“You dream. You plan. You reach. There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, with belief, with confidence and trust in yourself and those around you, there are no limits”
– Michael Phelps
Church = Relevant Biblical Community
- RELEVANT- Speaking the local language & to the local needs
- BIBLICAL – Impacting souls through the message about Jesus Christ
- COMMUNITY – Connecting real people to God & others through Jesus Christ.
A local church speaks God’s Word in the local language & to local needs in a way that impacts souls & connects real people to God & each other through Jesus Christ.
Church Planting 101
by the Apostle Paul
In 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, the Apostle Paul gives five keys to church planting filed under Church Planting 101:
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Church Planting = “announcing the testimony of God” to others (vs. 1)
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Church Planting DOES NOT include impressing people with human wisdom or persuasiveness (vs. 1)
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To plant a church forget everything EXCEPT “Jesus Christ & Him crucified” (vs. 2). Love the Message Paraphrase – “first Jesus & who he is; then Jesus & what he did”
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If you’re planting a church expect to feel inadequate, afraid, very afraid (vs. 3)
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To plant a church, don’t rely on your ability but on God’s Spirit & power. (vs. 4-5)
Keep these five close by for greater fruitfulness & lesser frustration in church planting.
No Limits
A Few Nerd Facts from our Latest Louisiana Church Planting Reports
A few nerd facts from our latest Louisiana Church Planting Report:
> Nine of our current church plants are RE-plants, in closed church properties. Now more than 20 of these around the state.
> 22 Hispanic Church Plants in Louisiana have reported almost 300 new commitments to Christ this year!
> 25 African-American Church Plants in LA have reported 200+ new commitments to Christ in ’16. 2/3 of all plants since ’13 have been non-anglo.
> Sharing facilities is a great way for a church to support church planting. 192 new commitments to Christ in 20 LA plants currently meeting in shared space.
> 19% of @LaBaptists churchplants are in rural areas. Great group of planters! Bivocational, relational, deeply involved in their communities. Unsung heroes for sure!
> 172 new commitments to Christ reported this yr by New Orleans Church Plants. NOLA = 25% of plants & near 50% of @LaBaptists planting budget.
Very proud of all our planters & partners laboring for the Gospel across the Bayou State!
The Circle Church Alexandria, Planter Vincent Smith
The Field Church, Mandeville Core Group coming together. Planters Sam Cirinioni & Chad Wiles
Replant St. Rose Community Church, Planter Brandon Langley
Westbank Baptist Church Marerro, Planter Ryan Melson
Celebrating 17 Years Married Today
It was 1999, the world was coming to an end (remember Y2K? Ha!), but we were getting married!! Grateful for my good thing (Proverbs 18:22), Heather Johnson Corley!
Swells: Lessons from the Psalms on Surviving Life’s Ups and Downs
Bridge Church tackled the book of Psalms in our summer series called Swells. We covered 8 major themes in Psalms including: Worship, the Word of God, Dealing with Difficult People, Dealing with Discouragement. Get the audio from this series HERE or by subscribing to our Podcast on Itunes. Here are a few highlights:
- Two truths that stand out in the Psalms: God is bigger than anything I face & God is with me no matter where I am or what I’m going through.
- Psalms reminds us that it’s OK to have lows in life. It’s actually NOT a sin to be discouraged or depressed. The very best of folks in this life, do. It IS a sin to go to the wrong place to heal discouragement & depression.
- Our faith in God, not the surface waves of life ultimately define us.
- There are only three kinds of people in life. People who are in the midst of a storm. People who just came out of a storm. People who are about to go through a storm.
- there is POWER in the Word of God. We’re not just reading a good self-help book, we’re connecting with the Living God, through the means he chose to reveal himself to us.
- When waves come, you need resources. And the earth’s resources will not be enough! You need strength inside. Strength from heaven.
- John Bunyan said it well: “This Book (the Bible) will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this Book.”
- D.L. Moody said, “The only way to keep a broken vessel full is by keeping the faucet turned on.” Keeping the faucet of God’s Word running repeatedly through your mind will clear out the garbage and keep you pure.
