NHBA Newsletter

Our purpose is to make a difference in our state and around the world with the redemptive message of Jesus Christ.
 

Dear NHBA friend,

This Memorial Day, as we remember those who sacrificed their lives for our country and our freedom, our minds begin to reflect on how Jesus did the same for our eternal freedom. We have truly been blessed. I hope we all can keep that on the forefront of our thoughts as we enjoy our Memorial Day Weekend. NHBA exists so that the name of Jesus may be known to all of New Hampshire. We pray that even this newsletter helps encourage believers and shares the name of Jesus with those who need Him.

Preparing your Church to Plant a Church

by Sean Simonton

Director's Discussions

As was presented at the Association's spring meeting, there are 59 population centers or regions in the state that are in need of a church and 68 ethno-linguistic groups yet unreached with the Gospel.  The need for new congregations is tremendous.  Our challenge is to see at least 5 churches planted per year, so that in the next 12 years we can see at least of half of the needed churches planted.  This goal is bigger than what we can do in our own power.  This will only be accomplished by the working of the Holy Spirit through the unified effort of the churches of the NHBA, seeking to begin new works to reach the unreached.  It can be challenging to lead your congregation to plant another church.  There is a need to lead a congregation through a process of discovery and preparation as it readies itself to begin a new work. 
In the next couple of newsletters we want to give some practical guidance on leading your congregation to be a part of helping a new church start.  We will look at five steps of this discovery and preparation process as a church readies itself to plant a new church.
1.  Establish a Prayer & Discovery Team - How this team is established will be based upon a churches size, structure, and polity.  The purpose of this team is to discover the unreached/unchurched population segments in an area that established churches have been unable to reach.  This is accomplished through intentional prayer and research.  Often times there are unreached people groups within blocks of the church or perhaps in neighboring communities where some church members live.  The Prayer & Discovery Team should discover this insight on their own for it to have a greater impact, but partners such as the NHBA, state convention, and North American Mission Board can assist with resources to help in this process.  One such tool is the "31 Day Intercessory Prayer Guide".  You can find this at 31 Day Prayer Plan.
2.  Experience the Need - Once the unreached population segment(s) is identified, the team needs to "experience the need."  This can be done by conducting prayer walks, door-to-door surveys, or through any ministry activity (block parties, free carwashes, etc.) that puts church members in direct contact with people in the community.  By experiencing it first-hand the need becomes more real, plus the desire and commitment to do something about it increases.  Again, there are resources available to assist you in beginning to cover your community in prayer through prayerwalking, sample surveys you can use and there is a helpful two part video on Evangelistic Block Parties on the NHBA website.
There is a place for every church in church planting, regardless of age, size, or budget.  Let us partner together as churches to see New Hampshire and beyond transformed for Christ.  Next month we will continue to look at the Discovery and Preparation process for church planting.  Prayerfully consider how the Lord would have you and your church be a part of beginning new churches to reach the nearly 1.4 million lost souls in the region of the NHBA.
(Portions of this article were adapted from "5 Steps to Preparing Your Congregation to Plant a Church" in On Missions Magazine.)

Lay Renewal Weekends

by Pastor Adam Houston

Providence Baptist Church
Providence Baptist Church recently experienced a wonderful time of spiritual growth, fellowship and a renewed desire for evangelism.  It happened as we purposed together, for the last three months, to host an Acts 1:8 Lay Renewal Weekend.  At first we were not sure what to expect.  Truth be told, we were not sure what to expect the day the weekend began, but as usual God blessed the prayers and the preparation.
The weekend began with a 24 hour prayer vigil that began Thursday night.  If the Prayer Vigil was the only thing we had done the weekend would have been a great success and a blessing but it was only the beginning.  A team of folks from all over the east coast came to facilitate the weekend for us.  The team members were lay people who had participated in Lay Renewal Weekends in their own church or had participate in a weekend previously.  There were some reservations about who would come as part of these teams, but when they arrived it was as if we had come together for a family reunion.
If I had to choose my favorite part of the weekend I would have to choose two favorites.  The first was the prayer time that the visiting team held before each of the sessions.  It was so sweet as a pastor to hear the visiting team members praying for the very same things I had been praying for our church over the last three month.  The prayers spoke of the Holy Spirit moving in a way that we had never seen before, and He did.  Praying that people would take a truthful look at their lives and confess and repent of sin, and that prayer was answered as well.  Also prayers were lifted for the church family to be drawn closer together as a result of the weekend.  It was very evident that God answered that prayer as well.  I believe that evidence was seen in my second favorite part of the weekend, the Catacomb Service on Saturday night. 

This service was unique.  We were told that we could not use our Bibles or song sheets and that there was no order to the service.  As a pastor I really figured we would be done quickly and that there would be a lot of time spent in silence waiting for someone to share something.  Boy was I wrong.  The service had very little silence and the sharing was amazing.  Many tears were shed and requests for forgiveness were made and forgiveness was given.  Scriptures were shared in response to a brother or sisters sharing a blessing or a trial.  The people of the church found through the times of sharing that they were not alone in the trials of life and that many shared some of the same blessings.    What a blessing to see God work in the hearts of His people. 
I hope that as you read this article you consider two things.  First, if you participated in the weekend let this be a reminder of the way God moved among us. Take a moment to recommit to the decisions you made over the weekend.  Secondly, if you have not considered holding a Lay Renewal weekend at your church pray about hosting one.  I assure you it will be a blessing.
 

Haverhill Community Church
Haverhill Community Church had 20-30 adults present at each session; Friday/Saturday evenings, Saturday coffees and the luncheon.   As the weekend drew near, the excitement kept mounting, especially among those making preparation for the weekend.  We were in no way disappointed.  There were seven adults on the visiting team from Mississippi, Alabama, and Indiana.  We had four small groups each evening and three coffees in church members' homes Saturday morning.  We had 22 adults and 3 children at the evaluation service Sunday evening.  Everyone felt truly blessed by the event.  The feedback was all positive and we are all anxious to get small groups started.  Our spirits are definitely renewed; now we want to disciple our existing members and use small groups as an instrument to reach friends and neighbors for Christ.
If you would like more info on Church Renewal Weekends, contact Bruce James at the BCNE, bjames@bcne.net; 508-393-6013.

Pray

Church Prayer
Please keep Grace Haven Baptist Church in your prayers this Sunday (May 25). Grace Haven will be setting up a booth at the Sky Show giving out free snow cones, Bibles, tracts, and just talking to people who come by the tent. In the past, we've given out about 1000 snow cones, and hundreds of Bibles and tracts. The last thing people expect at a rock concert is to hear about Jesus - but many of them do and we are able to share the gospel as we give out snow cones! Stop by and say hello if you are in Manchester. It's at Arms Park downtown by the river.
Thanks!


Please keep Granite Baptist Church in your prayers as they begin  work on a new church plant in Bedford. We praise God for the new work that He is about to accomplish.


Does your church have a prayer request or event. We will try to publish it. Our next issue should go out in about a month, so contact me before then. Sec@nhba-sbc.com