A Baptist Church Planting Pattern from 1755 By Bob Larson, USA Director, Baptist International Missions, Inc.

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2 A Baptist Church Planting Pattern from 1755 By Bob Larson, USA Director, Baptist International Missions, Inc. Ten years ago on a sunny spring morning, it was my privilege to have a phone conversation with Dr. James R. Beller. At that time Pastor Beller was pastoring Arnold Baptist Tabernacle in Arnold, Missouri. He had been there for over 18 years. The church had grown from a storefront building to their present property on Telegraph Road. As we visited via the phone, Dr. Beller told me that when he was in high school his mother was given some Gospel tracts and he read them and was saved. He surrendered to preach the Gospel and entered Bible college. After graduating, he thought he might pastor a church of a thousand people or more. He then shared with me that after six or seven years in the ministry he realized he would never have a church over 500. The good pastor then shared that he had been in the ministry for some time before he understood his church would never be over 200. At that point he said something I have never forgotten, Brother Larson, though we run around 200 in our attendance or even less, we have adopted a simple method for planting churches from Baptist history and by planting churches this way we will reach thousands! His church went on to plant several churches over the years. I had another opportunity several years later to speak in a Bible conference in Florida and Dr. Beller was also there as the main speaker for the week. This would be our last time to meet; God would take him home in March At the Florida meeting he gave me an autographed book he had just finished writing. It was called America in Crimson Red: The Baptist History of America. As I read through this history of our Baptist forefathers, that simple method for planting churches that Pastor Beller had mentioned in our phone conversation years earlier was to my surprise the Baptist Church Planting Pattern of the Separate Baptist pilgrims of the mid-1700s. This group was led in North Carolina by a man named Shubal Stearns. The book was an exhaustive history of Baptists. It spoke of the Sandy Creek Church pastored by Stearns. Reseeding America is a ministry of Baptist International Missions, Inc., assisting local churches and their missionary church planters in the starting of new churches and the restarting of churches in decline across the United States. USA Director Bob Larson blarson@bimi.org National Reseeding America Representative Dr. John Bailes jfbailes@gmail.com

3 During the Separate Baptist Revival led by Stearns, 17 men were ordained and planted churches. Through those early church planting efforts, it is possible to trace in one generation 500 Baptist church plants back to the Sandy Creek Church and in two generations over 1,000 Baptist church plants back to Sandy Creek! Sterns was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in After hearing the preaching of George Whitfield, he was converted, but six years later he was immersed and then ordained as a Baptist preacher. He would come to North Carolina in His idea for church planting was simple. He started the Sandy Creek Church and then started planting churches out of Sandy Creek. The church plants would have their own pastors and when these new churches were established, they would begin to carry out the planting of other new churches. It is a simple illustration of multiplication of churches. This simple plan of starting churches way back then resulted in what we know as the Bible Belt today. Sterns migrated from the Northeast during the Great Awakening to the Southeast to preach the Gospel and plant churches. He saw an opportunity to reach people for Jesus in a vast region of the country, which at that time sat in spiritual darkness. This would be done by planting churches. As we see the tremendous need for the Gospel to be preached today in the Northwest, the Northeast, and the Southwest United States, perhaps we need to take a look back at how God used Shubal Stearns. God took him from the Great Awakening in the Northeast and brought him to an area where there were few proclaiming the Gospel and planting churches. Reseeding America Spring

4 Today in our churches we have many ministries. Why do we not have church planting ministries in our Baptist churches? The fruit of a Christian is another Christian. The fruit of a church is another church. The church is more than an organization. According to the Scriptures, the church is a living organism. If living organisms are healthy, they will do several things. One is that they will grow and if they are healthy they will reproduce. We have the manpower sitting in our churches in the Southeast United States today to plant hundreds of new churches in needy areas of our nation. We must get motivated and mobilized and move out into our nation with a great determination to see other areas reached with the Gospel. Let us continue to minister and reach the Southeast United States, but let us remember that the Southeast has the greatest number of churches and they have abundant resources to start new churches. Modern day Shubal Stearns are desperately needed. May God raise up men with a pioneering spirit and churches with a vision to see America reached with the Gospel through church planting! If you are a pastor interested in starting a church planting ministry in your church or you are a church planter, please contact Bob Larson at Baptist International Missions, Inc. Reseeding America stands ready to assist your church and church planter in the starting and establishing of New Testament Baptist churches. Reseeding America also works with churches in decline and restarts churches that have closed. New Manual Now Available for Churches This new how-to publication is available through Reseeding America. The booklet will instruct and guide your congregation as they conduct a vital ministry that can help resurrect a dying church or church plant or church in decline. A DVD PowerPoint presentation is also included to introduce your people to the Adopt a Church Ministry and how they can be involved. For your copy of this new manual and accompanying DVD PowerPoint presentation, send a written request and a $15 donation to BIMI Reseeding America Fund, Account #553, PO Box 9215, Chattanooga, TN Reseeding America Spring 2015