- It’s OK to FEEL FRUSTRATED & FEARFUL. As long as you take those frustrations to the right place. We often think – “I shouldn’t have these feelings.” But feelings are a part of the journey toward experiencing God. We don’t waller in our feelings. That’s called sulking & doesn’t accomplish much. David kept moving, took his feelings to God, & expected God to do something about it.
- If you’ve ever realized how badly you needed grace, you’re more likely to extend it to others.
- People & our feelings will let us down. But God will be a shelter.
- We can’t always say that bad things happen in our life are the consequences of sin, but sometimes they are. You will know. Sometimes bad things happen b/c we live in a bad world. Sometimes bad things happen b/c of other people’s bad decisions. Sometimes it’s just the natural outworkings of foolish decision making. Sometimes it may be discipline from God. God disciplines those he loves.
- There’s great freedom in living a life of integrity & character, powered by God’s son.
- Becoming a Christian is not an insurance policy from bad things. It IS an insurance policy against purposeless, meaningless life. We can be assured, that even the bad things that we can’t figure out are a part of God’s plan. And we can cry out to God for deliverance & be assured of His presence & that He will answer us.
- Results of Trusting God should be greater courage, greater confidence, victory over fear, risk taking for God’s kingdom & for the sake of lost people!
- Some of us never experience God’s protection, b/c we’re so focused on providing for our own safety & comfort. We learn to trust God outside of our comfort zone. “God doesn’t give you more that you can handle.” No! God always gives you more than you can handle, so that you can learn to trust him.
- There’s never a place that worship should not break out in our hearts & minds. We should always be in awe of him. We should always be coming back to the truth – HE IS WITH ME! HE IS BIGGER THAN THIS!
Multiply I-12
The I-12 Corridor includes Livingston, Tangipahoa, St. Tammany Parish, St. Helena, & Washington Parishes. Three Baptist Associations cover this area- Northshore Baptist Association (Hammond/Ponchatoula, Covington/Mandeville, Slidell) & Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association (Denham Spring, Walker area), Baptist Associations of SE LA (Franklinton, Bogalusa, Amite). It’s been one of the fastest growing in Louisiana over the last few years. Estimated population of these five parishes combined is now 584,048. Population has grown an estimated 7% over the last 7 years. Some great work happening on Louisiana’s I-12 Corridor through Church Planting. Still more is needed. Here’s some of the latest data:
- Population of Northshore Baptist Association area: 367,799 (7% increase since 2010).
- 1 church for every 4,485 residents on the Northshore.
- Only 3.1 % of the population of NSBA attends worship in a SBC Church.
- Only 1.8% of the population of NSBA attends Bible Study or small group in a SBC Church.
- Churches have grown by 2.3% over the last five years, but not as fast as the population growth of 7%.
- Evangelical Population of the I-12 Corridor: 25%
- 270,000+ unaffiliated with any denomination or church (via the arda.com).
- 1 church for every 2,995 residents in Livingston Parish.
- Only 4.8% of the population of Eastern LA Association attend worship in a SBC church.
- Only 2.8% of the population of Eastern LA Association area attend Bible Study in a SBC church.
Planters, Partners needed.
Pray for our current planters in this area:
- Miguel Rodriguez, Nueva Vida en Cristo, Bogalusa
- Miguel Flores-Olivera, Iglesia Bautista El Camino, Denham Springs
- Joshua Spinks, The Way Church of Livingston, Denham Springs
- Jeff Smith, Genesis Church, Walker
- Louis Husser, Boots N Saddles Cowboy Church, Folsom
- Richard Hanson, Celebration Church, Mandeville
- Matthew C. Smith, Connect Church, Covington
- Randy Ray, River Rd. Fellowship, Hammond
- Sam Cirrincione, The Field Church, Mandeville
- Derek Kitterlin, New Life Community Church, Covington
- Elltore Austin, Still Water, Hammond
- Ramon Rodriguez, Fuente de Agua Viva, Albany
- Marvin Mercado, Iglesia Agua Viva, Pearl River
- Ramon Rodriguez, Vida Nueva, Ponchatoula
- Larry Lucas Jr., Faith Church, Franklinton
Multiply Acadiana
The Greater Lafayette area has been called Acadiana due to the influence of French Cajun culture. In 1965, a flag was even issued to give identity to the area & people. Beautiful area, beautiful people. And a great opportunity for evangelism for would be church planters & partners. Here’s some quick missiological data:
>> 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 (they’re not all Catholic)
>> 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 2,850. NAMB suggests 1 to 2,000.
