Three years ago, during a regular meeting at Stevens Street Baptist Church in Cookeville, pastor Scott Parkinson tapped Jesse Haywood on the shoulder and asked, “Hey, do you want to plant a church?”
Pastor Gary Carringer proudly describes Polly Ann Baptist Church as “the small church with the big heart.” About 40 people fill the pews on Sunday mornings, but this humble congregation makes a big impact on its community.
Based on more than 25 years of working with church leaders, here are some characteristics of the most effective leaders I’ve known.
“We have so much to be thankful for at the North American Mission Board and for what we have seen God do this past year,” said Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board.
Barrett Duke has retired as executive director of the Montana Southern Baptist Convention after more than eight years of leadership.
“Don’t plead with me to abandon you or to return and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live,
Loving people well and learning to consistently become more Christ-like means personally, deeply and genuinely investing in the community around us.
Church planting is not a one-size-fits-all process — neither is training church planters.
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