The EFCA Southeast District represents 9 states, 63 million people, and numbers of growing cultural population groups and currently have 65 churches and 32 new church starts. The opportunities for new faith communities are endless and we are growing in contacts in each state desiring a new EFCA disciple making church.
Our district’s definition of church is a disciple making faith community that is reproducing new faith communities. Both disciple making and multiplication are a very high value.
IMMEDIATE NEED: New Orleans Metro (ReachNOLA 2012)
This area is still spiritually devastated and desperately needs healthy disciple making churches started to reach, equip and send. We have discovered many neighborhoods that do not have a church at all. Right now in partnership with a several others we are focusing on using work teams coming down to rebuild, to assist church planters in evangelism, serving the people in these communities and gathering people for the new churches. New Orleans metro has EFCA’s TouchGlobal Ministries located there, Urban Impact www.urbanimpact.org, and Castlerock Church near the dome and Trinity Church in Covington. The harvest field there is plentiful! Go to www.reachnolanow.com to check out specific opportunities in invest in.
We are praying for 10 church planting couples/teams to be identified to start the process of gathering people by the summer of 2012. In 2012, the EFCA Student Ministries will host the Challenge Conference when 4k students and leaders will come to NOLA (C12). The students and the leaders will focus on assisting the church planters and serving other ministries for one week. There will be an opportunity for some funding next summer. Currently we have five church planting pastors already confirmed so come and join us in what God is doing! Contact Bruce @719-331-2729 or brjrred@msn.com
Then in 2013, the EFCA National Leadership Conference will be hosted in New Orleans as well. There is a lot of opportunity in the New Orleans Metro area referred to locals as NOLA!
Tennessee
There is a core of 30 plus people in Greenback, TN beginning to form a church. They are ready to launch and need leadership.They call themselves Heartland Community Church and have a vision to be led in disciple making skills and launching other church starts. The area is small town feel with a large bedroom community of homes. There are almost 11k people within 5 miles of where they are getting ready to meet. Currently there is a network of 7 regional churches spread out over 40 miles that get together regularly. Contact John DeMeester @920-210-0719 or jademeester@gmail.com
Alcoa, TN
There is a church planter on the ground and he has gathered 55 people. Right now he is looking for team members to fill ministry teams to work toward gathering more people for a launch in September. This would be a good opportunity to be on the ground floor of a new launch or for an internship. Go towww.declarehope.org for more information. Contact John DeMeester at 920-210-0719 or jademeester@gmail.com
Brandon, FL
This community is a growing bedroom community for Tamp, FL. There are new stores, shopping malls and new schools. There is a military base nearby where a number of families work as civilians so the economy is stabilized. The city of Brandon has 61,000 people growing by another 9,000 people by 2015. This community has access to airports, good schools and new growth. Right now we have two experienced and mature lay couples that have been in church starts before who are committed to making this work. One is African American couple so you will begin with a multi cultural church start.
Jackson, MS
We have had several calls of individuals desiring an EFCA church started, east and north of the city. We'd like to see several teams consider coming to this harvest field. Those attending church on a given weekend are only 24% of the population. Most of the churches in the lower south are small but there are many. They are stuck in traditions and there is a need to reach that younger population. Call Bruce at 719-331-2729 or John DeMeester @920-210-0719 or jademeester@gmail.com
East of Louisville, KY
We have a couple of families that are open to being the foundation of a core team for an EFCA south of Cincinnati. They have been attending Grace EFCA in Louisville and it has become a long way to bring friends so the desire to have a church in there community has been a growing vision. This is a missionary supported opportunity and a fruitful one. They are looking for a church planter to lead them in developing a vision and leading them. Contact John DeMeester @920-210-0719 or jademeester@gmail.com
Orlando, FL
We have a new church start that will begin to form in 2012 reaching out to Disney workers in the entertainment business. Contact Steven Barr @steven@theadventurewdw.com for more information. Great opportunity to work with some creative artists reaching others of like kind! Fun stuff!
MISSIONAL CATALYSTS NEEDED
There is a needed addition to our Missional Catalyst Church Planting Team in the EFCA Southeast District. We have envisioned seeing Missional Catalyst's overseeing two state areas working alongside our team. Right now we have someone overseeing the Carolina's, TN & KY, and the Atlanta Metro area. We have a Gulf Rim Director working the NOLA metro region but our church start initiatives are spreading. Therefore we are considering seeing an individual oversee AL & GA; and then another FL.
In 2 1/2 years we have added 32 new starts that require coaching, training, recruiting, monthly face-to-face visits and assessments. Our Missional Catalysts are missionary supported and have a proven background in starting a churches or churches. Three are vocational pastors and the other a layman who formed three core teams and started churches without a pastor. All of these men make disciples and are encouraged to being doing this around where they live. So if you are interested, please pray through this opportunity and then call or email Bruce Redmond at brjrred@msn.com or 719-331-2729.
We are having fun being a part of these multiplication and transformational ministries as they develop. I think we are aloud to have fun! Lol!
Contact me for more information on any of these at brjrred@msn.com or 719-331-2729 or see www.efcastartsoutheast.com or www.sed-efca.org. John DeMeester is the Missional Catalyst overseeing the two state areas of TN & KY and can be reached at 920-210-0719 or jademeester@gmail.com