>> Lafayette Parish population: 221,578. 20 SBC Churches. Church to Population Ratio: 1/11,079.
Planters, Partners needed.
Pray for our current planters in Acadiana:
- Stuart Amidon, Christ Church Opelousas;
- Louis Charrier, New Life Oppelousas;
- Ernest Davis, Olivet Christian Fellowship, Lafayette;
- Kent Duhon, Freedom Biker Church Lafayette;
- Scott Guillory, Christ Church Abbeville;
- Darrell Guy, Unity 1 Baptist Church, Franklin;
- Melvin Mendoza, El Revuevo Lafayette & Iglesia Nueva Vida New Iberia;
- Luis Romero, Iglesia Nueva Vida Abbeville & Mowata;
- Aaron Shamp, Redeemer City Church, Lafayette;
- Dennis Smith, Berean Baptist, Crowley.
Also, had the opportunity to meet new Evangeline Baptist Association Director of Missions, David Carlton. Dr. Carlton spent 18 years serving in Africa with the International Mission Board. Looking forward to working with him & his staff to reach Acadiana. Check them out online HERE.
Other Acadiana Director of Missions:
- Alan Knuckles, Acadia-Louisiana-Mt. Olive Association. Alan’ associations bleed over into Acadiana & Central Louisiana. Several communities in his area with no evangelical churches. Prayers, planters, partners needed.
- Steven Kelly, Gulf Coast Baptist Association (Morgan City area). Gulf-Coast is a brand new solo association. Strategy for this area coming soon.
Worth Reading: Who Moved My Pulpit? Leading Change in the Church
Loved Thom Rainer’s short but extremely helpful book on leading change in the local church called Who Moved My Pulpit? Rainer shares lots of personal & real life scenarios from churches experiencing & going through change. A must read if you are a leader of a church in need of change.
Rainer’s Formula or Process of Leading Change:
- Stop & Pray.
- Confront & Communicate a Sense of Urgency.
- Build an Eager Coalition.
- Become a Voice & Vision of Hope.
- Deal with People Issues.
- Move from Inward Focus to an Outward Focus.
- Pick Low Hanging Fruit.
- Implement & Consolidate Change.
Lot’s of great how to info for each point of the process.
A few of my favorite quotes:
- “I have never seen successful and sustaining change take place in a church without prayer. Never. Not once.”
- “Coasting is for leaders who have stopped leading. But true change leaders expend a tremendous amount of effort. They face challenges and conflicts regularly. They have discouraging setbacks.”
- “Effective change leadership in the church will not take place in human power; it can only come from God.”
- “Too many of our church members treat their congregations as a religious country club. They pay their dues and expect to be served. It’s a “me-first” attitude that is endemic in the unhealthy churches in America.”
- “If you are not being criticized, you are not leading.”
- “If you know you have to make a difficult decision with someone, don’t delay. The situation will only worsen.”
- “Great leaders are transparent leaders. Great change takes place when the leaders are transparent.”
- “If you want to be comfortable, don’t lead change in the church. If you don’t want to be criticized, don’t lead change in the church. If you never want to put your paycheck at risk, don’t lead change in the church.”
Must read it you are one of the vast majority of pastors & churches in need of change across America. Can be read in a day or two & immediately applied whatever your situation. Resource Kit & more available with the book HERE. Get it on Amazon HERE.
Lane Corley 