Category Archives: Louisiana Baptists
What’s Happening in Louisiana Baptist Missions?
Tuesday, was the Louisiana Baptists Executive Board meeting, which means the Louisiana Missions Support Committee & State Missions Offering Committee met as well. These two teams are made up of members of Louisiana Baptist churches & they get to oversee church planting & missions work & the spending of missions $$ in our state. Always a lot of fun to sit in on these meetings! A few big takeaways from this week:
- The Mission Support Committee approved 20 new churches, 3 new compassion ministries, $725k in cooperative funding between sponsor churches, associations, North American Mission Board & the Louisiana Baptist Convention.
- In the current recording cycle, Louisiana Baptist churches have given $4 million to Lottie Moon Offering for International Missions, $2.1 million to Annie Armstrong Offering for North American Missions, $174k to the World Hunger Fund, & $1.6 Million to the Georgia Barnette Offering for Louisiana Missions.
- and this team gets to give away the $1.6 million. Allocated: $200k for first unit buildings for church plants, $828k for church planting supplements, $410k for special mission projects, $125k for the Mission Builder Program, $95k for scholarships, $224k for missions training & promotion.
- We reported 18 new churches started so far in 2015. 3 in north Louisiana, 15 in south Louisiana, & 13 multi-ethnic & non-anglo. 60% to our goal of 30 for the year.
- We also broke ground on the Georgia Barnette Conference Center, which will be a state of the art gathering space for missions training & more at Tall Timbers Conference Center in central Louisiana.
I’m humbled to be a part of the process of starting churches, raising & dispersing resources through the work of Louisiana Baptists. Grateful for the generosity of Southern Baptist Churches in Louisiana who continue to give that the gospel may be shared, disciples made, & churches started for the people of Louisiana & beyond.
Keep up with the work of Louisiana Baptist Church Planters on our Facebook Group. And follow events & happening throughout the Louisiana Baptist Convention at LouisianaBaptists.org.
“In every apple there is an orchard” #churchplanting
I-10/Acadiana Basic Training for Church Planting Recap
Finished up another Basic Training for Church Planting yesterday in SW Louisiana. Excited about the teams that made it to this training.
- Bayou Life Church in Cottonport – Life Point in Mansura has targeted the communities with no SBC church & little evangelical influence across Avoyelles Parish, which is the northern fringe of cajun country. Cottonport is one of those comunities & they have tapped Louisiana church planting legend, Louis Cherrier for the task of planting there.
- Broadmoore Hispanic in Shreveport – Planter Daniel Hernandez. Hispanic population has grown to near 300,000 in Louisiana. Grateful for Pastor Daniel & his team.
- Christ Church – Lafayette, Opelousas, & now Abeville. Christ Church has added three locations in around 12 months. Excited about the heart that Pastor Brandon Nealy & Exec Pastor Joe Garner has for multiplication. May their tribe increase.
- Crosspoint Church in Galiano – Planter John Boss, & Associate Pastor Noah Blackburn who’s looking to plant in the future. Great work going on in the hard to reach bayou communities in southern Jefferson, Lafourche, & Terrebone Parishes.
- Redeemer City Church in Lafayette – Planter Aaron Schamp. Meeting in downtown Lafayette & reaching out to millenials & young professionals. They’ve done a great job in year one. Looking forward to seeing what the future holds for the team at Redeemer City.
- St. James Baptist Church in Bunkie – Planter Reginald Arvie. One of Louisiana’s oldest evangelical congregations (St. James Baptist in Chicot – started by Joseph Willis in the early 1800’s) & one of Louisiana’s newest congregations Life Point Mansura are teaming up to start a new work in Bunkie. Actually cranking up ministry tomorrow night! This is going to be good!
- The Cross Church in Lafayette – Planter Emmanuel Kuada . Brand new project. Looking fwd to what shapes up in fast growing Acadiana.
Several yet to be determined projects as well as several Revitalization projects were also represented. Our next Basic Training will be in north Louisiana at Camp Harris in Minden. Register & get more info here: http://louisianabaptists.org/basictraining2015.
Basic Training for Church Multiplication, April 27-28 @ Acadian Baptist Center
If I had a bumper sticker it’d say, “I’d Rather Be Planting Churches.” Blessed to be able to work with those planting churches in Louisiana & one of the ways I get to do so is through planning training events. Our next Basic Training for Church Multiplication is April 27-28 at Acadian Baptist Center, near Lafayette. Register here: http://ow.ly/LHbKX. Overnight housing & all meals included.
>> Our Basic Training Workshop works through all the major systems needed for a church to grow no matter the model.
>> Church planters in Louisiana who have attended some type of Basic Training event have experienced 50% higher attendance & 65% more baptisms. Not sure if that’s because of our great training or the teachability that attending training exemplifies.
>> Facilitators are men who have successfully planted churches in Louisiana. This session will include: Andy Tribe from The Bayou Church – Youngsville, Jacob Crawford from Life Point Church, & Joe Garner III from Christ Church.
>> The training is offered free, thanks to gift from Louisiana Baptist churches to the Cooperative Program & Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering.
>> More info at LouisianaBaptists.org/basictraining2015 or give me a call at 985.373.2748.
“Purpose doesn’t take the pain away or make the process easier” Kirk Jones – Generate Conf Recap
Some Big Takeaways from the Generate Conference with Shawn Lovejoy, Kirk Jones, & Bill Dye. The Conference brought together Church Planters & Leaders from around Louisiana. Great networking & the content was top shelf.
from Kirk Jones, founding pastor of Fellowship Church in Prairieville, on lessons learned while planting:
> Straight rows are efficient. Finished rows are fertile.
> Faithfulness is required, not perfection.
