Senior saints help birth church plant

The 16 or so remaining lay members of Lakeview Baptist Church in New Orleans didn't fit the bill of a church planting core team. All senior saints, none younger than 70, they lacked youthful energy, but compensated with experience and vision.

When they met church planter James Welch (@harborjames) in 2008, they were still grieving Hurricane Katrina and the loss of their homes, community and what had been their church. The congregation dreamed of one last selfless act that would continue the church's rich legacy long into the future.

"If we want to reach the world, we have to be willing to change," said Phyllis Dixon, a member of Lakeview Baptist since 1960, when she joined with her husband Ed. "Those who aren't willing to change won't go anywhere."

In the coming months these Lakeview members offered Welch their church building and merged with the young church he had been forming. To help Lakeview with this grieving process, Welch brought in a grief counselor to walk them through the next stages. Though merging a young church plant with an aging congregation wasn't always easy, Welch said they've tried to do it in a healthy way.

"We gave [the grieving process] about a year just to help Lakeview through it," Welch said. "It's been cool because it gave them a group of young people who love them. Many of them have gone home to be with Jesus, so we got to celebrate with them at their funerals. Some of them, once it was all complete, decided to be a part of churches like they were a part of in the [19]70s and '80s. And there are four of them who have remained a part of our church and have gotten connected with community groups."

Welch and a core team of leaders launched a new congregation, Harbor Community Church, in 2011. The new church has grown to more than 200 in attendance, most of whom have come to faith in Christ there, Welch says. Keep reading

Christians of all denominations (not just Baptists) can use this approach to planting new churches. How many declining and dying Continuing Anglican congregations have buildings a new congregation might use?