In the late 70’s, I had the privilege of pastoring my first church, the Barataria Baptist Church in Lafitte, LA, just south of New Orleans. During that time, we built a new sanctuary.
It was, to say the least, an interesting process. Lafitte, like New Orleans, actually sits below sea level and is in the middle of a swamp. As is much of south Louisiana, it is essential that the foundation of a building is prepared correctly. Because of this, we brought in hundreds of truckloads of dirt and raised the building site to six feet above sea level. Then, we had huge pile drivers pound one hundred and fifty creosoted telephone poles deep into the earth until they actually disappeared under the ground. Next, strategic ditches were dug over the telephone poles to form rebar reinforced beams, steel mesh was placed to cover the entire foundation area, and a solid concrete floor was poured over all these components. It was a strong foundation.
The foundation was to be severely tested nearly 30 years later by hurricanes Katrina, Ike and finally Gustav. After Gustav, the town of Jean Lafitte was completely underwater—except for Barataria Baptist Church that was built upon a strong, firm foundation. Although wind and rain battered the church building and did some damage, the church was not flooded.
A new church plant must be planted on a firm foundation. The planter is a key element of the church plant foundation. But, there are additional elements that are important if the church plant is to be a healthy and reproducing church.
A sound strategy or plan is an additional component of a strong church plant foundation. Strategy starts with vision but will die there without implementing the appropriate next steps. I want to share two fundamental ideas about strategy:
· Strategy is biblical. You can find God’s strategy in creation and redemption. Nehemiah is a great strategy model. Jesus had a definite strategy that included selection of apostles as He moved toward the cross. Paul strategized as he chose key cities to begin churches.
· Strategy is not difficult. It is like planning a vacation trip with a map. You determine where you are and you know where you want to go. You plan what you need to do before the trip and what you need to do during the trip in order to reach your destination. That’s strategy.
A God-called church planter with a well-thought out and executed strategy is essential for a healthy church plant.
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posted by: Larry Baker on November 14th, 2008
The New Testament is clear that Jesus Christ is the foundation or cornerstone of the New Testament church. Jesus, speaking of Himself, told Peter, “Upon this Rock I will build my church.” (Matthew 16:18) Peter understood clearly what Jesus was saying when he wrote that Jesus was “the living stone. . .a chosen and precious cornerstone. . .” (I Peter 2: 4-8) and Paul states this fact when he wrote, “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (I Cor. 3:11). Jesus is the foundation upon which the church and any new church are built.
But, when we are talking about the blueprint for a new church plant, there are some significant elements that are foundational. Without these elements, the plant most likely will be unsuccessful at worst and unhealthy at best.
What are these foundational elements? The key foundational element is a called by God church planter. Many church plants fail because the planter was not called.
Church planting is hard. It is similar to the difficulty of being an international missionary. If you drill down deep enough, the reason that international missionaries sometimes fail is because they have not experienced a call. When the going gets tough and they use up all of their personal resources, they fail. This is true of church planters, too. The testimony of many international missionaries as well as successful church planters is that sometimes the ministry gets tough—too tough to humanly sustain the passion and effort to get the job done. In those times, it’s the call that gives the missionary or church planter the strength to go on.
Most denominations require rigorous assessment of all candidates who are seeking resources to plant a church. In all of these assessments, calling is an important attribute that the planter must possess.
What is a calling? How do you define it? Those that have been called into ministry understand that a calling is an inner understanding that drives the individual to know that God wants you to take a certain course of action in following Him. It is usually accompanied by a great passion, some talents and the affirmation of other believers. It is a strong understanding that this is what God wants you to do. If you have this calling, you will know it. If you do not have a calling to plant a church, you are doomed to failure.
Over the years, I have had conversations with numerous people who think they might like to plant a church. Some were unemployed, some had had a bad experience with their present or former church, and some have had difficulties with trying to change a church. These are not good reasons for planting a church. The only reason for planting a church is because God has called you to be a church planter. The other side of the coin is that if God is calling a person to be a church planter, he will never be satisfied until he is doing His will. If you are called to plant a church, I hope you will move forward and follow God’s will for your life.
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posted by: Larry Baker on November 9th, 2008
Planting a successful and healthy church is a lot like building a house. One of the most important elements of prebuilding is the architectural design of the new house. No reputable house builder would begin without a solid, all system-inclusive blueprint to use in the construction process.
Church planting requires careful attention to preplanning. A “blueprint” must be developed. There are many aspects of a healthy church that should be planned even before the first service is begun.
Often I meet with perspective church planters who are so excited and extremely committed to planting a church. But after talking with them, I see that they are enthralled with the idea and know the importance of planting churches, but they have never really given much thought about all the components that go into the planting of a successful, healthy church plant.
So, how do you begin the church planting process? You must begin with vision. You must have a clear picture of what you want the new church to look like and how you want it to function.
I remember when Lou Anne and I built our home in Hopkinsville. We had a vague idea of how we wanted our new home to look and what features to incorporate into the new house. We studied numerous house building project magazines until we found a design that we felt would meet our needs. We had blueprints developed that included key components. We wanted a house built on a firm foundation, provide the electric power we needed, provide good plumbing, comfort control, protection from the elements, security, space to meet all our family needs and be attractive.
