By Brian Blackwell, Message staff writer
ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – James Jenkins, the new Louisiana Baptist missions and ministry team director, shared a God-sized vision to help advance the Kingdom by one percent and lead the way to having a 2000-church state convention by 2033.
Jenkins, who has served in the interim role since John Hebert retired from the position in late December 2022, was approved for the role on a permanent basis by the Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Board during a Sept. 26 meeting.
“I’ve been in this work for a while, so it’s not brand new to me,” Jenkins told the Baptist Message. “But I am excited to have that sense of stability. I now have been given the opportunity to impact the Kingdom in ways I’ve always wanted to.
“I want to thank Dr. Steve Horn, Louisiana Baptist Executive Director, and the Executive Board of the Louisiana Baptist Convention for the opportunity to serve in this position,” he continued. “I’m very mindful of the privilege of serving in this role and want to make sure Louisiana Baptists get a big return on investment.”
“I want to also thank the men and women who serve on the mission and ministry team. We are dedicated team serve through women ministries, disaster relief and men ministries, Missions Builders, and compassion ministries.”
Moving forward, Jenkins said he has three goals: fully implementing the Send Network Louisiana; greater engagement with associational partners; and putting rural churches in a position to “win.”
SEND NETWORK LOUISIANA
Send Network Louisiana, a partnership between the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Louisiana Baptist Convention, has mapped out a God-sized vision to see His Kingdom expanded in Louisiana by one percent over the next decade.
If successful, 28,841 of the 4,648,794 Louisianans, about 60 percent of whom are estimated to be lost, will turn to Christ through 231 churches planted in the state by 2033 (based on each new church reaching 125 people with the Gospel).
Jenkins said this strategy will give Louisiana Baptists new avenues for church planting and replanting, more accountability over their resources and more assurance church planters will impact lostness in the state.
But to achieve this goal, an army of supporting churches and new church planters will be needed.
“We need everyone to pray,” Jenkins said. “Our goal of starting 231 churches, expanding the Kingdom by one percent, and baptizing 28,000 by 2033 is a God-sized vision. The only way it’s going to happen is that we keep knocking on God’s door and asking Him to deliver.
“We also need people to pay,” he said. “Commit to give to the Georgia Barnette Louisiana Missions Offering. While we will receive funding from NAMB, we need to enhance our budget on the LBC side too. We will need more money and resources, not less.
“And, we need Louisiana Baptists to participate with their local church, local association and the state convention as we revive a culture of evangelism.”
“Each day I thank God for the gift of Lane Corley, our new Director of Send Network Louisiana, who I consider to be one of the top ten church planting strategists in America. I look forward to working with Lane and the rest of our church planting team, Jeff Cook and Carlos Schmidt.”
GREATER ENGAGEMENT
Jenkins said his team will need to involve Louisiana Baptist associations even more. This includes identifying, recruiting, and developing potential church planters and helping save churches that are nearing closure.
Additionally, he reiterated that — even though the population may be greater in the more urban areas of south Louisiana — rural churches still play a vital role in Louisiana Baptist life.
“As the population continues to shift, we want rural churches to understand that we are not abandoning them,” he said. “Now is time for our rural congregations to be more engaged in compassion ministries and church planting.”
BACKGROUND
Born in Shreveport, Jenkins became a Christ follower at 12 years old while attending Stoner Hill Baptist Church, Shreveport. Sixteen years later, Jenkins accepted the call to the ministry.
Jenkins is a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas (Master in Missiology) and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (Doctor of Ministry).
Before becoming director of the Louisiana Baptist missions and ministry team, Jenkins was the Louisiana Baptist director of church planting.
He has served as a church planter and pastor of Baptist Bible Fellowship, Shreveport, for the past 38 years.
Jenkins also has been a LifeWay multiplying missionary, a NAMB church planting missionary, and a lecturer for national, state and local church planting and development events. He has written articles for NAMB publications, served as a member of the SBC Committee on Committees (2013) and an adjunct professor of church planting for NOBTS (2014-16).
Jenkins currently serves as a trustee giving oversight to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
