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Daily Walk: Compassion, Provision, Presence, Worship
(In a study of the Harmony of the Gospels) Luke 9:7-9, Mark 6:14-29, Matthew 14:1-21, Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:10-17, John 6:1-15, Mark 6:45-52, Matthew 14:22-33, John 6:16-21, Mark 6:53-56, Matthew 14:34-36
- Compassion – Jesus sees us and knows our needs.
- Provision – Jesus supplies what we lack.
- Presence – Jesus comes to us in the storms.
- Worship – Jesus reveals to us who He is. And He is worthy of worship.
What now?
- See people as Jesus saw them. With compasssion.
- Give what I have to Jesus. He can always make more out of my limited efforts and amount.
- Trust that He is with me no matter what I’m going through.
- Worship Him as Lord over all creation.
- Make room for withdrawal to remote places to rest and pray.
Fall 2027 Assessment Retreat
Our Fall Church Planter Assessment Retreat in Baton Rouge is a wrap. Incredible group of planters, replanters, and Sending Churches. Next one is April 15-16, 2027. 12 spots up for grabs. There are 60 or so other retreats around the country with Send Network. Start your church planting or replanting journey here: https://www.sendnetwork.com/plant/.
Multisite in Louisiana Baptist life
New Research is coming out on Multisite Churches. Here are a few stats on Multisite among Louisiana Baptists:
- How many? 18 Louisiana Baptist churches have tried multisite, and 14 are still multisite today. So it’s still rare in Louisiana, but most churches that try it keep it going.
- Where? Mostly north and central Louisiana. 4 in NE Louisiana. 4 in CenLA. 2 in NW Louisiana, 2 in SE Louisiana, 2 in SW Louisiana.
- Share of churches? The 14 current multisite churches are about 1% of the 1,205 Louisiana churches that filed a 2025 report. They account for 34 sites total, or about 2.8% of those churches.
- Attendance and baptisms: these 14 churches report 21,241 in weekly worship, which is 15.5% of Louisiana’s 137,090. They also report 1,838 baptisms, which is 20.5% of the state’s 8,985.
- Largest and smallest: the largest averages 6,231 in weekly worship (all campuses combined) and the smallest averages 211. So multisite isn’t only for megachurches.
- By size: 8 of the 14 churches have over 1,000 in weekly worship, 2 have 500-999 and 4 have under 500.
- Growth: since 2019, attendance at the 12 churches with comparable data is down 2.8%, compared with 4.7% statewide. So multisite churches have held up somewhat better than the state, but it isn’t a guarantee of growth.
- Success Rate? 21 of 29 campuses launched (72%) are still open or became independent churches. 8 (28%) closed. So success rate is 72%.
- Churches that stopped: 4 of the 18 churches that tried multisite (22%) closed their campuses and went back to a single site.
- Mergers: 12 of the 29 campuses (41%) began as a merger with a struggling or closed church.
- Funding: 9 of the 18 churches (50%) received LBC/NAMB church planting and replanting funding, covering 14 of the 29 campuses (48%).
Drafted with AI assistance.
Dennis Watson, Pastor of Celebration Church in New Orleans, which has 8 campuses and always planning more gave six benefits of a Multisite Campus Strategy at a Multisite Roundtable event held in 2018. He said, 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?
Let us know if we can help you discern a call to multiplication through campus development, church planting, or replanting.
Church Closures Since 2020
Somebody recently asked me about Church Closures since 2020 and the aftermath of Covid Lockdowns, Hurricane Laura, and Hurricane Ida in Louisiana. I was curious and did a little digging and found there has been a tremendous impact.
433 SBC churches in Louisiana have been marked closed 2001–2025 (336 with closure dates; 97 with no date recorded)
Closure rates accelerated sharply since 2020:
- 2002–2019: 156 closures, averaging 8.7 per year
- 2020–2025: 179 closures, averaging 30 per year
- Peak year was 2021 with 57 closures. 33 in 2020. 29 in 2022. 109 total 2020-2022.
