By KELLY BOGGS
Could you provide a brief synopsis of your church planting experience?
Hope Church of Waldheim was started in October 2002. We started in homes, then a rural Fire Station in North Covington, and in 2005, just before Katrina, we purchased a former Cafe/Truck Stop and 16 acres on Hwy. 21 between Covington and Bogalusa.
[img_assist|nid=7020|title=Lane Corley|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=72|height=100]In 2008, my wife and I transitioned out of Hope to plant another church and led them to select their own pastor. Avery Dixon is now their pastor.
Bridge Church started in August of 2009. We began meeting in Bedico Baptist Church’s old sanctuary and currently meet every Sunday morning at the St. Tammany YMCA.
We’re trying an incarnational model of church life, intentionally portable and reproducible. We currently have the Worship Gathering each Sunday morning at the YMCA and at the St. Tammany Parish Jail.
Our first building was a mobile home in the largest trailer park in St. Tammany Parish. The church is about 60 percent self-supporting with Bedico Baptist as our primary sponsor, along with several co-sponsors in Central Louisiana.
Would you briefly describe your call to the ministry?
After receiving Christ at the age of 12, I knew in my heart that God was calling me, but I was uncertain about what that may mean. I was discontent knowing that the forms of ministry I saw in LaSalle Parish where I grew up did not fit what I felt God calling me to do. Finishing college at Northwestern St. with lingering uncertainty I enrolled at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. My second semester there, a friend invited me to help set up chairs at his new church, which met in an apartment complex clubhouse. I went because he seemed desperate for help and I couldn’t offer a good excuse for not going. What I experienced there is exactly what I had been looking for: chaotic environment with potential for God to do something amazing. I was the last one to leave that day and the first one there the next week. I’ve been setting up chairs in non-traditional buildings on Sunday mornings ever since.
What is your educational background? How has it impacted your ministry?
I had the opportunity to earn a MDiv from Southwestern Seminary. For me, the relationships I developed during that time have had the greatest impact. The interaction with those on the faculty and student body, who had been and/or were going literally to the ends of the earth made a great impact on my faith. Also, the foundation of Biblical theology has served me well in sharing and preaching the gospel over the last 10 years.
What is your philosophy of church planting?
For me relationships are key. In the New Testament we do not see a direct call to go and plant a church. The call was, as it is today, to make disciples and be witnesses to the person and work of Christ. As disciples were made and the Gospel planted in the hearts of people, churches were the result. Building relationships centered around the Gospel leads to healthy church planting.
One of the mistakes I think we as church planters make is organizing the church before they have the relationships. One of the best pieces of advice someone gave me a few years back was this: “Don’t organize it, until you have an IT to organize” and the IT for us is relationships with people who are being shaped and changed by the Gospel and are becoming disciples.
What is your philosophy in regard to leading a church?
In the context of church planting and reaching out to unchurched people, relationships and leadership by example is key for me. When planting a church, positional authority doesn’t develop early if ever, so relational authority must be developed through practicing what you preach, going the extra mile in relationships, opening your home and your life to those you are wanting to lead.
What are some convictions you hold in regard to preaching?
A few convictions that come to my mind about preaching that I think I’ve developed as a Church Planter: 1) Don’t assume anything. Ours is a day of low biblical literacy. I’ve learned not to assume that people know the biblical stories that I take for granted. So, tell the whole story and tell them often in preaching. 2) Our call is to make disciples, so I want to preach and teach in a way that helps people become students of the Bible. At the end of the sermon, I want people to feel hungry for more personal study and like the truths are accessible to them. If people leave thinking how smart I am and that they need me to grow through Bible Study, I’ve not done my job as a disciple maker.
What are some convictions you have with respect to evangelism?
Salvation is of the Lord. It’s God’s work and He’s always working to reveal Himself. His command to us is “Go…” and as we go about intentionally sharing the Gospel (1 Peter 3:15) and display His glory (Matthew 5:16) we intersect where He’s working. I’m convicted when my church and personal calendar is weighted on the “come and see” side instead of the “go and tell” side of life in Christ. I’m also convinced that the world is more ready for the Gospel than we in the church often think. As I follow the example of Jesus, initiating relationships and having compassion for people (Matthew 9:35-38) I always find those willing to hear.
How do you encourage people to engage in evangelism?
Our current church plant is being very intentional about creating avenues for people to serve and engage in the work of the evangelist. Through monthly Faith in Action projects, quarterly Faith in Action Sundays where we take a Sunday for Community Outreach instead of Worship Service, and mission trips people are given the opportunity to give away their faith.
What role does prayer play in the life of your church?
Each week our church prays for a missionary or people group, a community leader or organization, and a sister church. We set aside time in our Worship Gathering for this along with prayer for each other called the Prayer Focus. Hopefully, we are teaching the importance of prayer for all people (1 Timothy 2:1-2) and teaching our disciples how to pray for those we are serving and serving with.
What three things would you want people to know or understand about church planting?
