Tag Archives: Carl Nichols

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October 21, 2014

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General Baptists, National Missions

The Go Project

By Carl Nichols

In January, when our team (myself, Brandon Petty, and Vince Daniel) was appointed to help navigate the future of National Missions, it was obvious that we needed a clear direction for the next few years.  Before developing any plan or outlining any goals publicly, we had to look hard at the state of affairs in National Missions.  With this in mind we began to develop, and are still developing, healthy systems that enable us to plant churches better and faster.  We also paid off a loan against some endowments almost two years ahead of schedule.  We are now in a more stable place than we have been in the six years I have been involved in the movement.

At this point, the question became: “What are legitimate goals that stretch us to work hard and trust God?”  It was in answer to this question that the Go Project was birthed.  The Go Project is a five year initiative that officially begins in 2015 to launch 15 healthy churches in the next five years.  We recently hosted our first assessment and will share details of our first Go Project plant in Bonita Springs, FL in the very near future.

I shared some numbers at Summit this year and wanted to take a moment to share once again.  Take a look at the five year impact of the Go Project on our General Baptist Movement.

If we take the average attendance, salvations, baptisms, and Unified Giving numbers of our five most recent church plants, and spread them over 15 more new churches in the next five years:

  • 8,922 more people will be attending worship services in a General Baptist church
  • 6,278 more people will receive Christ
  • 2,688 more people will be baptized
  • $278,400 more a year to Unified Giving

This is so exciting for the Kingdom of God and the future of our movement. We take our call to serve General Baptists seriously, and we believe if we can make this happen, we can help be a catalyst for the greatest days of our movement in the years to come. If you know someone who would be interested in planting a church, our next assessment will be held in the spring of 2015 in the Atlanta area.

On behalf of the National Missions Advisory Team, it has been a great experience working alongside our Executive Director, and I believe the best days of our movement are yet to come.

A special offering will be received October 26th in our General Baptist churches.  If you would like to give on National Mission Sunday, your support will help fund the Go Project.  You can give online at www.generalbaptist.com, by phone at 573-785-7746, or by mail at 100 Stinson Drive Poplar Bluff, MO 63901.  Be sure to designate your gift to the Go Project. 

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September 25, 2014

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Christian Life, General Baptists, International Missions, National Missions

Updates from the Mission Field

Read the articles below to catch up on what is happening in General Baptist missions, both internationally and here at home.

By Carl Nichols

Last month, National Missions hosted our first in-house assessment for future church planters, and boy, did we learn a lot!  I speak for the entire advisory team when I say we are so excited about the future!  We will soon be releasing an update with an introduction to our newest church planter slated to plant in Bonita Springs, FL in late 2015 or early 2016.

October 26th will be National Missions Sunday, and we will be receiving an offering.  All of this offering will help fund the Go Project to launch 15 churches in the next five years, like our newest plant in Bonita Springs.  (To read more about the Go Project, click here)  Thank you so much for your faith in our team. Keep your eyes open in the coming weeks for more information and updates.

 

From Jessey and Brittany Vemula, missionaries in India

This is a personal story of an Indian woman who was brought to Christ through the work of the Lydia Sewing Center in Siddipet.  This year’s Ed Steven’s Day offering is helping make stories like Pushpa’s a reality in India by funding not only the sewing center, but mission work out in the community, and food and clothing distributions also. 

Pushpa is an India woman from Irkod village, which is eleven kilometers from Siddipet.  She was brought up in a Hindu family.  Pushpa, who is 25 years old, has three older siblings.  She joined the Lydia Sewing Center at the beginning of this year.  She had to walk the 11 kilometers from her hometown to train, and was rarely afforded the opportunity to travel by rickshaw.  There are devotions every morning at the Lydia Sewing Center, and after hearing these, she decided to give her life to Christ.  However, when she chose to become a Christian her life here became much harder.

update from India

Pushpa with Alan Motley, short term mission trip participant, this past summer.

Pushpa started attending church, and even told her siblings about Christ. They came to church with her and also became believers.  However, their father was not pleased with this.  He told them that if they didn’t come back to Hinduism, they would not get their share of the Mango orchard he owned.  Pushpa and her siblings stood strong and refused to convert back to Hinduism.  Since they refused, their father signed over the property to his nephew.

Pushpa and her siblings pray for their father’s conversion daily.  As her pastor, Jessey has conducted prayer meetings and talked with the father, but to no avail.  Pushpa and her siblings, however, remain faithful to God in this time of hopelessness.  The situation is helped by the fact that Pushpa received free training at the Lydia Sewing Center and received a sewing machine.  She and her family are using the sewing machine to bring in extra money.  She is very thankful for the help she received from the Lydia Sewing Center.  Currently, she is preparing to follow Christ’s example in baptism.  Please remember our sister Pushpa and her siblings in your prayer.  Most importantly, pray for their parents who have yet to accept Christ into their hearts and lives.

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July 1, 2014

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General Baptists, National Missions

GO!

By Carl Nichols

“The local church is the hope of the world.”  Bill Hybels

When I first heard that statement, it rocked me.  I thought Jesus was the hope of the world?  And he is!  However, Jesus established the local church as his means by which the gospel was to advance.  Furthermore, he shared with his disciples in John 14:12 that we would do even “greater things” than we saw him do on Earth.  What a great theme for Summit 2014!

I believe in the local church.  I believe it is indeed the only hope for this world to turn back to Jesus.  With this in mind, National Missions is excited to announce something brand new this year at Summit: the Go Project.  The Go Project was envisioned out of multiple discussions about a network to expand our reach and plant more churches in the next few years.  After a series of meetings and through several improvements and fine-tuning, the Go Project was born.  It will officially launch at the 2014 Summit later this month.  What is it?  The Go Project is an initiative to plant 15 new General Baptist churches over the next five years.

Here are just a few of the nuts and bolts of what the Go Project will focus on to make this happen:

  • Assessment – We believe that strong church plants are led by leaders with a specific gift set.  Therefore, we value assessment as the starting point for all church planting candidates.  Our next assessment is at the end of August in Tampa.  If you are interested in planting, or know someone who is, please contact Vince Daniel at vincedaniel308@gmail.com.
  • Training – The proper systems are vital to the health of any church and thus every planter is required to attend a week long training event we call “Boot Camp” where we focus on the necessary systems for a healthy church launch.
  • Coaching – Church planting can be a lonely task.  We believe strong coaching both pre- and post-launch are essential in the health of the planter and the church.
  • Funding – Church planting has substantial up-front cost.  We believe plants should be funded to meet the needs of their particular community.  We are looking for churches and associations who believe strongly that the local church is the hope of the world to partner with us to reach the five year goal.
  • Networking – We believe that one of the most valuable tools a planter can have is relationships with other like-minded pastors.  We will work to provide networking opportunities within our church plants.

Our National Missions team is incredibly excited about the future of General Baptists and we cannot wait to officially launch the Go Project in a few weeks.  See you at the Summit!