> Preparing the field will never lead to perfection but to fertility.
> Purpose doesn’t take the pain away or make the process easier.
> The more seeds you plant, the more you harvest.
> The more seeds you plant, the more seeds you have.
from Bill Dye, Sr. Pastor of North Monroe Baptist Church in NE Louisiana, on overcoming growth barriers:
> Overcoming barriers comes through vision.
> If you give up on church growth, you’re giving up on people.
> Church is designed for people not there.
> We don’t try to make converts. We want to make disciples.
> Build your vision around the Great Commission. Helps deal with resistance. Who can resist the Great Commission?
> Most important thing to get people to buy in to in church: “It’s not about you.”
from Shawn Lovejoy, Founder of Mountain Lake Church in Cummings, GA & ChurchPlanters.com that host the popular Velocity Conference each year:
> Too many church planters want to plant & harvest in the same week.
> Most pastors quit right before the harvest.
> Be careful what kind of church you plant, you might have to pastor it one day.
> Successful leaders lead themselves first.
> The condition of our hearts determines the outcome of our ministries.
> Be developers of people, not doers of ministry.
> What you celebrate, gets done. Celebrate the individual life, not the huge crowds.
> No discipleship plan is perfect, so work your plan.
And thanks to Fellowship Church for going above & beyond as our host for the conference! Hope it won’t be the last!
-
- Kirk Jones & Todd Blount
-
- Bill Dye
-
- Bill Dye & Kirk Jones
-
- Shawn Lovejoy
“Build in the Beginning What You Want in the End” – Basic Training for #ChurchPlanting Recap
Finished up our first Basic Training for Church Multiplication event yesterday in Louisiana. Two more events coming up this year. Basic Training serves as a workshop overview of systems that need to be in place for a church to get off the ground & sustain flight toward evangelizing a community for Christ. A study of recent church plants in Louisiana shows that planters that take advantage of some kind of workshop training experience 45% higher attendance & 61% more baptisms in their first three years. Our trainings in Louisiana are free & include overnight accommodations & three meals. And feel free to bring your team. If you can’t make it to these & are in the midst of planting a church, find a boot camp, school of church planting, or significant training event to plug into.
A few highlights:
- Understanding the soil in which you are planting – spiritually, socially, and culturally – is crucial to the effectiveness of your church plant.
- Just like farming, there are two activities for church planters: cultivating and planting. If you do the right thing in the wrong season, you get zero results.
- Vision is nothing if it’s not rooted in human problem and growing toward God’s glory. ~ Will Mancini
- You won’t do ministry that really matters until you define what really matters ~ Aubrey Malphurs
- Three keys to church planting: Gather, Gather, Gather.
- Healthy churches have a healthy culture that is created and facilitated by healthy systems.
- Most new members in church plants don’t go from 0% to 10% in giving right away. That’s a path we must lead them down.
- Church Multiplication is a spiritual decision of a local church to put the needs of a desperate world before self-preservation. ~ Stephen Gray
-
- Lonnie Tucker, Stillwater Baptist Church
-
- Scott Cheatham, The Way Church
Pray for Great Kingdom Church – Hammond, Crossroads Church – Kenner, Stillwater Church – New Orleans, Downtown Church – New Orleans, Life Point Church – Plaucheville, Life Point Church – Simmesport, Hope Church – Chauvin, Bridge Church – Covington, & three yet to be named projects.
January Brings 6 New Churches to Louisiana #churchplanting
Pray for these 6 new churches starting this month in Louisiana. A few have been ministering for some months, but they began receiving funding through the Louisiana Baptist Convention & North American Mission Board this month:
>> Live Oak Church, New Orleans – Planter Adam Bourne. Sponsored by FBC Vicksburg, Send North American New Orleans / New Orleans Baptist Association.
>> New Life, Baton Rouge – Planter Ed Scott. Sponsored by Grosse Tete Baptist Church & the Baptist Association of Greater Baton Rouge.
>> Broadmoor Hispanic, Shreveport – Planter Daniel Hernandez. Sponsored by Broadmoor Baptist Church, Shreveport & the Northwest Louisiana Baptist Association.
>> Iglesia Gracia Y Restauracion, Kenner – Planter Yony Matute. Sponsored by William Blvd. Baptist Church, Kenner & New Orleans Baptist Association / Send North America: New Orleans
>> Iglesia Hispana de Sulphur – Planter Jose Perez-Sanchez. Sponsored by Houston River Baptist Church, Lake Charles & Carey Baptist Association.
>> Plaucheville Mission – Planter Norris Landry. Sponsored by Life Point Church, Mansura & Louisiana Baptist Association.
How about 6 every month in 2015?
Interested in Church Planting? Start here:
- I think I want to Plant a Church, What Now?
- 5 Things You Must Do Before You Plant a Church
- 10 Biblical and Practical Ways to Get Involved in Church Planting
- Every Church Can Encourage Church Planting & Multiplication
- Every Church Can Be A Church Planting Partner
- Your Church Can Be A Parent to A New Church or Campus
Ready to Plant? Consider “the Most Cajun Place on Earth” #churchplanting
Great opportunity open to plant & partner in Vermillion Parish, one of Louisiana’s least reached areas – only 4% evangelical according to thearda.org. Sponsor church, location, core team, cooperative funding ready to go. Pray with us & spread the word.
Message me for more info.
Check out these articles on getting ready to plant:
- I think I want to Plant a Church, What Now?
- 5 Things You Must Do Before You Plant a Church
- 10 Biblical and Practical Ways to Get Involved in Church Planting
- Every Church Can Encourage Church Planting & Multiplication
- Every Church Can Be A Church Planting Partner
- Your Church Can Be A Parent to A New Church or Campus
Lane Corley 