Thirteen Mississippi Baptist pastors recently traveled to Phoenix on a ‘vision journey” coordinated by the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board.
Chad McCord, director of missions mobilization for the MBCB, led the trip. He described a unique relationship between the Magnolia state and the Grand Canyon state known as MultiplyPHX.
“Phoenix is an opportunity to connect Mississippi churches to Mississippians sent out planting churches among places of great gospel need,” he said.
Engaging, making disciples, planting churches
MultiplyPHX is focused on making Jesus known in Phoenix by engaging the city, making disciples and planting churches. A team of four families already there includes many with Mississippi roots.
“When we think about vision journeys, I’m thankful for the way our convention does it,” said David Williams, association mission strategist for Lincoln County Baptist Association based in Brookhaven.
“Sometimes we only have a few days to give,” he noted. “We can come and we get sort of an overview and a synopsis of what’s going on in the areas of ministry and the opportunities to where you and I can plug in.”
MultiplyPHX leaders gave the Mississippi team a chance to take in the whole Phoenix area — known as “the valley” — from the top of Dobbins Lookout.
At first glance the view was breathtaking, but it quickly put into perspective the gospel need in the area.
“They said it was 90 square miles and in that 90 square miles there’s 5.5 million people,” noted Andrew Chesteen, senior pastor of First Baptist Church New Albany, “and from the statistics they gave us, that 87% of those people are lost and that among the 5.5 million there’s one Southern Baptist church for every 19,400 people.”
Desperate need
The Mississippi team spent the rest of the trip in North Phoenix in a community called Anthem.
The MultiplyPHX team, led by Kyle Rosas and Lee Davis, shared the multigenerational community’s vision called “life in abundance.”
“We had the opportunity yesterday to meet a lady that was walking a dog here in the park,” Williams said. “These are people that desperately need to hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The first church plant through MultiplyPHX will be King’s Church in the heart of Anthem, and a large portion of the vision journey centered around the plan for the church, which will soon begin hosting vision nights in anticipation of a launch later this year.
“We need to bring the gospel to Anthem and to partner with King’s Church and to bring our churches, to give money, to give support and to pray,” said Justin Anderson, senior pastor of Pine Grove Baptist Church Picayune. “We can be partners in the gospel and to bring the gospel and the love of Christ to Phoenix.
Not ‘getting ahead of ourselves’
“Oftentimes we want to get ahead of ourselves,” Anderson acknowledged, “but Kyle and Lee are taking a biblical approach and doing the things necessary to plan a healthy, sustainable and multiplying church to reach this area.”
Jonathan Guerry, senior pastor of Heucks Retreat Church Brookhaven, expressed a desire to see his church partner with planting efforts in the Phoenix area.
“It’s a great opportunity for folks in my church and across the state of Mississippi to partner with some guys that are born and bred in our state, who have been captured by what God has called them to do here and support them,” Guerry said, “and making sure that we continue to invest resources and people in the Kingdom of God.”
For more about partnering with MultiplyPHX or future vision journeys contact McCord at 601–292–3394 or cmccord@mbcb.org.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Tanner Cade and originally published by the Baptist Record.
