Total Church: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community. on setting up healthy church systems & structures.
- Book: Right Color, Wrong Culture: The Type of Leader Your Organization Needs to Become Multiethnic
- Book: Community Group Guide: Planting or Re-Planting Life Giving Small Groups by Brad House
- Book: The Pocket Guide to Leading a Small Group: 52 Ways to Help You and Your Small Group Grow by Dave Early
- Book: Bobby Bowden On Leadership: Life Lessons from a Two-Time National Championship Coach. Shared by a former Florida State running back looking to plant a church in Louisiana in the coming years!
- Book: Preaching to a Postmodern World: A Guide to Reaching Twenty-first Century Listeners
- Book: Better Together: Making Church Mergers Work
- Book: Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down by Tony Merida
- Resource: The Redeemer Church Planting Manual.
- Mobile Pregnancy Center from the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home – available to setup at your church or community event. Pregnancy test, ultrasounds, etc. done on site.
- Re-Group Coaching with Sean Keith. Sean helps churches set up structures & systems for continued growth. Contact Sean.Keith@LouisianaBaptists.org.
Watch for some fall opportunities to network with multiplication leaders in your area.
#PrayersforLafayette
>> Population of EVANGELINE BAPTIST ASSOCIATION (Lafayette area) – 404,977
>> .9% of the population or 3,806 attend Bible Study in a SBC church.
>> 1.6% or 6,649 attend Worship in a SBC church.
>> 46 SBC churches – 1 church to every 8,803 persons. Our goal is 1 to 2800. NAMB suggests 1 to 2,000.
>> Population of ACADIANA (Acadia, Evangeline, Gulf Coast, Bayou Associations): 675,207
>> 1.8% attend worship in a SBC church
>> Evangelical population only 9%
>> 229,049 unaffiliated with any church
Planters, Partners needed.
Engage Acadiana
Spent some time this week with Lafayette area Church Planters. Great need for new churches in Southwest Louisiana, affectionately known as Acadiana:
>> Population of ACADIANA (Acadia, Evangeline, Gulf Coast, Bayou Associations): 675,207 
>> Only 1.8% attend a SBC church
>> Evangelical population only 9%
>> 229,049 unaffiliated with any church
>> Population of EVANGELINE ASSOCIATION (Lafayette area) – 404,977
>> Only .9% of the population or 3,806 attend Bible Study in a SBC church.
>> Only 1.6% or 6,649 attend Worship in a SBC church.
>> 46 SBC churches – 1 church to every 8,803 persons. Our goal is 1 to 2800. NAMB suggests 1 to 2,000.
Planters, Partners needed.
Lane Corley 