In this issue: 2020 Transitions at BCP; "Reaping the Benefits of Collaboration"; Introducing "Intentional Transitional Ministries"; Tribute to builder Larry French and church planter William Heydens; "Return on Investments"
With joy the Council is pleased to announce that on March 18, 2020, they unanimously voted to appoint Jonathan Jenks to serve as the fourth president of Baptist Church Planters. Jon is clearly passionate about communicating the Word of God and seeing it impact hearts and change lives. Through preaching, teaching and discipling, Jon carries out this passion and will continue to do so as president of BCP. He understands and will carry on the philosophy of Baptist Church Planters which involves the centrality of the local church reproducing in fulfillment of the Great Commission. Jon is a visionary leader who will focus on the future of the Mission [...]
Calling all Tentmakers! You may not be good at working with canvas or those pesky little fiberglass poles that make more of a tangle sometimes than a tent. You may avoid camping altogether because of the fear-inducing trauma caused by the mere thought of having to construct a tent. Perhaps you find yourself on the other end of the spectrum and think yourself as the Davinci of canvas. Regardless of your abilities with an actual tent, I am talking to you as a potential tentmaker. Although Paul took the idea of being a tentmaker very literally, we use the term a little more generally around here. To us, a [...]
Revitalization – God’s Plan for Struggling Churches God’s hand of leading is perfectly clear in hindsight. As we looked back one year to the possibility of transferring to Florida to minister, God quickly turned our direction back to New York State. It was virtually instantaneously! A week and a half after we were ready to sign a rental agreement in Florida, we were living in Hilton, NY! I don’t believe any of that was a mistake. God turned us away from Hilton until His timing was right. As of March 1st of last year, we began our ministry at Emmanuel Baptist Church. For the first month we sat back and watched as ministry took [...]
Our Journey to Permanency - Pinecrest Baptist Church Our journey has been a long circuitous one, a journey of ups and downs, buying and selling, moving and settling, losing and growing, renovating and fixing, faltering and trusting; this journey of Faith taking us one step at a time without seeing the end result. Yet, looking back and seeing the hand of our Sovereign God in all of it guiding the way, directing our paths, growing our faith, establishing His Church and securing our permanent home. Man has his own plans and supporting churches do too. Whether it’s a three or five or seven year plan to completing a Work, [...]
Assessment: Measuring Progress toward a Goal Merriam Webster defines assessment as “the act of making a judgment about something.” What that “something” is determines the information needed to “make a judgment.” Several years ago Baptist Church Planters and ChurchCare decided that we needed to do some assessment. The administration spent two days answering questions such as ‘what is important to God’ and ‘what is the end product that we expect from all the ministries of this Mission.’ All the questions led to one answer: the Church, the Body of Christ, is important to God; therefore, we expect all the Baptist Church Planters’ ministries to focus on serving the [...]
Journey with me up a mountain, a spiritual mountain. This journey is hard by nature but is life-altering, extremely satisfying, and leads to life. A.W. Tozer spoke of this mountain as the mount of God: “Our Lord said to His disciples, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it.’ Let me exhort you to take this seriously. It is not to be understood as mere Bible teaching to be stored away in the mind along with an inert [...]
In this issue: The Challenge of Transitions; Assessment in the Local Church; Report From the Field; Introducing "Teacher Journey Training"; Calling all "Tentmakers"; Introducing Intentional Transitional Ministries; A Tribute to Pastor David Dunkin
2019 National Conference on Hispanic Outreach (NCHO) Report After seeing the need for Hispanic ministry leaders, both English and Spanish-speaking to coordinate efforts in reaching Hispanics for Christ here in the US, Herb and Wanda Taylor began NCHO, National Conference on Hispanic Outreach: a Hispanic Think Tank. NCHO meetings have been held annually in Greenville, SC, since 2014 as well as in Arizona in 2017 and in California in 2018. The purpose of NCHO is to ENCOURAGE and EQUIP Hispanic ministry leaders. On October 4, over 100 attendees participated in NCHO in Greenville. Herb Taylor opened the day with a session entitled, “What is NCHO?” explaining his vision for [...]
Baptist Church Planters announces the retirement of Walter and Beverly McDonald. Prior to their marriage in 2006, Walter and Beverly had each been married and in full-time ministry before their spouses were taken Home. After their marriage, Walter and Beverly joined the BCP Family as church planters in 2011. They have faithfully served the Lord at Providence Baptist Church in Tallahassee, Florida. Walter and Beverly have been passionate about encouraging outreach, and it is evidenced through the church’s efforts in VBS, their Annual Harvest Fest and their weekly Bread Ministry. On any given Saturday morning you will find a dedicated group of members gearing up to distribute perishable and [...]
