Feb. 28, 2007
By Marilyn Stewart
NEW ORLEANS -- The “Healthy Church of the Month,” a joint initiative the Leavell Center for Evangelism and Church Health in partnership with the Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, highlights growing churches at a time when eighty-nine percent of Southern Baptist churches are plateaued or declining.
“We not only believe revitalization and church growth is possible, but are showing examples of churches that prove it can happen,” Leavell Center director David Meacham said. “Our intent is to inspire and encourage churches to grow again.”
Three initial recipients - Salem Baptist Church of McDonough, Georgia, Hunter’s Street Baptist Church of Hoover, Alabama and Raleigh Road Baptist Church of Wilson, North Carolina- have been selected for the January, February and March awards. The churches are highlighted on the Baptist Center website at www.baptistcenter.org .
“It is sad but true that the overwhelming majority of Southern Baptist churches are plateaued or declining,” said Steve Lemke, director of the Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry at NOBTS. “We want to celebrate the churches that exhibit church health and church growth to encourage other churches that they can learn to reach their communities, too.”
Based on Leavell Center research, the criteria for consideration as a “healthy” church includes a membership increase of ten percent over five years, one or more baptisms per year for five years, a member-to-baptism ratio of no more than thirty-five to one with conversions representing at least twenty-five percent of total additions. Mission giving and discipleship/Bible study enrollment is also considered.
“We believe that churches of all sizes and in all settings can grow,” Leavell Center associate director Bill Day said. “We hope that a struggling church will be encouraged by finding in one of the churches we select, a context similar to its own.”
Salem Baptist Church, under the leadership of senior pastor Richard Statham, grew in membership from 1,100 to more than 2,000 in nine years. Sunday morning worship attendance averages nearly 1200, representing well over a two-hundred percent increase since 1996. Total receipts increased from $700,000 to nearly $4 million, with 119 baptisms reported in 2005.
In its centennial year, Hunter’s Street Baptist Church today averages more than 6,200 in worship, growing from 250 in 1986. Under pastor Buddy Gray, the church reported 205 baptisms in 2005 with budget receipts of $9.5 million. Sunday School attendance averages more than 3,000 per Sunday, representing a six-fold increase from its 1986 enrollment of 464.
Raleigh Road Baptist Church, under pastor Eddie Maynard, has seen consistent growth in the last five years, tripling the number of baptisms from 17 in 2000 to 55 in 2005. A church plant that is just 20 years old,
Raleigh Road grew from 21 attendees in 1986 to a current membership of 745. The church’s average worship attendance in 2005 was 550, more than double its worship attendance of ten years ago. Total receipts today exceed $1.1 million dollars.“These three churches are different in size, and are placed in significantly different settings – large city and small town, church plant and century-old church. But each of them has found a way to reach their community for Christ,” said Lemke.
“Besides meeting the criteria we established, each of these successful churches exhibits a good balance of outreach ministries and discipleship strategies,” Meacham said.
The Healthy Church of the Month award is one of several new initiatives launched at the Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry. Also available are free MP3 and podcast downloads by recognized Baptist leaders and the Baptist Center Blog for conversational exchanges with Southern Baptist leaders. The Baptist Center resources for churches are available at www.baptistcenter.org .
The collaboration of the two centers in the recognition is representative of their common mission – providing “resources to enrich and energize ministry in Baptist churches.”
The multifold task of the Leavell Center as a ministry arm of NOBTS is to train tomorrow’s leaders in an academic setting as well as addressing the needs of churches today.
Customized church growth resources – diagnostic tools and demographic studies – are Leavell Center resources available to churches seeking to analyze a changing community.
Training for pastors and laypersons and access to the seminary’s audio-visual collection is available in a conference or retreat venue.
Jerry Vines, Ken Hemphill and Win Arn are among the nationally recognized leaders in evangelism and church health featured at the Leavell Center’s annual Church Revitalization Conference. Pastors of churches receiving the Healthy Church award will also be invited to share their successful strategies, Meacham said.
“Our reason for existence is to help a church understand its community and develop strategies for impacting that community for Christ,” Meacham said. “For those who are struggling, we want them to know there is hope for a turnaround.”
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