1. There is a huge need. The most common question about church planting, “Why do we need a new churches, when we have so many already?” In every community there are those who are outside of the influence of the Gospel. Church planting can be a great solution to bring the Gospel to a population that is unreached around the corner or around the world. The right questions are: Is the community around us being transformed for the good or bad? Are there places in our community where the church is not? Are there people groups or population segments that are unreached? What is God stirring up and where? More on these questions @ http://lanecorley.wordpress.com/2010/01/20/assessing-the-needs-for-new-c…
2. It’s easy to partner with a Church Plant or Planter. Every church, no matter the size can get involved in church planting by regularly praying for a church planter and his family, financially supporting a church plant, sharing your facilities with a new church, go on a mission trip to help a church plant, to name a few.
More here: http://lanecorley.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/10-biblical-and-practical-way… and here –http://lanecorley.wordpress.com/2010/06/16/how-can-my-church-get-involve…
3.What we need is not more church planters, but more Reproducing Churches. Healthy things reproduce. Churches are just like vegetables and fruits. More than just something to be consumed, they are packages of seeds designed to create more vegetables and fruits. Praying for our churches to have a vision for reproducing disciples, leaders, ministries, churches, and movements.
How do you utilize social media?
Social Media is a great tool for influencing others. I use blogging (lanecorley.wordpress.com) and Facebook and Twitter. It’s where people are (Facebook has over 400 million users, 43 percent of time spent online is spent on Social Networking), It’s free (and that’s a good price for a church planter budget), and it can be fun. Our church has used a Facebook ad to connect with people in our community. I use the blog to influence people by highlighting events, reviewing books, supplementing or restating our Sunday message, along with sharing personal stories. Using social media has helped me be a better writer and communicator.
What are three hopes that you have for the future of your current ministry?
1. Responsiveness to the needs of people – One of the filter questions we are using for decisions in our church is, “Will this allow us to stay close and be responsive to the needs of people in our community?” I’m hoping that our church can stay outward focused and unselfishly give ourselves away for years to come.
2. Reproducible. I hope that more disciples, leaders, ministries, and churches will result. Insisting on reproducibility forces us to keep things simple and stretches our faith.
3. Transformation. A question that I’m constantly asking myself as a leader: “What good is it if our church grows, but the community continues to deteriorate?” Disciples transform the world by responding to the needs and shaping the culture of society. I hope that we won’t settle for anything less than transformed lives and community.
What three milestones or turning points have helped to shape your ministry?
1. Birth of and every birthday of my boys. As a parent, I see other people and the world differently. I’m always reminded as I see someone who’s in pain or in need, that’s someone’s baby, and that God loves that person more than I love my own. I’m also praying and working to send my boys out ready to meet and transform their world.
What are three of the biggest challenges you face in church planting?
1. Measuring Success
2. Managing Uncertainty
3. Resourcing.
How long have you been in the ministry? How did God call you to your present ministry?
17 years. I began working in leadership with my youth group at Fellowship Baptist Church in Jena, LA when I was 17. At 19, while in college I served as Youth Minister at Grayson Baptist Church in Caldwell Parish along with serving on the Leadership Team of the Baptist Student Union at Northwestern St. University in Natchitoches. As I was finishing my degree at Southwestern seminary, my wife and I felt strongly that God wanted us to serve in church planting in our home state of Louisiana. Having no idea if and where Louisiana may need new churches, God connected us with mission strategists in South Louisiana. After much prayer we accepted the call to plant a church in Covington, LA. We’re currently planting our second church in St. Tammany Parish and serving as part-time Church Planting Strategist with the Northshore Baptist Association.
What is your philosophy of worship?
Worship is reflecting back to God the radiance of His worth. So worship includes but is not limited to the music portion of our Worship Gatherings. Reflecting back to God the radiance of his worth is done as we pursue justice, righteousness, and restoration in all areas of our lives. At our current church, on fifth Sunday’s instead of having a Worship Service, we meet for breakfast and scatter out into our community to Worship through Serving. In this way we hope to teach our disciples that Christianity in general and worship in specific is much more than just attending a service.
Besides Jesus Christ, what person has most influenced you?
My mother, Doris Corley – her prayers, work ethic, and generosity has had a great impact upon my life.
How do you balance the work of ministry with home life?
All of life is worship and all of life is about discipleship, so I try to include my family in my ministry as much as possible. If I can’t lead the little church that is my family, I won’t be able to lead the bigger church. So that means prioritizing them as my first ministry.
Besides the Bible, what other book, or books, has most influenced you?
Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret, The Biography of George Muller. Two others that have been influential for me are Bob Roberts book Transformation and Rick Rusaw’s book Externally Focused Church. These books have been foundational in thinking through how we can be the best church FOR the community in which we serve.
What book, or books, are you currently reading?
The Next Christians: the Good News About the End of Christian America by Gabe Lyons. Very insightful and encouraging book about the possibilities for the next generation of Christ-followers.