ATLANTA (ABP) — Since 1999, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's church-starting ministry has helped begin 54 congregations nationwide that are either holding services or are in the planning stages.
Steve Abbe is the pastor of one of those new churches — CrossRoads Fellowship in Waco, Texas.
“Not everyone is called to do this,” Abbe said of church planting. “You have to have the faith that God is going to lead you through. And you've got to be a leader. The gift of leadership is very necessary. You have to know how to resource and network.”
CrossRoads Fellowship held its first service June 1 with 15 people. Six months later, the church has 72 members and is preparing to baptize 15 more people.
The CBF's 54 church plants include ethnic congregations for Koreans, African-Americans and Liberians.
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, a national organization of moderate Baptists, counts approximately 1,500 churches that fund its missions and ministries.
To start a church, the CBF first determines if there is a need — whether there is a moderate evangelical church in the community, explained Phil Hester, CBF's associate coordinator for church starts.
The next step is determining if there is enough financial support. Usually $50,000 to $200,000 is needed to plant a church. Then Hester works with local partners to fund the church and recruit a pastor.
Hester has developed partnerships with CBF organizations in 18 states and regions to help research and fund church starts. In larger states like Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and North Carolina, he works with local missions coordinators. CBF also partners with institutions like the National Ministries of the American Baptist Churches USA, the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Virginia Baptist Mission Board.
The Baptist General Convention of Texas is partnering with the Fellowship to start three churches, in San Antonio, Belton and Midlothian.
There are certain essentials that are needed for starting churches, said Abe Zabaneh, director of the church multiplication center for the BGCT. “You need a good church planter and the right pastor,” he said. “Choosing the right pastor for the church is most essential to the life and growth of the church. You also need solid prayer support and quality training and development.”
Much of the Fellowship's early success in church planting is due to the commitment of one congregation, Hester said. “Dunwoody Baptist Church in Atlanta was the visionary for church starts,” he said. In 1999, Dunwoody Baptist sold a piece of land and donated $1 million to endow the CBF's position of associate coordinator for church starts. Hester assumed the position in 2000.
Daniel Vestal, the Fellowship's national coordinator, welcomed the new “enthusiasm” for church planting among Fellowship members. “There is a growing awareness and awakening in Cooperative Baptist Fellowship concerning the strategic importance of church planting,” he said.
CrossRoads Fellowship found that church planting is also contagious. Three weeks after its first service, several members of the new congregation traveled to Brazil to help start a church. CrossRoads recently made a 10-year commitment to plant more churches in Brazil. Abbe said a group of members will return to Brazil next June to help construct a church building and train leaders.
-30-