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| KBC Unveils Strategy For Increasing Baptisms |
| Release Date: 06/16/2005 |
LOUISVILLE – The new Kentucky Baptists Connect goal of 25,000 baptisms annually appears challenging. However, comparing it to the best efforts of KBC churches in the past decade reveals that churches can reach the goal simply by “doing their best.”
Dan Garland, KBC Church Development/Evangelism Team leader, reviewed baptism statistics for the past 10 years and discovered that by taking the highest number of baptisms in a single year for each KBC church and adding them all up, the total exceeded 40,000 baptisms, well above the target set at last November’s annual meeting.
“I was shocked it was that much,” says Garland, noting that last year’s total was just under 18,000. “I had them run the numbers three times to make sure it was accurate. In 2005-06 we’re challenging churches to commit to do as good, or better, as they’ve done in the past 10 years.”
In early June, Garland launched “Our Best for God’s Best – Connect, Baptize, Disciple” by sending letters to all 2,400 Kentucky Baptist churches. The letter listed the congregation’s best baptism count since 1995 and asked it to set an equivalent goal for the 2005-06 church year, which that starts Sept. 1.
Similar letters went to all directors of missions (DOM), asking them to establish association-wide goals. Garland and his staff will follow up with personal contacts to various church and association leaders, encouraging them to reply by Aug. 31.
However, the letters are only the beginning of the long-range campaign, which will include a series of special rallies, workshops, manuals and consciousness-raising exercises. Its main elements include:
- Implementing four Family Celebrations over the next two years.
These events will feature evangelist Jerry Pipes, who spoke at this year’s state evangelism conference. Based in Atlanta, Pipes focuses his efforts on strengthening families as a tool for increasing conversions.
Garland says Pipes, a former employee of the North American Mission Board, discusses such issues as building intimacy, maintaining good communication, discipling children and doing Bible studies in the home.
After this one-day “Building a Successful Family” conference, Pipes follows with a three-night crusade.
The first celebration is tentatively scheduled for September at the University of the Cumberlands convention center, with others still in the planning stages.
- Holding “Leading Children to Christ” workshops in every association over the next three years.
Under the direction of Wendy Dever, director of pre-school and children’s ministry, the KBC hopes to train a network of children’s workers, including eight people willing to lead two workshops per year.
The first are to be held this fall; DOMs will be asked to promote them with local leaders and through normal publicity channels. They will also be taught at Super Saturday training seminars and state evangelism conferences over the next five years.
This component will be organized by Joe Ball, the KBC’s youth strategist. While still in the planning stages, Garland said Ball is planning a weekend retreat on mentoring and developing youth as leaders next January at Cedarmore Baptist Assembly.
Garland said part of the state convention’s plan to develop youth is soliciting ideas from them on what it will take to reach members of their generation.
“Instead of doing ministry to youth, we want to get youth involved in ministry,” Garland said. “Part of Joe’s strategy is to educate and inform church leaders about what’s going on in the culture. It’s a different world out there. We’re still trying to do youth ministry like we did 20 years ago.”
Keith Inman, state director of collegiate ministries, says the primary emphasis will be having churches with successful young adult ministries share the secret of their success in various meetings.
“We’re going to develop a (brochure) out of this networking (that explains): What are the common characteristics of churches that are reaching young adults?” Inman said.
Awareness of the need for baptism will be spread by offering a seminar at this fall’s statewide college conference at Highview Baptist Church in Louisville and working with campus ministry student leaders.
Students will also be trained to share testimonies about the importance of their baptism as they speak in various churches.
In addition, Inman foresees a stronger emphasis on the need for churches to disciple and mentor young people as they mature.
“We feel a strong discipleship emphasis is a catalyst for church growth and evangelism,” Inman says. “We’ve emphasized salvation with a lot of young people but then sort of dropped them. We haven’t mentored them and told them what it means to be a disciple.”
- Networking effective churches with those that have the potential of increasing baptisms.
This will include working with Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville and state Baptist colleges and universities to provide resources and training.
Noting that the top nine percent (189 congregations) of KBC churches accounted for 45 percent of last year’s baptisms, Garland said the goal is to pair the top 100 churches in one-on-one relationships.
“We’ve already got 67 churches that want to be partnering churches,” Garland said. “This will be one church taking a church and working with it for a year or two.”
Other plans include developing a KBC Connect manual that will focus on ways to increase baptisms, developing a workshop and resource on reaching the “de-churched” – people who formerly attended a church, and encouraging churches to baptize at least one person on Easter.
The latter is part of an initiative to celebrate baptisms, with ideas to be gathered and posted on the KBC Web site and included in the Connect manual. Host churches for state conventions and evangelism conferences will be asked to baptize people at these events.
The Convention will also celebrate baptisms at a special event at Hillvue Heights Church in Bowling Green on Oct. 18.
The evangelism director said churches must also be aware of the need for more marriage enrichment and activities to strengthen families. Part of the reason for declining youth and young adult baptisms in the past 25 years has been divorce and family disintegration, Garland said.
“It’s hard work,” Garland said of increasing baptisms. “We won’t be able to go out and do it in a year. It’s going to take churches that are healthy and reaching out. There’s no magic bullet – no book to read, no seminar to attend, to get this done.”
Release prepared by Ken Walker, KBC writer |
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