Jan 26, 2007
By Gary D. Myers
NEW ORLEANS – A human tragedy of historical proportions, Hurricane Katrina uprooted families and disrupted all aspects of life in New Orleans. Churches were no exception.
Area Southern Baptist churches have seen key leaders and ministers relocate. The remaining leaders and pastors are overwhelmed and overworked. And in a time of great evangelistic harvest, many churches are finding difficult to train and assimilate new believers.
Unlimited Partnerships New Orleans is designed to fill this void. The plan will match students from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) with area churches that need assistance in the area of Christian education. Students gain real-world Christian education experience in a funded church ministry position. Area churches gain a staff member focused on evangelism, new member assimilation, leadership training, discipleship and starting new training units.
Students selected for Unlimited Partnerships New Orleans will serve in local SBC churches for one-year terms. After an evaluation of the first term, some students will be offered a second, one-year term. In order to preserve church autonomy, students will be employed by the churches they serve.
The project is a joint effort of the North American Mission Board (NAMB), the Louisiana Baptist Convention (LBC), the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans (BAGNO) and NOBTS. Funding for the paid positions will come from sponsoring churches throughout the Southern Baptist Convention.
The pilot project will began this spring at seven New Orleans area. BAGNO and LBC leaders are currently working to identify the first group of churches. Additional churches could be added to the project later this spring depending on the availability of funding and interested, qualified students. BAGNO and LBC leaders hope to include a number of ethnic and language churches in the initiative.
“It’s exciting to me because it is going to help at a critical time,” said Freddie Arnold, church planting missionary at BAGNO. “Our greatest need right now is assimilation of new membership and follow up.”
Arnold said that many people have been reached through evangelistic efforts of area churches following the storm. He worries that these new believers will not be fully integrated into area churches if the pastors and leaders do not receive assistance.
“Our pastors are so busy,” Arnold said. “They are struggling to keep up with all of [their work].”
Arnold sees the rebuilding of Christian education programs in area churches as essential to the area’s spiritual recovery. For him, Unlimited Partnerships New Orleans is a step in the right direction.
“We’ve rebuilt the buildings, now it’s time to rebuild our discipleship, evangelism and new member orientation processes in our churches,” Arnold said.
“I think this is a winner for everybody,” said Bill Taylor, senior strategist for NAMB.
The idea for Unlimited Partnerships New Orleans grew out of Taylor’s desire to assist local churches in reestablishing their Christian education programs after the storm. He knew that many lay leaders and even ministers had moved away from the hurricane zone.
Taylor’s initial plans were much less ambitious. At first, he hoped to bring skilled Christian education practitioners to New Orleans for short-term mission projects (a week at a time) to assist the local churches. After experiencing the scope of the needs firsthand, Taylor realized that the short-term trips would not provide the level of help the churches need.
Taylor recognized that the seminary could provide students eager to serve as well as the training and supervision needed to make the program a success. After several meetings with officials from LBC, BAGNO and NOBTS, Taylor’s plan began taking shape. Several SBC churches heard about the plan and offered financial support to get the ball rolling.
The state convention, local association and the seminary worked together on the personal and logistical issues in getting the project started. LBC and BAGNO worked together to develop job descriptions for the students, expectations for churches and a ministry covenant.
New Orleans Seminary developed a plan to identify potential students for the ministry positions and identified course that would be require of the participants.
The result of the collaboration is a project that has potential of jump starting the recovery and growth of area churches.
“The Louisiana Baptist Convention is very excited about the potential of this pilot project helping New Orleans come back not only physically, but spiritually,” said Mike Canady, director of the missions and ministry division at the Louisiana Baptist Convention.
Canady said leaders at LBC believe that assisting local churches is the best way to bring spiritual change and restoration in New Orleans.
“You recover both physically and spiritually and our concern is a holistic concern,” Canady said. “For the future of this city and the future of the Gulf Coast, we believe that every investment that we make in terms of dollars and people are going to help bring about a more effective presentation of the gospel.”
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For more information about Unlimited Partnerships New Orleans, contact Bill Taylor at (615) 364-8532 or billtaylor@billtaylor.org. Information is also available at www.billtaylor.org.