5 Pacific Northwest Church Planting Survey Trip July 10 21, 2014 In conjunction with the BIMI Open Door Project, Reseeding America conducted a Church Planting Survey Trip to the Pacific Northwest in July In ten days our group met with and heard from over 25 church planters and pastors in the Pacific Northwest and visited many communities with no Baptist churches in the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. We also squeezed in a quick trip to Montana at the very end of the ten days. All of the men who were on the trip gave testimony that God had worked in their hearts during the ten days. Most of them need to finish their college training, but several expressed interest in pursuing intern opportunities in the Pacific Northwest. Because of this trip, there were numerous opportunities given our men to go to the Northwest for a summer or two and work with church planters we met. One of the men on the trip is praying about moving to this region to work with a church planter for a year or so and then start raising support to plant a church in the Northwest. Another man who traveled with us is a senior at Pensacola Christian College this year. He has a desire to go to the Northwest and work with a church north of Seattle for a year or two as a staff member as the church reaches into Seattle to plant churches. It was a joy to counsel with all of the men about the call of God to plant churches and how to identify that call. Our prayer is that this trip left an impression on the hearts of all of the men who traveled with us to pray and ask God what He would have them do in the Northwest. We at Reseeding America are thankful for the opportunity to help a future generation of preachers and church planters. The men who made the trip are pictured below from left to right: Bob Larson, BIMI USA Director; Matthew Sheppard, Rodney Pierre, Joshua McIntyre, Jonathan Luchak, Caleb Saunders, and Tony Bulawa, Reseeding America church planter. Reseeding America Spring

6 By Bob Larson, BIMI USA Director, Reseeding America Ministry Alan and Sabrina Davis have labored faithfully in the Bronx since Hundreds of souls have been won to Christ through this inner city ministry. Their church has met in many different meeting places. The most recent meeting place was renovated serveral years ago by volunteers and has been both functional and attractive. The problem they have had to deal with over the past few years is that the space they rented for their church services is in a building that is very large. The New York City Building Department has been aggressive and has clamped down on the issuing of a permanent Certificate of Occupancy to their church. This problem was the result of building code violations beyond their control. Because Alan did not have a permanent Certificate of Occupancy, it was going to cause major problems with the Fire Department and the regulations concerning occupying the building. After applying for numerous temporary certificates of occupancy and trying to work with the owner of the building, they felt it was best to leave their present location. After praying about the move, they set a date to leave their facility. Plans were made to move out of their rented building space and start the fundraising process to purchase their own building. The plan was not easy to share with their congregation, especailly when the church would have to split up and meet in several different locations while Alan and Sabrina traveled to local churches to seek funds for a new building. However, Alan and Sabrina both felt it was time to purchase a building to give their ministry more stability and permanency in the inner city. The BIMI Reseeding America leadership was also in total agreement with such a plan. 6 Reseeding America Spring 2015

7 On Sunday, November 23, 2014, I preached for Bronx Building Baptist Church as Pastor Davis challenged his people to pray and trust God for great things concerning a building they could purchase there in the Bronx in New York City. What I witnessed that day at this church was amazing! The people were praying and trusting God for a miracle. As Pastor Davis shared his vision for the future and the fundraising ahead, the people were right there with him. Many commented on how big our God really is and how they were going to trust the Lord for a building and believe the Lord when it came to His many promises to provide. The congregation had a willing spirit to do what they could through their giving so that God would bless them as well as provide a building. I came away from the services that day truly motivated to trust God for BIG THINGS!! Pastor Davis leading Bronx Building Baptist Church in prayer Pastor Davis sharing with his church how fundraising will be necessary to purchase a permanent building Please pray for Alan and Sabrina. Realtors in the Bronx have told them that most, if not all, realtors working within the city will want to pre-qualify any client with whom they work. To pre-qualify or gain the attention of a real estate firm in the inner city, one must have thousands of dollars on hand. So the first goal is to raise enough funds to be able to start looking for a suitable meeting place. As this inner city church planter visits churches this year, he will share his burden and passion for the lost and the need for a permanent building. Thousands of dollars will have to be raised. At the same time, his people will be meeting back in the Bronx during services to pray, worship, and give so that God will provide a building for their church. The mountain we face in the inner cities of America is exactly what the Davis family has faced for years. It is possible in metro America to win people to Christ and see them baptized and grow in the Lord. The problem is trying to establish a ministry in the inner city. Buildings and property are astronomically high. We have had to go outside the major cities to raise funds to purchase property in the inner cities of the United States. This is not the way we want it but simply the way things are in Will you help us with this major fundraising project? Contact Brother Davis and schedule a meeting with him and his Alan & Sabrina Davis wife. Invite them to your next missions conference (646) and let them share their passion for the inner city. alandavis5@mac.com Reseeding America Spring