Mergers have been a factor.
- 34 organizations closed via merger: 28 into another SBC congregation, 6 into a non-SBC body.
- Mergers represent 8% of all closures.
Geography:
- 74% of closures were in Metro areas, 23% non-metro, 3% city not listed.
- Top Cities: New Orleans 54 · Baton Rouge 26 · Shreveport 18 · Metairie 12 · Bossier City 11 · Hammond 9 · Lafayette, Pineville, Slidell, Lake Charles, Denham Springs, West Monroe, Bastrop, Monroe 8 each · Kenner, Minden, Gonzales, Alexandria 5 each. The remaining 240 closures are spread across 143 additional communities, most with one or two.
Why Churches Close?
A lot could be said about this, but in brief, thinking about the significant increase in closures in Louisiana:
- 2020 Disruptions. The disruption from 2020 in Louisiana with Covid lockdowns and Hurricanes Laura, Delta, and Zeta, led many churches and missions that were struggling to stay alive to call it quits. Hurricanes mean significant numbers of people are displaced, some for extended periods, and significant numbers choose permanent relocation in the aftermath. Laura was definitely one of those kinds of storms for Louisiana.
- Urban Decline. New Orleans has never fully recovered its pre-Katrina population. Other Louisiana large cities struggle with crime, declining infrastructure, and population loss. When these happen, churches struggle as well.
- Pastor Shortage. Louisiana Baptist maintain a list of 200+ churches that are without a pastor at any given time. If the church has had a long season of decline and has few young families, they are likely to choose closure given the realities of the situation. Inability to find a pastor or pay a pastor a living wage is a real struggle for 100’s of congregations in Louisiana.
- Lack of Evangelism. The engine of growth in the New Testament Church is the proclamation of the message about Christ, backed by the power of the Holy Spirit. It always has been this and always will be, this side of eternity. Today, most churches lack an evangelism strategy. We’ve stopped engaging our community. We don’t have clear discipleship pathways for newcomers. We lack the systems to grow the church. And just like the human body, when systems begin to fail, death is close behind.
It doesn’t have to be this way. The Gospel can overcome the struggles caused by cultural change, leadership capacity, and lack of evangelism. We can be a solution to decline in our communities through the power of Christ. We can raise up the next generation of leaders from within, instead of looking for them in other places. We can put back on the shoes of gospel readiness and share the life changing, community shaking message that is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16).
Planters and Partners Needed in Baton Rouge
SN Louisiana Summer Roundtable in Baton Rouge today:
- 681,671 peope in the Baptist Association of Greater Baton Rouge (East BR, West BR, Iberville, Ascension, Point Coupee Parishes).
- 83 SBC churches, 1 church for every 8,213 residents. To get to our state ratio of 1 to 3,000, 144 new churches would be needed.
- 1.1% of the population attends Bible Study in a SBC church in Baton Rouge, a 2% decline over the last 10 years. To increase Bible Study participation by 1%, 6,817 worshippers would need to be added.
- 1.7% of the population attends Worship in a SBC church in Baton Rouge, a 7% decline over the last 10 years. To increase Worship Attendance by 1%, 6,817 worshippers would need to be added.
- Adherents: 25% Evangelical Protestant (10.5% of those are SBC), 4.5% Black Protestant, 4.4% Mainline Protestant, 20% Roman Catholic, 2.7% Cults and Other Religions, 43.3% Non Affiliated with Any Religion (None).
- Racial Demographics: 47% Anglo, 41% African-American, 6.5% Hispanic, 2.4% Asian, 3.2% Other.
- 68% of SBC churches in Baton Rouge have experienced decline since 2000.
- Significant towns with no SBC Church: Donaldsonville – 6,831 people. St. Gabriel – 6,857 people.
