Church Planting Needs You: For God, whom I serve with my spirit in telling the good news about His Son, is my witness. Romans 1:9 The church in North America, and the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) specifically, is losing ground to the upward spiral of population growth. The SBC church-to-population ratio dropped steadly over the last quarter of the 20th century, a trend continuing in the 21st. In 1900, the SBC church-to-population ratio stood at one church for every 3,897 people in the United States. Today, it is 1:6,169. This number appears better than it is since Southern Baptist have such a strong presence in one region--the South. In some Southern states, the SBC church-to-population ratio is better than 1:1,200. Outside the South, dramatic change: one church for every 59,165 residents in New York; 1:78,760 in New Jersey. In Canada there is one Canadian National Baptist Church for every 115,040 residents. To help make the gospel more accessible in places where these ratios are so large, The North American Mission Board (NAMB) has the goal of assisting in 1,500 church plants annually. The overarching goal is to see 15,000 churches planted in 10 years. Missiologists say an ideal ratio is 1:1,000 residents. That would allow reality to meet ideal. NAMBs Send North America strategy has cast the vision for new churches, but we do not plant churches, says Aaron Coe, NAMB vice-president for mobilization. Its not biblical for us to do so. Its the job of the local church. Its important for churches to understand the need and to set their sights on the momentous task ahead. The continued decline of congregations to population coincides with a more urgent need--reversing the increasing spiritual darkness in North America. Estimates vary widely, but even the most conservative religious researchers put the number of nonChristians in North America at more than 250 million, or three out of every four residents. Make the commitment to be the answer in your sphere of influence. To discover how you and your church can help penetrate lostness in North America by planting a church, visit namb.net/mobilize-me.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 20:14:47 +0000
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