As seats in the designated area of Samford University’s Pete Hanna Center began to fill up so did the volume level. All around the room boisterous greetings and energetic handshakes were exchanged. The atmosphere was exactly what Lamar Duke, an associate in the office of associational missions and church planting at the Alabama State Board of Missions (SBOM), was hoping it would feel like — a family reunion.
This was the beginning of the Alabama Church Planter Network dinner, held Nov. 9 as a lead-in to the Alabama Baptist Pastors Conference and the Alabama Baptist State Convention (ABSC), which were Nov. 10 and 11–12, respectively.
More than 180 members of the church planter network gathered to be encouraged and inspired through worship, fellowship and mentorship. SBOM seeks to plant 220 churches by 2020, a goal leaders have been working on since January 2013. Since the goal’s initiation SBOM has provided initial funding for 38 church plants, said Rick Barnhart, director of the SBOM office of associational missions and church planting.
Hearing personal experiences
During the meal Chelsea Westover Church’s worship band led participants in singing before hearing guest speaker Bob Logan, a Pasadena, Calif., resident who specializes in church growth and church planting leadership development.
As a former church planter Logan’s personal experiences tied him to the men and women before him.
“Church planters are my favorite people. Middle school students are my second favorite group,” he said with a chuckle.
Logan said his main goal was to let church planters know “you are not alone.”
“Jesus is going with you into the community,” he said. Using Matthew 16:18, Logan encouraged planters with God’s promise to build His church and the gates of Hell will not be against it.
“The Bible does not command us to start churches — that’s Jesus’ job. [God] commanded us to make disciples,” he said.
Logan stressed that prayer partners are the “best investment” any church planter can make. He reminded participants “prayer is not just preparation for the battle — it is the battle.”
Valuing relationships with one’s spouse and fellow planters is also vital to grounding a church plant. “Planters have more in common with each other than they do with leaders within their own denominational community,” Logan said. “You can learn from each other, support each other, grow with each other.”
He challenged planters to form relationships with at least two fellow planters and ask each other what’s working, what’s not working, what is being learned, what needs to change and what the next steps are. Each planter should take on the job of encouraging, comforting and urging one another, Logan said. At some point each planter needs to hear “yes you can,” “yes you will” and “yes you must.”
Referring to 2 Timothy 2:2 and Romans 6, Logan encouraged planters to have an action plan when discipling young believers and for that plan to manifest into a multiplication movement. “They haven’t been harvested yet — the ones who are going to lead that movement,” he said, stressing how new believers should be discipled to make more new believers.
Logan concluded with the image from Revelation 7 where it illustrates people from every tribe and tongue gathered around God worshipping together. “That’s the goal. (Gleaning believers) from every facet from every segment of society — that is the mission that God has called you to do.”
From there the crowd divided into planters and planters’ spouses for breakout sessions designed to minister more specifically to participants.
‘Barnabas debrief’
Church planters participated in what Logan called a “Barnabas debrief.” Each man was able to discuss struggles and passions in a one-on-one setting with fellow planters. Each received a copy of Logan’s book “Becoming Barnabas: A Ministry of Coming Alongside” and learned about ways to solve common church planting problems in the Q-and-A time.
Planters’ spouses gathered around Mary Beth Culbreth, wife of Dennis Culbreth, pastor of First Baptist Church, Jasper. The couple has planted churches in Atlanta and Virginia, allowing Mary Beth to speak from experience about the struggles church planters face.
She encouraged the women to be astonished by God, pray protection over their family and know planting cannot take root without God’s presence.
“Our husbands cannot go without God’s presence,” she said. “You cannot do what you have to do without God’s presence. Don’t try.”
Barnhart and Duke, who serves as the SBOM church planting strategist, presented a report about church planting at the ABSC annual meeting Nov. 11. In it the duo told participants four keys to church planting: initiating small groups, making disciples, learning how to develop and train church leadership and instituting a cycle of churches planting churches.
“We must all be about penetrating the ‘pagan pool’ for Christ,” Barnhart said.
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