ALPHARETTA, Ga. – James Jenkins, a Shreveport-based, jointly funded missionary for the North American Mission Board and the Louisiana Baptist Convention, has been named “African-American Church Planting Missionary of the Year” for his work in starting new Southern Baptist Convention churches in Louisiana last year.
By Mickey Noah
NAMB Staff Writer
ALPHARETTA, Ga. – James Jenkins, a Shreveport-based,
jointly funded missionary for the North American Mission Board and the
Louisiana Baptist Convention, has been named “African-American Church
Planting Missionary of the Year” for his work in starting new Southern
Baptist Convention churches in Louisiana last year.
Richard Harris, vice president-church planting for
NAMB, honored Jenkins before a crowd of over 200 at an awards dinner on
March 24, during the four-day 2006 Church Planting Missionaries Forum
at the Westin Airport Hotel in Atlanta.
“This group of CPM’s (church planting missionaries)
are our front-line strategists to evangelize and congregationalize
North America,” Harris said. “They are the most ethnically
diverse group of leaders in the SBC, and model what North America looks
like when you walk the streets.
“More importantly, they model the true fulfillment
of the Great Commission where it says, ‘. . . make disciples of all
nations.’ And the book of Revelation says, ‘. . . around the
throne there were people from every tribe, every tongue and every
nation.’ These folks are helping model how the church is to look
as the Lord intended,” Harris said.
“It is with great joy and gratitude that NAMB
recognizes James and 2005’s four other most outstanding church planting
missionaries, who are some of the finest of our spiritual warriors, and
who are passionate about penetrating our culture with the gospel,”
Harris said. “These folks are some of the greatest heroes we have as
Southern Baptists.”
Serving in northwest Louisiana and as the statewide
African-American church planting specialist for the state, Jenkins was
cited for his involvement in the planting of over 50 new churches in
Louisiana. His goal is to have 200 new churches – all focused on
the African-American segment of Louisiana’s population – by 2010.
“The higher number of churches in Louisiana would
not only change the church-to-population ratio, but also reduce
lostness among African-Americans in our state,” Jenkins said.
Prior to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, an estimated
1.5 million African-Americans lived in Louisiana, according to the U.S.
Census Bureau. Louisiana ranked ninth among the states for
African-American population.
A Louisiana native, Jenkins has worked as director
of African-American ministries for the Louisiana Baptist Convention
since 1999. He also worked for the Northwest Louisiana Baptist
Association, as a teacher for the Caddo Parish School Board and as a
chief test engineer for Morton Thiokol.
He holds a B.S. degree from Southern University,
Baton Rouge, an M.A. from Louisiana Baptist University, Shreveport, and
an M.A. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth,
Texas.
He and wife Catherine have two daughters, Nicole and Janiece.