Planters and Partners are needed in Baton Rouge. Get started today: https://www.sendnetworklouisiana.com/get-involved
Pray for these current Send Network plants in Baton Rouge:
- David Brown at First Unity in north Baton Rouge. REPLANT. Sending Church is First Community Antioch.
- Casey Williamson at Goodwood Community Church. REPLANT. Sending Church is Christ Covenant, Baton Rouge.
- Sheldon Early at Life Changers Church Zachary. Sending Church is Lakeshore NOLA.
- Luis Zapata, Iglesia Confraternidad, Prairieville. Sending Church is Fellowship Church, Prairieville.
- Jarrett Wells at Lake Church, Prairieville. REPLANT. Sending Church is Fellowship Church, Prairieville.
Upcoming works:
- Haewon Lee, planting a new Korean Church starting in July. Asian population growth is expected across Baton Rouge.
Church Closings
Met with three churches that are facing the decision to close the doors for good this week. 25 churches per year close in Louisiana. Replant rate is about 7 per year. Some are no longer viable due to location. Most simply wait too long to address key issues related to decline. Replant ready pastors, planters, and partner churches needed.
Looking fwd to the Revive Summit with Richard Blackaby and Mark Clifton and the NAMB Replant Team, September 9-10 in Lafayette. More info and Register: https://louisianabaptists.org/event/revive-summit-lafayette/
Six Years with the Bible Memory App
I’ll celebrate six years of daily engagement with the Bible Memory App this week. This App has been a great spiritual growth companion. Desiring to be more devoted to scripture memory, I downloaded several apps and the Bible Memory App stuck with me. I begin each day and end each day by reviewing 5-7 verses. I also add new verses and review memorized verses from my daily devotional reading each morning. Then, throughout the day, as I have occasion (waiting in line, etc.) I jump on and review a few verses.
In six years, this App has helped me master over 2,000 verses. I’ve also utilized the app to take on the challenge of memorizing large chunks of scripture including the Sermon on the Mount and the book of 1 John and several entire chapters. This habit has also helped me as a witness and a preacher as verses are more readily recalled and I’m always ready when asked to share without a lot of opportunity to prep.
Why invest time in Bible Memory?
- Jesus Did. He quoted scripture in response to temptation and his teachings are full of obvious Old Testament references.
- The Disciples Did. As a matter of fact, part of the duty of a called disciple was to memorize their teacher’s teachings. They did and thus we have the Gospels and the New Testament letters.
- The Bible Tells Us To. We are commanded to meditate and to hide the word in our hearts.
- The Word of God is Power. It never returns void. It has the power to save souls. It’s sharper than any sword. And it will endure for all eternity.
- It’s better than any alternative. What else would you do with that 15-35 minutes per day? Doom scroll on social media? TV? Consider the comparative impact on your soul with any other use of time.
So, if you’re a disciple of Christ, and have not yet developed a rhythm of Bible Memory, try out the Bible Memory App. Here are a few articles I’ve written over the last six years about how and why to get started:
- Cultivating the Habit of Scripture Memory – Link
- Why and How to Memorize Scripture – Link
- Getting Started with the Bible Memory App – Link
This App will not click with everyone. That’s ok. Find another way to develop this soul-sustaining habit of scripture memory. Bible memory is a great adventure that you’ll never regret.
The PRO version of the Bible Memory App is only $9.99. Get 20% or a couple bucks off with this link – PRO.
World War 2 Family Photos
My Grandfather, PT Corley, wasn’t in France on D-Day. He was in Italy, where US Forces had taken control of Rome a couple of days before. Not a lot out there about the war in Italy. I enjoyed Rick Atkinson’s trilogy if you’re interested in the North Africa and Italy campaigns.
- An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa – 1942 to 1943
- The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy – 1943 to 1944
- The Guns at Last Night: The War in Western Europe – 1944 to 1945
The Power of Multiplication – Who’s Your One?
What would be better? To preach to 100,000 people everyday or make 1 disciple who will make another disciple who will make another disciple who will make another disciple?