Six months after construction began, our new home was ready to occupy. It was just what we wanted and functioned well for our family. It looked like the vision we started with before building and had all the systems built-in to make it a successful and functioning dwelling place.
Church planting is just like that. You must begin with a vision and you must develop a well-developed blueprint/plan of how to achieve the vision. Planting a new church requires careful prelaunch preparation. The health and effectiveness of the new church plant depends on this early planning.
Next time: What is the foundation of a new church plant?
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posted by: Larry Baker on November 2nd, 2008
Sunday, Lou Anne and I had the awesome privilege of worshiping with the eight-month-old Crosspoint Church meeting in the Morehead Conference Center. It was a great, upbeat worship that was attended by somewhere between 200 and 300 worshipers. The music was excellent. Daniel Lucas, lead pastor, preached the concluding sermon in a series he called, “Religion Bytes”, based on Paul’s letter to the Galatians. It was an excellent sermon that highlighted the difference between grace and law.
At the end of the service, the congregation moved to the swimming pool at Morehead University where 16 new believers were baptized by Pastor Lucas. I think it was the first baptism service that I’ve ever witnessed that had a lifeguard on duty. What an exciting event!
If my figures are correct, I think that during the short life of this new church, 30 new believers have been baptized. That’s amazing and inspiring!
But, it shouldn’t be surprising. The church is doing everything it can to be inviting and safe for people far from God. Greeters, in their brown Crosspoint t-shirts, were everywhere shaking hands and welcoming everyone with warm smiles and greetings. Jesus was lifted up in the music.
Pastor Daniel Lucas preached a clear message about Jesus and the meaning of salvation. People responded in faith.
One strong emphasis was made during the service: the importance of being baptized as a public profession of faith in Jesus. My impression was that this was a regular feature of Pastor Daniel’s sermons. I also noted he began the invitation with his introduction to the sermon and repeated the invitation to come to Christ throughout his message.
Sometimes, I’m dismayed that we have made something out of baptism that it isn’t. Southern Baptists are right on target in their proclamation that water baptism does not save. In fact, it is heresy to proclaim that baptism does save or is part of salvation.
New Testament baptism isn’t a mark of denominational loyalty, either. New Testament baptism is a public proclamation of the salvation that a new believer has experienced.
It is something a believer can never forget. I still remember going into that lead-lined baptistry (they didn’t know the danger of lead back then) at Second Baptist Church, Hopkinsville, and being baptized when I was 11 years old. I can’t remember the words spoken at that service, but I will never forget the public way I declared my new faith in Jesus Christ!
Planters, make much of baptism! New believers need to be baptized as soon as possible after receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Doubt may creep into the mind of a person who has made a verbal declaration of faith, but it is very difficult to forget the physical experience of baptism and its strong public profession that the individual belongs to Jesus. “. . .go and make disciples of all peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. . .” Matthew 28:19
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posted by: Larry Baker on September 30th, 2008
When I share reasons for church planting, the number one reason is because of the vast lostness in our country and our world. The terrible truth is that the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of planet earth do not know the One who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.” In order to reach this large number of the “far from God”, we must plant new churches. New church plants are the most effective means of reaching lost people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Another important reason for planting churches is to “save the denomination”. Now, I know that today a favorite sport of many people is to kick the denomination, to malign the denomination, to ignore the denomination, etc. I have heard many young planters who have said the denomination is not relevant to them or their plants.
Oh, how wrong they are! The Southern Baptist convention is relevant and church planting is one of the reasons why.
Do you remember the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life” starring Jimmy Stewart? It is a classic that is shown numerous times during the Christmas season.
In the movie, Stewart played George Bailey. George, who owned and managed a savings and loan institution, came to a place where he didn’t think he mattered anymore. He was on the verge of committing suicide by jumping into an icy river when Clarence, the angel, decided to show him what his town would look like without the influence of George Bailey. So Clarence sent Bailey to George’s hometown as it would have developed if George had never existed. As you remember, the town was a terrible place. He learned that his life was not unimportant.
What would the world look like without the influence of the Southern Baptist Convention and the amazing Cooperative Program? I’m no angel, but I can give you a glimpse. There would not be those 18 churches that Lou Anne and I planted in Ecuador and Peru. There would not be those hundreds of believers that were won and became the nucleus of those new churches. And worse, there would be a vacuum of churches and believers around the world because there was no Southern Baptist Convention.
I thank God that the Southern Baptist Convention was created and the Cooperative Program has been used by God to carry the Gospel throughout the world.
This heritage is in danger. The future is not so clear. We can safely predict that thousands of Southern Baptist Convention churches will close their doors in the next 20 years. Without a strong church planting ethic in our convention, there will not be strong missionary- sending congregations and strong theological seminaries that are funded by the Cooperative Program.
Let’s “save the denomination” because it is relevant to reaching our world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let’s “save the denomination” by planting strong Acts 1:8 reproducing Bible-believing cooperating new churches!
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posted by: Larry Baker on September 16th, 2008
