Lane Corley, Author at Louisiana Baptists https://louisianabaptists.org/author/lane-corley/ Statewide Association of Baptist Churches Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:49:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://louisianabaptists.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/cropped-favicon-512-1-32x32.png Lane Corley, Author at Louisiana Baptists https://louisianabaptists.org/author/lane-corley/ 32 32 Pray for Planters https://louisianabaptists.org/pray-for-planters/ Tue, 21 Oct 2025 16:24:34 +0000 https://louisianabaptists.org/?p=71369

Let’s cover our planters, their families, and their churches in prayer—believing God for more than we can ask or imagine.]]>

Every church plant is a miracle of God’s grace—and every planter needs the prayers of God’s people. As we labor together to see a multiplying movement of churches across Louisiana and beyond, prayer is not just preparation for the work; prayer is the work.
 
We want to invite you to join us in praying for our planters. Pray that they would walk in intimacy with Jesus, stay rooted in the gospel, and lead their families with integrity. Pray for open doors for gospel conversations, for favor in their communities, and for the Spirit’s power to see disciples made and churches multiplied.
Pray For Louisiana Church Planters
When we pray, God moves. Let’s cover our planters, their families, and their churches in prayer—believing God for more than we can ask or imagine.
 
Thank you for locking arms with us in this mission. Together, we are planting churches everywhere for everyone.
]]> Church Mergers in Louisiana https://louisianabaptists.org/church-mergers-in-louisiana/ Tue, 17 Jan 2023 20:49:47 +0000 https://louisianabaptists.org/?p=61249 Church Mergers in Louisiana

Merging churches is one strategy that prolong congregational life and restore a church location.]]> Church Mergers in Louisiana

Since 2015, 25 churches per year have closed their doors in Louisiana. While this is a necessary last step for some congregations, there are effective strategies that have both prolonged congregational life and restored the fruitfulness of Christ’s body at a church location. One such strategy is Church Mergers.

Since 2010, Louisiana Baptist strategists have assisted with at least 22 church mergers across our state. Churches of all sizes have found renewed life through making two congregations one. These have included:

  • two smaller churches joining together to expand their capacity for outreach,
  • growing church plants in need of space merging with older congregations in need of people,
  • multi-site campus development, with a church agreeing to become a campus of a church in another part of the city or region,
  • and churches merging with a church of another ethnic group in order to be more effective at reaching their transitioning community.

Determining if a merger is right for your congregation should be a matter of much prayer and careful discussion. In the book, Better Together: Making Mergers Work by Jim Tomberlin and Warren Bird, they suggest these key questions:

  1. Would our congregation be better by merging rather than remaining separate?
  2. Could we accomplish more together than we could separately?
  3. Would our community be better served if we joined together?
  4. Could the kingdom of God be further enlarged by joining together?

Our strategists are available to help you walk through these and other key questions in making the right and best next steps in the life of your church. Contact us today to discuss Church Mergers, Church Revitalization, or Replanting as options for your congregation.

Other helpful resources:

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