NEWS FEATURE: Baptist moderates starting new churches

c. 1998 Religion News Service ALPHARETTA, Ga._ Southern Baptists have always been into planting new churches. But a fiesty, nascent group of moderates from the nation’s largest Protestant denomination has entered the congregation-starting business with a twist _ virtually none of the 105 new churches were started in the”normal”Baptist way. The group, Friends of New […]

c. 1998 Religion News Service

ALPHARETTA, Ga._ Southern Baptists have always been into planting new churches.

But a fiesty, nascent group of moderates from the nation’s largest Protestant denomination has entered the congregation-starting business with a twist _ virtually none of the 105 new churches were started in the”normal”Baptist way.


The group, Friends of New Churches, called their 5th birthday event _ a retreat at a Methodist conference center outside Atlanta _ a”New Church Experience.” Friends of New Churches started in the wake of the Southern Baptist Convention’s”holy war”between conservatives and moderates when pastors of 11 new churches met in Cartersville, Ga., in 1993 to”network”about what it means to start new”free and faithful”churches deep in Southern Baptist territory but without Southern Baptist sanction and in many cases with opposition from Southern Baptist officials.

One of those pastors was Will Carter of Knoxville, Tenn.

Carter had been a”typical”Southern Baptist pastor in Alabama, Florida and Tennessee for more than 35 years. But, like many others, he grew increasingly unhappy with the narrowing theological restraints imposed by the conservative takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention.

So Carter and a small group of”free and faithful”Baptists _ a term used in creating the moderate umbrella organization, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in 1991 _ met for prayer meetings in his home and decided to start a new church.

But it would be a lay-led congregation, without buildings, building debts and other encumbrances of institutional churches. They formed First Fellowship Church of Knoxville – purposely omitting Baptist in the name.

The tiny group negotiated with a Knoxville commercial firm to share space in an office park. During the week, the space is a warehouse; on Sundays it is converted into an educational building and sanctuary.

Carter, its pastor, even shares the public reception office with the commercial company _ an idea he has found to be surprisingly helpful in meeting people who would never hear of his little church otherwise.

Carter was a leader in gathering the”free and faithful”Baptists into a more cohesive coalition that became Friends of New Churches. By 1997, the group saw its membership move past 100 churches and asked Carter to become full-time director. He accepted and is now listed as”pastor emeritus”at First Fellowship in Knoxville.”This is an auspicious title for a fellow who left a church just five years old, with no building, no paid staff and a bare-bones budget,”he said.”But the story of First Fellowship in Knoxville is typical of many in the Friends of New Churches network. We are not `same old, same old’ in any shape, form or fashion. But God is blessing our new churches in ways we didn’t imagine when we started our networking group five years ago.” Most of the 105 new”free and faithful”churches are in Texas, North Carolina and Georgia, traditionally the three strongest states in the Southern Baptist Convention. But they also list new churches as far apart as Idaho and Maine.

Paul Powell of St. Louis is an example of an innovative new church starter. Powell was a Southern Baptist pastor in Missouri and Texas for 40 years before retiring at age 65 in 1990. He had a deep concern for the inner city and for the African-Americans there who did not have church homes.


Without sponsors or any regular financial support, Powell set out to meet St. Louis’ most pressing human needs. And every time he did, a new church resulted. In the last eight years, he has started eight new churches.

Ron Fisher of Kansas City, Kan., is another Midwesterner who has launched out on faith to start a new congregation. Fisher had been an associate pastor of a booming church in Kansas City, Mo.

Cooperating with another young pastor, they met in homes, found a small office to gather in, held several prayer services and put out creative flyers and promotional materials. On their first”official”Sunday of worship, more than 250 people showed up.

Now Fisher and his friend are co-pastors of a brand new church, tiny and poor, but growing steadily.

Merrilynne Henderson, co-leader of a new church in Newport News, Va., related how her church was inspired by the film”Forrest Gump”to”try to teach our people the reality that they can help to rescue other people who are in deadly combat with life as it really is every day.”If a secular movie can help people to see God and his work more clearly, let’s go for it,”she said.

Carter said the new church network has five primary functions _ fellowship, encouragement, resources, support and consultation.”We are all as diverse as humans can be in worship styles, in church structures, in settings for worship and ministry. The only commonality we share is a commitment to (the) Baptist distinctives of freedom and lordship and priesthood.” (OPTIONAL TRIM _ STORY MAY END HERE.)


With financial assistance from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Friends of New Churches is able to help new churches with small financial grants. About $100,000 was provided in 1997. “We are young and small,”Carter said.”So our financial resources are limited. Our primary role is to offer moral support, prayer help, personal encouragement and experienced consultation. And we can tell new churches where to get helpful resources.” Daniel Vestal, coordinator the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, told the group,”We need a cultural attitude which says we are to begin new churches in the hard places, among the folks who are difficult to reach. Moderate pastors need more of a theological passion to start new churches for the powerless, the poor, the least of these.”I feel that a vital part of the future of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is starting and nurturing of new churches. We will be pro-active in that area. We can’t start new churches from our office in Atlanta. But we can encourage you as you start them in your own communities,”he said.”You need to tell us what you need.”

DEA END HARWELL

Donate to Support Independent Journalism!

Donate Now!