8 THE BIRD S EYE VIEW by Scott & Tricia Crabtree As I entered the house, I saw my wife on the phone with her mom. She was silent for a moment, tried to speak, and then began to cry. I braced myself for bad news, but let me start from the beginning. June 15, 2014 our own personal D-Day our first meeting on deputation. A great deal of soul searching and prayer had gone into this decision. I would be lying if I said it was an easy one. It was not. I have worked with the deaf for 30 years but always in a full-time capacity on staff. I truly believed that we lived a life of faith, but did we really? Sure, I had seen the Lord bless, BUT had my faith ever been tested without safety nets? Did I even WANT my faith to be tested, possibly melting in the day of adversity like the chocolate soldiers in one of C.T. Studd s sermons? You can learn about faith, teach about it, sing about it, and tiptoe all around it, BUT until you experience it for yourself it is just a word. We rely on our own strength, making sure all the bases are covered and THEN call it faith. Psalm 37:25 states: I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. How many times had I read that verse but secretly wondered if I truly believed it. Would I believe it now? As we started out, we looked at our finances, set goals to prepare, and sat down with our children to discuss the future. As the last paycheck came, we knew it no longer depended upon us but solely upon God. In the beginning, our needs even our wants were taken care of by some of the most amazing Christians. And then came December 6. While we were traveling, the RPMs on our SUV began to jump off the charts. My wife thought we were going to blow up right then and there. I thought it would be a simple $175 repair, but after seven hours we were told we would have to leave it over the weekend. (BUT we would get FREE windshield wipers in the process!) We rented a car and headed to our meetings. That Monday on the phone we heard one of the most hideous and gutwrenching statements ever spoken in the history of mankind You need a new TRANSMISSION!!! Dollar signs, weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth were going through my head. We could not get the SUV until Thursday. 8 Reseeding America Spring 2015

9 When all was said and done, this entire escapade cost us over $4,200. BUT, hey, we got FREE windshield wipers! I would not allow myself to become angry, so I thought, What devastating event did God protect us from by breaking down then? What if we had blown a tire with more serious consequences? With this in mind, my wife found humor in coming up with the following: Trust in the Lord Rest in His Promises Ask and Ye Shall Receive No Need to Fret Seek His Face Meditate on His Word Invest in the Eternal (not in SUVs) Stand Still (since you re on the side of the road anyway) See the Salvation of the Lord Inner Peace Open Your Eyes Not My Will, but THINE, Lord (And what does that spell?) People say, When you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself. There are some things, though, that ONLY God can do. This situation was one of those things where was God now? Through donations from Christians and two churches in Ohio, we still owed over $3,000. The week of Christmas we headed up to Rochester, New York, for a meeting. On the way there, we stopped in for a service at one of our supporting churches. Only a handful of people were there. After we left, the pastor texted us and said that the people committed to help us and would be sending a check for $2,631! We were stunned, to say the least, at their generosity and even more was sent later. We returned home. My mother-in-law s friend sent some money earlier to help with our repairs, so we sent her a thank you card. We told her how God had miraculously taken care of this financial burden and that the remaining debt was only about $600. A few days later, my wife got the phone call from her mom. I mouthed to her as she was crying, What happened? She said, My mom just told me that her friend called and said that before she got our card, her daughter s family sent a check to BIMI for us for exactly $600. Her tears were not tears of sadness but tears of joy at the goodness of God and what He had personally done for us through His people! The longer I live, the more I realize that God has a bird s eye view and sees the whole puzzle. He knows where all the pieces are and where they should go. We waste a great deal of time searching for the puzzle pieces in the couch or just trying to force one in the wrong spot. A strong wind may blow through, or a cat may chew up one of the pieces, but I NOW see how God is putting it all together piece-by-piece a beautiful puzzle held together with the superglue of FAITH. Reseeding America Spring

