Spies in the land

Two years ago a group of seniors from an Alabama church decided to head for Pennsylvania for sightseeing. But instead of just visiting Hershey’s chocolate factory, sightseeing through Amish country, and checking out quilt shops, the group decided to add something more significant to their trip.

They became “spies in the land.”

Based on Deutoronomy 1:22, Barry Whitworth, church planting director for Pennsylvania/South Jersey State Convention, developed a program to help him identify areas ready for a church planter.

“We ask them to go sightseeing, pray as they go, and talk to people,” Whitworth said.

He gives groups information with a few questions to ask local peopole as they travel. He also gives a guide for prayer-walking.

The Alabama group (the youngest member of the group was 62 years old) went to five communities. While they ate lunch and visited the sites, they prayed and talked to local people. Since that trip – just two years ago – three of those communities now have churches.

Georgia Baptists have an ongoing partnership with Appalachian Regional Ministries, which includes Pennsylavnia. Currently, the ARM focus is on central and northeastern Pennsylvania, an area with almost 3 million unsaved people and very little evangelical influence.

“I tell people that if you filled up the University of Pennsylvania stadium that holds 55,000 people, there would only be two Southern Baptists in the crowd. That’s what we have,” Whitworth said.

Whitworth wants to have healthy Southern Baptist churches in every community, but he knows he needs help doing that.

“We’ve got to have people willing to come here to be church planters and we need partners,” he said.

David Simmons has joined the church planting team in Pennsylvania. Simmons was a pastor of a traditional church in Virgnia and he was commmitted to staying there. But as he met weekly with a group of men to pray for the church, he began to feel God moving him away from the traditional church.

“I’ve always dreamed of being a church planter,” Simmons admitted.

He and his wife, Tara, decided to step out and take the plunge. They moved to Harrisburg, the capitol city of Pennsylvania. They found a tiny storefront across the street from the capitol and signed up as franchise owners of a coffee shop, Java’s Brewin’. They opened in February.

“A lot of folks are starting Christian coffee shops. This isn’t a Christian coffee shop, it’s a coffee shop run by Christians,” Simmons said.

His first outreach is to his staff, but he also hopes to reach the nearby arts community.

“The Christian commitment of David Simmons exemplifies the type of church planter that is needed to reach the coffee shop culture,” said Frank Nuckolls, associational missions ministries specialist at the Georgia Baptist Convention and chair of the ARM board.

“David’s ministry is one in which he takes the gospel of Jesus Christ and the testimonial influence of his Christian conviction into the marketplace where a countless number of people may be reached for Jesus Christ,” he said.

This unique style of church planting is just one way Southern Baptists are developing ministries in Pennsylvania.

 

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Greatest needs in eastern Pennsylvania

• Church planters

• Prayer partners

• Long-term partner churches and associations.

 

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Focus on Pennsylvania

Georgia Baptists have a partnership with Appalachian Regional Ministries which includes ministries throughout 11 states, including the Peach State. This year the focus is on northeastern and south central Pennsylvania. For information about the ministries and a 30-day prayer guide, go to focuspa.com.

This focus area includes:

• Three associations: Keystone, South Central, and Northeast.

• 31 counties

• a population of 4 million

• 2.9 million people are nonevangelized

• 77 Southern Baptist congregations

• 6 counties with no Southern Baptist congregation

• 3 fastest growing counties in Pennsylvania: Monroe, Pike and Wayne.

 

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Did you know ...

Georgia Baptist Convention has an ongoing partnership with Appalachian Regional Ministries. For more information about ministry opportunities with ARM, see the website www.arministry.org or call GBC Mission Volunteers at (770) 936-5346 or (800) RING–GBC.

Mission Volunteers is just one of the areas supported through your gifts to the Cooperative Program.

 

You and your church may send your Cooperative Program gifts to:
Dr. J. Robert White, Executive Director, GBC
6405 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth, GA 30097