ALMOST TWO YEARS AGO, I received a call from Pastor Tom Campbell of Shady Grove Baptist Church in Danville. He stated that his church building had recently been hit by a tornado, and three local schools volunteered to let them meet in their facilities.
It turned out that the damages were not as bad as first thought. However, he decided to take one of the schools up on their offer, so they began TeamKid at the school on Sunday evenings.
The numbers increased to 40-50 children. Then Pastor Tom noticed there were about 30-40 parents just hanging out waiting for their children.
He started a Bible study for the parents. He called to tell me that he thought he wanted to start a church. My response was that it sounded as if he already had. We have been working together over the past couple of years to see where the Lord is working in this area.
They have started three new Sunday School classes that have gained 25 new people in attendance, and they plan to start 12 new classes adding 125 new people in the next 12 months.
Expanding the reach has resulted in a “win-win” for both the existing church and the new one.
Incidentally, Tom has been sharing with friends at the local car dealership these same principles. They are selling more cars than ever before. Truth is God’s truth, no matter where we apply it!
For more information about church planting among and by Alabama Baptists, please contact State Missionary Lamar Duke (lead church planting strategist)
at 1-800-264-1225, ext. 332, or (334) 613-2332, lduke@alsbom.org.