10 Indigenous Church Award Presented Scott & Jennifer Cornoyer and Bob Larson It is always a joy to celebrate a milestone with a church planter and his church. Pastor Scott Cornoyer and his wife, Jennifer, are former Reseeding America church planters. In 2007 they planted High Point Independent Baptist Church and have just recently led this church to become fully self-supporting! It was an honor recently to present the pastor, his wife, and the church the Reseeding America Indigenous Church Award. Brother Cornoyer has now notified all of his supporting churches that he no longer needs mission support. Those supporting churches in turn can now reinvest in another USA church plant! Praise the Lord! New Church Planters Join BIMI Reseeding America This past December two new church planting families joined the Reseeding America Team. They are the Azzarello family from Oakdale, California, and the Matney family from Longview, Texas. David & Teresa Azzarello (209) or (209) lbcoakdale@gmail.com David and Teresa Azzarello are not new to church planting. God has used them to start three new churches in the state of California since They will be raising full-time support to plant churches on the Interstate 99 corridor in California. The Azzarellos will start churches, get them established, and then turn them over to pastors. They will then go on to plant another new church and repeat the process. They are presently raising support and booking meetings for the coming year. Please pray for them and consider them for your next missions conference or a Church Planting or Missions Sunday. John and Chrystal Matney have answered God s call to restart churches here in the United States that have gone into decline or that have closed. John has served as an assistant pastor in the past at a church that was restarted. He and Chrystal recently assisted the Nathan Owens family (BIMI Reseeding America Church Planters) in a successful restart of a church on the northeast side of Tyler, Texas, at Whitehouse. The Matney family will also be raising full-time support to restart churches. They will reopen or restart a church, get it established, and then lead the church to call a pastor. At that point, they will move on to the next church restart and repeat that process. Please pray for them and consider them for your next missions conference or a Church Planting or Missions Sunday. 10 Reseeding America Spring 2015 John & Chrystal Matney (903) matneychurchplanters@gmail.com

11 On the Deputation Trail By Bob Larson, BIMI USA Director Reseeding America church planting families have been busy on the deputation trail this past year. It has been exciting to hear how God has used them. Souls have been saved, Christians have been encouraged along the way, and doors have been opened. The Living God has provided our families with safety, meetings, support, and even some car repairs along the way! As I visit with our church planters who are raising support, it is a joy to see how God has increased their faith. A church planter who does not experience a time of deputation may miss many blessings and opportunities for spiritual growth and maturing. As our families present their ministries and burdens, many good ideas and friendships can be developed as they meet pastors and their congregations. Another blessing is seeing how God provides our church planters with ideas and inspiration during deputation. A number of our families hold meetings in new churches while on deputation and that can be a real time of learning and inspiration as well as a time of sharing. I believe another aspect that is so essential and sometimes overlooked is that our deputation church planters develop a list of churches who will faithfully pray for them during their ministry. Scott and Tricia Crabtree have been very busy since Candidate School in June They are raising support to plant deaf churches in metropolitan cities in America. Meanwhile, John and April McDaniel are raising support and are headed to New Mexico to work with the Native Americans in the northwestern part of the state. If your church would consider them for support or have them come for a meeting or missions conference or church planting conference, you may contact them. John & April McDaniel (562) brojohnmcd@yahoo.com Scott & Tricia Crabtree (865) Video Phone: (614) Scott@deafworldvision.com

12 Recent Updates from Reseeding America Church Planters We are doing well. We had six new people on Sunday: an older couple, their daughter and son-in-law, and the two grandkids 8 & 11 years-of-age. Ed & Barb O Brien - Hispanic Church Planters, Mountain Home, North Carolina Thank you for praying for us. God has been good and things are going well; we are in our new building! God has blessed with a group of sweet people. Ed is taking treatments and having side effects but we are trusting God. (Editor s note: Ed was diagnosed with cancer in December Please pray for him and his family.) Ed & Mary Beard Church Planters, Annapolis, Maryland We have doubled our attendance from what it was just three months ago! We attribute this to word of mouth and people coming to the business next door and seeing a church next to the business. Our people are so excited to see the numerical and spiritual growth in the church! They are making new friends and really enjoying themselves, which for us is a great encouragement! Recently, four of us spent about an hour after everyone else was gone to rearrange the chairs several times in order to figure out how to get more chairs in the auditorium. We will be buying more chairs and talking to the owner of the building about partially removing a main wall in the auditorium for more space. We also had three more grandchildren born in the last month. Jorge & Anne Noriega Hispanic Church Planters, Las Vegas, Nevada Praise the Lord! We had one of our best ever winter services this past Sunday. As far as attendance, January and February are tough months here in Connecticut because of weather and illness that keep a lot people home and perhaps sometimes discouraged. David & Annette Townsley Church Planters, Terryville, Connecticut 12 Reseeding America Spring 2015

