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.
2016 Church Planting Update: Approaching Milestones, Answering Objections
Reviewing the first half of 2016 this week in relation to church planting with Louisiana Baptists.
25 Church Plants have started so far!
>> just 5 away from our annual goal of 30.
>> 13 or 52% in New Orleans.
>> 15 or 60% non-Anglo.
>> 14 more in development for this year.
We’re approaching several milestones:
-> 150 plants will put us 1/2 way to our goal of 300 by 2020.
-> also approaching 10,000 new commitments to Christ & 2,000 baptisms through church plants since 2010.
Grateful for the work God is doing through our church plants & our together giving through Cooperative Program & State & National Missions Offerings.
Every now & then, someone comments to me that we are planting too many churches in Louisiana. My answer:
- Church to Population Ratio. South Louisiana is well above national levels of church to population ratio with some communities near 1 church to every 10,000 residents. Our state goal is to get every association to our state average of 1 church to every 2,850 residents. Many north Louisiana communities are well below that. Church planting helps us close this gap.
- Percentage of the population actually attending churches are sinking across our state. This reflects the fact that many churches are in decline &/or churches are not growing as fast as their populations. Church Planting is needed to help close this gap, create more capacity for evangelism, & reach every people group & population segment in our community.
- 3%. Bill Easum has said that denominations & networks must plant 3% of their total population annually just to keep from being in decline. For us as Louisiana Baptists, with 1,600 churches, that would mean having a goal of 48 new churches each year. At that point our goal of 30 is quite conservative & reflects a priority to reach other areas of our nation with much lower levels of evangelical population.
- Saturating Our Communities with the Gospel. Our Southern Baptist strategy & that of other Evangelical partners, has always been a SATURATION strategy. We’re committed to doing ALL we can to get the gospel to EVERY person in our communities. Church plants are evangelistic by nature & by necessity. Existing churches tend to grow less evangelistic over time. We need church plants in every community to stay on the evangelistic edge & saturate every corner of our state with the Gospel.
Check out these resources to help you get started on your church planting journey:
- Does My Community Need a New Church? The Right Questions & Key Indicators
- 10 Biblical & Practical Ways to Get Involved in Church Planting
- Every Church Can Encourage Church Planting and Multiplication
- Every Church Can Be a Church Planting Partner
- Your Church Can Be a Parent to a New Church or Campus
- 5 Things You MUST Do Before Your Plant a Church
Multiply New Orleans
New Orleans is extremely important to Louisiana & our efforts to reach & resource churches there should be of highest priority.
- 21% of the Population of Louisiana live in the New Orleans Baptist Association’s five parishes. (991,000 is the latest estimate)
- Includes Louisiana’s second largest & most diverse Parish – Jefferson
- Louisiana’s largest metro area, with over 1.2 Million living in the Governments statistical area.
- One of the United States’ most influential ports & tourism industries.
- And an often quoted fact: the North American Mission Board’s original charter mentions the necessity of reaching New Orleans.
How are we doing at reaching the Big Easy?
- Church to Population Ratio: 1/7,929
- % of the Population attending Worship in an SBC Church: Only 2.1%
- % Evangelical Population: 11%
- Unaffiliated Population (Nones): 432,270
The churches of New Orleans have endured much & are a strong lot that do great work reaching its population. And the story God has began writing through church planting over the last few years, in my opinion, is historic & amazing.
- In 2012, New Orleans became a Send City in the North American Mission Board’s Send City Strategy & George Ross became the Send City Coordinator.
- In May 2013, we held the first Send City Strategy meeting at Celebration Church to coordinate strategy & try to open a door for church planting to make a difference in the area.
- Since that time, 21 new churches have been planted, resulting in 811 new commitments to Christ & 316 baptisms! And we’ve got at least 6 more in development for this year.
- Church Plants have gone from 4 in 2012, to 2 in 2013, 4 in 2014, 7 in 2015, & 8 going on 14 this year!
- Louisiana Baptists have now gone over $1 million of cooperative funding invested in New Orleans for Church Planting since the beginning of Send New Orleans in 2012. Not including NAMB or Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering grants for startup & building renovation cost.
- A wide door of opportunity has indeed opened for the next generation of churches to be planted in New Orleans.
