Louisiana Conference plants three new churches

By Betty Backstrom*

The Revs. Trey Harris (from left), Jack O'Dell and Leslie Stephens prepare to start three new churches near New Orleans in the Louisiana Annual Conference. The church starts target areas serving shifting populations due to damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A UMNS photo by Betty Backstrom.

BATON ROUGE, La. (UMNS) - Planting a new church has always been a goal for the Rev. Trey Harris.

"Having that opportunity has been a dream of mine since graduating from Asbury Seminary. I was part of a church plant while in high school and have fond memories of those exciting times," said Harris, referring to his days at St. Timothy's on the North Shore in Mandeville, La.

Harris is leading one of three church starts announced by Bishop William W. Hutchinson during his June 4 Episcopal Address to the 2007 Louisiana Annual (regional) Conference.

All three new churches will be developed near New Orleans. They target areas to the city's west and northwest where the population has shifted due partly to damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.

The conference is using five criteria to choose locations for new faith communities, according to the Rev. Steve Stephens, conference director of Church Extension and Transformation.

"We look at the number of existing churches in the target area; the strategic nature of their location compared to demographic change; the effectiveness of the existing churches in reaching a significant portion of the current population; a population in the area (that) exceeds 10-20,000 persons per existing church; and a projected five-year growth rate of over 5 percent," said Stephens.

"The three areas targeted for new church starts in 2007 have been on our radar because they meet the criteria so well. Due in part to the diaspora caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the influx of people into these areas in the last two years has been between 5 and 10 percent."

New churches for growing areas
The Rev. Jack O'Dell is planting the new church start in the Tangipahoa area. Known as The Well, the church will emphasize serving those who have been displaced or disconnected from the church.

"Some of this disconnectedness is attributed to the events of Hurricane Katrina. For others, the disconnect from The United Methodist Church has happened for other reasons," O'Dell said. The Well will use media, music and drama to re-present the Gospel of Jesus Christ while connecting with cultural norms, he said.

The Well already is involved in one of the key outreach ministries in Tangipahoa Parish called Our Daily Bread. A missions Saturday is scheduled for August in cooperation with Habitat for Humanity to generate local interest.

"The church plans to have a strong local and international missions program," said O'Dell, who plans to start a book club and other small groups in the fall.

Like The Well, the NewSong church start in Prairieville will offer a less traditional approach.

"NewSong will offer a casual dress code, vibrant and uplifting worship, biblical preaching and teaching, and intentional outreach to the community and world," Harris said.

"Ascension Parish has grown at an enormous rate, and Prairieville is an excellent place for the Louisiana Conference to offer a new faith community. The United Methodist Church has much to offer the families as they deal with raising children and living their lives in an often stressful world."

The Rev. Leslie Stephens, who will lead the new church start in the Denham Springs/Walker area, was not as certain about her journey initially.

"When I was asked to attend an informational meeting about starting a new church, I didn't understand why anyone would want to leave the relative comfort of an established congregation for the unpredictable wilderness known as the mission field … least of all me, a newly ordained mother of two small kids. I determined before I even left the house that no matter what I learned at the meeting, this kind of thing wasn't for me," Stephens said.

"I should have known better."

Stephens said she became inspired as she listened to the passion in the voices of the facilitators of that informational meeting.

"Something came alive within me," she said. "I began to get excited about both our current churches and those that had yet to be born. My heart began to ache for the growing number of people who, for whatever reason, were disconnected from the church, and a desire began to grow within me to create new ways to reach them."

Cultivating church planters
The Rev. Steve Stephens said finding and cultivating church planters is a multi-step process that begins when potential candidates are invited to discern whether they are called to this ministry.

"Through an 18-month process, these pastors are trained extensively and assessed through interviews," he said. "After they are appointed to plant a church, they establish goals and strategies by which they will be evaluated. They are supported and coached to give them every tool for success."

All three of the new church starts will lie west/northwest of New Orleans in the Baton Rouge District and are expected to support one another and share resources.

"Each planter will spend 13 to 20 months acquiring a critical mass of people before having the first worship service," Stephens said. "The planters' ministry focus is outward - networking in the community, meeting with people individually and in small groups, gaining critical mass and spiritual momentum.

"In the months to come, each planter will form a launch team who will pray, learn and work together to prepare for the launch of the church's worship. The goal of this process is to ensure that, when the church launches its corporate worship, it will be a vital congregation of 120 or more adults in worship. The size of the worshiping congregation at the launch of public worship is critical to the church's success."

A second class of planters began the 18-month training process in January. The Rev. Leslie Stephens marvels at the process that has brought her to her new role of leading Faith Crossing United Methodist Church, which will serve the Livingston Parish.

"Our denomination is so rich and has so much to offer the world. Our Social Principles, our understanding of grace, our love of mission, and our willingness to open our hearts, minds, and doors to all of God's people is unparalleled. … We are so blessed to have a number of great churches in this area already and I believe that together we will continue to make a difference for both The United Methodist Church and most importantly for Christ."

*Backstrom is communications director for the Louisiana Annual Conference.