13 We are doing all right, taking one day at a time. Steve has had a few hard days but once in a while a good one too. He is still pushing himself to keep up with everything. (Editor s note: Steve has been battling cancer for some time. Please pray for him and his family.) Steve & Treasa Fox Ministry to Native Americans, Mesa, Arizona The Lord is good, as always! We are in the middle of our Missions Month. We just had a missionary who has been in China for 10 years and is going back. His message and DVD Sunday night were really good. We had an Amish couple visiting that night. They are here for three weeks for work and they came with some members who met them and invited them. Praying for them! This Sunday the missionary is going to Sudan, then to Portugal, and then to Australia. Brother Bailes will close the Missions Month out the first Sunday of next month. God blessed in January with three being baptized and seven joining the church. Ron is supposed to baptize a lady this Sunday who said she was saved and baptized years ago but could not remember it due to a head injury. She talked to me right before Thanksgiving and got assurance. (All I knew to do was go through the salvation plan with her and give her the choice of what to do. She prayed for salvation and said she had peace after that.) Then she decided to get baptized. Ron & Shelby Manuel Church Planters, Avondale, Arizona Both Joyce and I are well. We survived a three-day trip to Washington, DC, to attend a graveside service for my brother, Dr. R.H. Simpson, a pioneer scientist in the study of hurricanes. I am preparing to preach at the county jail tonight. I was at a lengthy meeting last night of our pulpit committee. Friday night we both will be at RU (Reformers Unanimous).Thank the Lord for His strength! Clyde & Joyce Simpson Retired USA Missionaries, Prison Ministry, Tuscaloosa, Alabama All is well at our church! New visitors every week. Phil & Jennifer Rizzo Church Planters, Hoboken, New Jersey Reseeding America Spring

14 New Church Plant in Annapolis, Maryland BIMI Reseeding America church planter Ed Beard and his family opened the doors of Freestate Baptist Church in Edgewater, Maryland, a suburb of Annapolis on Sunday, November 2, The Beards sending church is Patuxent Baptist Church in Great Mills, Maryland, where Rick Conner is the pastor. The new church in Annapolis is the fifth USA church plant for Patuxent Baptist Church. There was a wonderful spirit of cooperation among sister churches in the Northeast as many came to help the Beards with door-to-door literature distribution prior to the opening of the church. On several Saturdays in October, there were over 100 people who drove in and met at a local Panera Bread parking lot to pick up church and Gospel literature and distribution assignments. There were 72 people in attendance on the first Sunday with a good representation of people from the Annapolis area. Just recently, this new church has rented more permanent facilities in Edgewater. They are also running a van every Sunday to pick up the midshipmen from the Naval Academy. Editor s Note: Just a few short weeks after the start of Freestate Baptist Church in Annapolis, Ed Beard was diagnosed with colon cancer. As of this writing, he is undergoing treatments. The Beard family would appreciate your prayers. 14 Reseeding America Spring 2015

15 New Church Plant in Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield, Connecticut, sits fifty miles northwest of New York City and is located along the Long Island Sound. It is a city rich in history, dating back to the Revolutionary War. Fairfield and neighboring Bridgeport have a combined population of over 200,000 people. Many who live in these communities will commute each day by ferryboat, train, or automobile into the New York City area to work and then return. They live fast-paced and stress-filled lives. Thousands of the residents of Fairfield and Bridgeport have never had anyone share the love of Christ or give them a clear Gospel presentation. Our USA Reseeding America church planters John and Abby Lafreniere conducted Bible studies at the Fairfield Public Library each week leading up to the Grand Opening Sunday. These preliminary Bible studies were well attended and they brought together a core group that would become the foundation group for the new church. On Sunday, September 28, 2014, while people around the country were praying, the doors of Fairfield Baptist Church (located at the McKinley Elementary School) were opened for the first service. There were 58 in the morning service and 32 in the evening service with 40 local people from the community attending throughout the day. To God be the glory, great things he had done!

16 Baptist International Missions, Inc. P.O. Box 9215 Chattanooga, TN Change Service Requested Non-Profit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 88 Chattanooga, TN Consider Reseeding America as a Monthly Missions Project. When your church supports Reseeding America on a regular monthly basis, you are providing start-up funds for new churches to be planted and churches to be restarted. Every dollar that is sent will be used to assist new church-starts here in America and churches that need to be reopened or restarted. A supporting church will be able to see how this special fund is being used when they visit our website at reseedingamerica.com. Please direct all funds to Reseeding America Fund #553, Baptist International Missions, Inc., P.O. Box 9215, Chattanooga, TN