New Orleans is a tough place to minister & we have some incredible young families laboring to plant literally in some of Louisiana’s toughest neighborhoods. I’m inspired by their courage & hard work & pray for them by name on a weekly basis. I also thank God for George & Joy Ross. George has given all his energy & influence to enlisting his network across the south to support & sponsor church planting in New Orleans. I don’t know of another person who could have brought the number & type of churches together for this effort as George has. And as those who planted virtually alone, Heather & I have been a bit envious of the resources & fellowship that planters today have across the state, but especially in New Orleans, as Joy & George have pastored & coached the planter families with great care. I’m grateful for New Orleans Baptist Association leadership that have accommodated the Send City strategy & have opened their arms to church planters moving to the city with a vision to reach people. Since I started working for Louisiana Baptists in late 2013, the need to resource & plant churches in New Orleans has been emphasized & commended by leaders across our state. I’m glad that our budget reflects that. This year alone over $600,000 will go toward ministry in New Orleans Baptist Association, including ministry at the Port, compassion ministries across the city, & church health efforts through the Association. Grateful for the generosity of Louisiana Baptist churches & our state Missions Support Committee that have said Amen! to these efforts. I believe we’re well on our way to a church planting movement in New Orleans & Louisiana. Looking forward to the future!
Follow much of what is happening in church planting in New Orleans on the Send New Orleans Facebook page. And you can get info on our planters in New Orleans by checking out the Planter profiles at NAMB.net.
You can meet some of our New Orleans planters along with being equipped & inspired at this year’s Multiply Louisiana Conference to be held at New Orleans Seminary, August 29-30. Info & Register Here.
Here’s a few of the latest New Orleans Baptism Pics from the last year:
Church Planter, Partnership Development Started When You Were Born
Searcy Baptist Church, where my mother & sister are members, lead a Bible Study at a Mobile Home Park in Covington. They’ve been a vital partner in our ministry for years. Grateful.
I realized a few years ago that every church that I have ever been a part of since birth has played a role in my church planting journey. Beyond the investment in my life to share the gospel, care for my family, & teach me the word of God while I was there, they have either taken mission trips to help our church plants, given money or supplies, served as prayer partners & encouragers, or done all of the above. Looking back, I can honestly say, that I’m still planting churches today, because of God’s grace, & the incredible partners that He has put in my life to hold the rope for my family through prayer, care, & generosity.
When someone says to me now, “I think I want to plant a church one day”, one of my first questions is “How’s Your Network?” Because I know, I could not have made it, without every relational connection I have. I’ve needed every ounce of concern, care, accountability, & generosity they’ve given.
Church Planter, understand that you will need to leverage EVERY relational connection you have to be successful. God started developing your partnership network when you were born. Develop partners by:
- Make a list of everyone you know that may be interested in your spiritual journey, seeing you be fruitful for God, & seeing new people come to faith in Christ.
- Send them a letter or email letting them know about what God has done, is doing in your life, & invite them to be a partner through prayer & involvement. (You may need to call them & apologize for tearing down their basketball goal while a teenager, or some other shenanigans. Guilty.)
- Communicate regularly how God is using your work together to make a difference for Christ. Email, Facebook, Phone Calls, Text Messages, etc.
- Make the connection between God’s grace in your relationship with that church or individual & your own fruitfulness. And thank them every chance you get. And thank God for the gift of relationships with generous people.
Some come to faith in Christ & Church Planting later in life & don’t have as deep of relational connections as those blessed to be born into the faith.
- Don’t sweat it. Remember, God put you on this journey. He will bring the people around you to hold the rope as you dive in.
- Still, think way back to teachers, coaches, churches that may have taken an interest in your life & let them know where you are now. If nothing else, they’ll be blessed to see your faith & courage, but they may jump on board in other ways.
We share other partnership development hacks & resources at our Greenhouse Training for Church Multiplication. The next one is September 15 & 16 at Acadian Baptist Center in Eunice. Get more info & register HERE.
And, if you’re a church wondering what you could do in the world, let me suggest taking a look around at those who have grown up & gone out from your church in ministry to other places & see if there could be partnership opportunities. And there’s no right or wrong way to be a partner. Check out these 10 Ideas to get you started.
Our Reactions = Rats in the Cellar
What do my REACTIONS say about me? and about what’s in my heart? A lot! I love C.S. Lewis’ notes on our reactions being like rats in the cellar.
what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is… what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth. If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding.
what we are matters even more that what we do… what we do matters chiefly as evidence of what we are.
C.S. Lewis, from Mere Christianity
My reactions to insults, interruptions, corrections, questions from people I have hidden angst against. My snapping at my spouse or kids or coworkers. These reveal what’s really in my heart. I can excuse it, call it an exception, blame it on my ancestors, but ultimately its pointing to something that’s amiss in my life. Christ’s work in our hearts produces “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). These do not always automatically appear in our lives. They’re born out of being convicted of our sin and going to God for help.
Ask: What are my reactions saying about what I am? Ask Jesus, to reveal and replace for his glory.
Lewis finished this thought with a reminder of our need for God:
the change which I most need to undergo is a change that my own direct, voluntary effort cannot bring about… After the first few steps in the Christian life we realise that everything which really needs to be done in our souls can be done only by God.
