Submitted by philip on
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer
As the year comes to a close, Louisiana Baptist missions efforts are reflecting on a fruitful harvest that has seen significant progress in churches planted along with baptisms and salvation decisions in those new church plants.
Through Oct. 29, Louisiana Baptist church planters have started 24 churches this year, eight more than last year’s total of 16. Those church plants this year have resulted in 1,302 decisions to accept Christ and 313 baptisms.
Fourteen of the 24 churches planted this year are located in south Louisiana. Also, 14 of those new church plants are non-Anglo (mostly Spanish and African American), though not all are located in south Louisiana.
Through 2020 – as part of a plan that came about as a result of the President’s 2020 Commission that was tasked with developing and recommending a seven-year ministry strategy for maximizing the effectiveness of Louisiana Baptists in reaching the lost during that time period – the goal is to plant 300 new churches. Special attention is given to New Orleans and south Louisiana.
“In church planting we made it a goal to start at least half of church plants non-Anglo church plants because that was the greatest need,” said Lane Corley, Louisiana Baptists’ church planting strategist. “We will come close to 30 and getting that two-thirds in south Louisiana.”
In fact, since 2010, 91 churches have been planted, resulting in 6,001 professions of faith and 1,305 baptisms. Those statistics reflect only the first 36 months of a new church plant.
Some of those positive numbers can be attributed to Louisiana Baptists’ commitment to giving to the Cooperative Program and the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering, said Corley.
In 2013, a record amount of $1,983,000 was given to the Georgia Barnette Offering. Louisiana Baptist leaders are hopeful another record will be broken again this year. The offering goal is $1,945,000, compared to a goal of $1,850,000 in 2013.
“The Georgia Barnette Of fering is a great tool for missions and church planting in Louisiana,” Corley said. “It’s getting it done in Louisiana along with the Cooperative Program. The generosity of Louisiana Baptists is making a huge impact in our state.”
The Georgia Barnette Offering has helped fund, among many ministry efforts, supplements for new church plants. During the September meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Board, $150,000 was approved for church planting grants, used mostly to help those churches construct their first building. The grants typically are continued for three years, when churches are expected to be more self-sustaining and less reliable on funding from the Louisiana Baptist Convention.
One church benefiting from those grants is Christ Church in Opelousas.
Launched on Sept. 21, the church is a plant of Christ Church in Lafayette that began a multi-site strategy to more effectively reach Acadiana with the Gospel. The Opelousas location meets in a local homeless shelter, of which the director is also a member of the Lafayette location.
After sending out a launch team of 20 in August, attendance has increased to 50, including some from the homeless shelter. Pastor Stuart Amidon said more are expected to join, with baptisms scheduled for this month.
“It’s great to be a part of a plant that starts without boundaries between the homeless and those recovering from addiction and run-of-the-mill families,” he said. “We don’t have to deal with the isolationism or fear-of-man issues that a lot of established churches have to deal with today when it comes to different social classes. We just get to come together and worship Jesus remembering we’re all in this boat together.”
Louisiana Baptists’ generosity extends beyond the Cooperative Program and Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering.
Last year alone, Louisiana Baptist churches gave $4.3 million to the International Mission Board’s Lottie Moon Christmas offering, $2.1 million to the North American Mission Board’s Annie Armstrong Easter Offering and $190,000 to World Hunger Fund.
Corley said he is thankful for Louisiana Baptists who understand that cooperation produces much fruit, such as with church planting efforts.
“It’s so great to be part of a state that is generous and understands one sacred trust we have been given and giving to the Great Commission,” Corley said.