Evangelism Ministries Newsletter
April 2017
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Ready to Grow... Past the Plateau
Bringing Life into Focus
How Do I Get Involved?
Lingo Legend
HERE TO SERVE...
Bill Wiesman– Director
bwiesman@nazarene.org
Thea Ardrey– Coordinator
tardrey@nazarene.org
Assistant to Director- April Manning
amanning@nazarene.org
Joy Wilson– Special Events Assistant
jwilson@nazarene.org
UPCOMING EVENTS
CPE/CPC
Virginia District
May 1-3, 2017
CPC
Kentucky District
May 9-11, 2017
CPE/CPC (English & Spanish)
Florida District
May 10-12, 2017
CPE/CPC/CT
Southwest Indiana District
May 23-25, 2017
CPE (English & Spanish)
Hosted in Temple City, CA
July 20-23, 2017
View our complete church planting event schedule on our events page.
Ready to Grow... Past the Plateau
What do you do when a plateaued church expresses an eagerness for fresh vision and growth? Read the story of how Pastor Desmond Barrett responded to this hunger and the ways God is continuing to expand His Kingdom in Kentucky.
READY TO GROW... PAST THE PLATEAU
In March 2016, I became the Senior Pastor of Louisville Grace Community. During the pastoral interview, I heard over and over, “Pastor, we need a vision, and we want to grow.” Sure, all churches want to grow, but does Grace Community want to build something new to grow? For nearly two decades the church had had moderate to no growth, and had gone through a split less than ten years before that left the church vulnerable, lost and ultimately merged with another struggling Nazarene Church.
Here they were, 12 faithful leaders of the church saying; “Pastor, we need a vision and we want to grow.” I had come armed to the interview with a three-page questionnaire that focused on finding the vision that they already had in their hearts, and I was going to use their dreams, and prayerful desires to help lead them to God’s dreams and desires. It was clear that some wanted to grow numerically on the campus of the church through traditional ask-a-friend to come to church, and others wanted to plant a church, which traces all the way back to the Book of Acts.
Eight months before I arrived as the pastor of Grace Community, I felt the Lord nudging me to read articles and books about church planting and knew at the time, it was for a future ministry, date unknown. By obeying God, I realized that I was to help Grace Community grow by planting a church. Unbeknownst to me, in the fall of 2015, the church board prayed about planting a church 30 miles away but declined to move forward after some discussion. Soon after the pastor resigned and it seemed their God-size vision did too. God was not done with his plan for Grace Community.
The first goal I had upon becoming Grace Community’s pastor was to help the board realize that they could plant multiple churches over the next five years if they did it in a strategic way. After 30 days of prayer, the board voted unanimously to plant one brick and motor church, two nursing home churches, and plant the fourth church in cooperation with the Kentucky District by the year 2020. No small feat for a church with an average attendance in the mid-fifties. Along with the God desire to follow his will, the board designated $20,000 as seed money to start the planting process.
Once the vote was taken and affirmed by the congregation a week later, I went to work. I knew from the conversation with the board; the board was not ready for the brick and motor church, so I moved on to birth two nursing home churches which we dubbed Care Campuses. I found a list of 16 area nursing homes and called each one and explained what Grace Community felt God leading them to do. Within a week we had six nursing home lined up to all us to offer a full service (seven songs, liturgical reading, sermon, and prayer), and the promise that services would be weekly.
The first goal I had upon becoming Grace Community’s pastor was to help the board realize that they could plant multiple churches over the next five years if they did it in a strategic way. After 30 days of prayer, the board voted unanimously to plant one brick and motor church, two nursing home churches, and plant the fourth church in cooperation with the Kentucky District by the year 2020. No small feat for a church with an average attendance in the mid-fifties. Along with the God desire to follow his will, the board designated $20,000 as seed money to start the planting process.
Once the vote was taken and affirmed by the congregation a week later, I went to work. I knew from the conversation with the board; the board was not ready for the brick and motor church, so I moved on to birth two nursing home churches which we dubbed Care Campuses. I found a list of 16 area nursing homes and called each one and explained what Grace Community felt God leading them to do. Within a week we had six nursing home lined up to all us to offer a full service (seven songs, liturgical reading, sermon, and prayer), and the promise that services would be weekly.
At the end of May (2016) we birthed our first four churches and two weeks after that birthed our fifth church campus. One month after the start of the churches, we registered them with the denomination as Parent Affiliated Congregations and thus officially churches of the Nazarene. Today, we are reaching on average 50-70 people with the gospel of Christ in these six campuses, all because the church wanted to grow.
In August (2016), our local NMI Council designated $5,000, promised through our Faith Promise giving over the next year to help local churches in need or new start churches which are being birthed in the district. We’ve used some of the funds coming in by buying paint for a new start church launching in early 2017, and rebuilt a handicap ramp and painted portions of the outside of a church in need.
In September (2016) the board voted to enter phase 2 and seeded $8,000 to the Kentucky District to help hire a Hispanic Ministry Coordinator to plant Hispanic churches on the district. Since that time the coordinator has helped start six Hispanic churches within the District with others in the development stage.
In October (2016), the church launched a Compassionate Ministry Outreach campus at Parliament Square, a low-income housing development that serves nearly 600 diverse residents. Through a Halloween Block Party, we reached 75 children and adults with free food, movie, games, bounce house, and small Bibles. Our goal over time is to earn the right to invest in the lives of the community and start a small church in the community.
In August (2016), our local NMI Council designated $5,000, promised through our Faith Promise giving over the next year to help local churches in need or new start churches which are being birthed in the district. We’ve used some of the funds coming in by buying paint for a new start church launching in early 2017, and rebuilt a handicap ramp and painted portions of the outside of a church in need.
In September (2016) the board voted to enter phase 2 and seeded $8,000 to the Kentucky District to help hire a Hispanic Ministry Coordinator to plant Hispanic churches on the district. Since that time the coordinator has helped start six Hispanic churches within the District with others in the development stage.
In October (2016), the church launched a Compassionate Ministry Outreach campus at Parliament Square, a low-income housing development that serves nearly 600 diverse residents. Through a Halloween Block Party, we reached 75 children and adults with free food, movie, games, bounce house, and small Bibles. Our goal over time is to earn the right to invest in the lives of the community and start a small church in the community.
But, God is not done with us yet, in the next church year (2017-2018) we plan to launch our sixth care campus and a brick and motor church plant. Pastor Kevin McDonald (Church Planter), challenged the church board in August 2016 during a special church planting training by stating; “Churches who plant churches think about the lost in their community and not about themselves any longer. Start thinking about winning souls for Jesus and depopulating hell. When you do, God will bless that.” We feel God has already begun blessing us.
By: Rev. Desmond Barrett
Pastor of Louisville Grace Community Church of the Nazarene & Kentucky District Mission President
* As of December 2016, a Spanish-speaking pastor has stepped forward to help plant a Hispanic church in the first quarter of 2017.
By: Rev. Desmond Barrett
Pastor of Louisville Grace Community Church of the Nazarene & Kentucky District Mission President
* As of December 2016, a Spanish-speaking pastor has stepped forward to help plant a Hispanic church in the first quarter of 2017.
Bringing Life into Focus
Faced with obstacles which might immobilize some of us, Pastor Pete Hall and his son Drew have launced into unknown territory to spread the light of Christ through five new church plants in ten years. Learn more about this God-sized dream and how it is transforming lives in another part of Kentucky.
How Do I Get Involved?
PRAY for God to bring growth to the seeds we plant & water!
Church Planting Training
Church Planting Essentials
Churches Planting Churches
New Church Dynamics
Become Certified to Train Others to Plant Churches
Become a Church Planting Mentor
Become a Member of the Nazarene Association of Church Planting (NACP)
Utilize Church Renewal Resources
Learn about the Different Models of New Churches
Lingo Legend
Confused by any of the acronymns you've read? Perhaps this will help!
CCU: Cowboy Church University
CP: Church Planting
CPC: Churches Planting Churches
CPE: Church Planting Essentials
CT: Certified Trainer
DCPI: Dynamic Church Planting International
MCP: Mentoring Church Planters (Formerly BAM- Becoming a Mentor)
NACP: Nazarene Association of Church Planting
NCD: New Church Dynamics
NOCN: Nazarene Organic Church Network
The Global Church of the Nazarene
Evangelism Ministries
17001 Prairie Star Parkway
Lenexa, Kansas 66220, United States
(913) 577-2876
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Faced with obstacles which might immobilize some of us, Pastor Pete Hall and his son Drew have launced into unknown territory to spread the light of Christ through five new church plants in ten years. Learn more about this God-sized dream and how it is transforming lives in another part of Kentucky.
How Do I Get Involved?
PRAY for God to bring growth to the seeds we plant & water!
Church Planting Training
Church Planting Essentials
Churches Planting Churches
New Church Dynamics
Become Certified to Train Others to Plant Churches
Become a Church Planting Mentor
Become a Member of the Nazarene Association of Church Planting (NACP)
Utilize Church Renewal Resources
Learn about the Different Models of New Churches
Lingo Legend
Confused by any of the acronymns you've read? Perhaps this will help!
CCU: Cowboy Church University
CP: Church Planting
CPC: Churches Planting Churches
CPE: Church Planting Essentials
CT: Certified Trainer
DCPI: Dynamic Church Planting International
MCP: Mentoring Church Planters (Formerly BAM- Becoming a Mentor)
NACP: Nazarene Association of Church Planting
NCD: New Church Dynamics
NOCN: Nazarene Organic Church Network
The Global Church of the Nazarene
Evangelism Ministries
17001 Prairie Star Parkway
Lenexa, Kansas 66220, United States
(913) 577-2876
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