MISSIONS ENGAGEMENT
Our plan of action for sharing the love of Jesus Christ is based on His words recorded in Acts 1:8. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” -Acts 1:8 (ESV)
Jesus’ strategy was to send out His followers to be witnesses of the new life they had found. That process was to start in their own community but spill over into surrounding geographical areas. Following this pattern, Temple has structured its missions efforts to advance the Gospel in our Jerusalem (Ruston), our Judea (Louisiana), our Samaria (North America), and our world (Ends of the Earth). Here’s a snapshot of what that looks like.
The Springs
A few years ago, the Lord impressed the idea of planting a church in the hearts of our church leadership. We have watched the Lord grow that idea and He has led us to begin a new work in the Barnet Springs area of Ruston. We have seen the Lord already begin to bring a group of people together and we plan to launch services in late spring of 2019!
Released
Twice a year, we coordinate a church-wide community service event called Released. The goal of this project is to share the love of Christ by serving those in need, and organizations that help them. Church members of all ages gather together and go out in groups to serve across Lincoln Parish doing projects such as yard work, trash detail, sorting clothes, singing in nursing homes, and home repairs.
Partner Organizations
Throughout the year, we connect church members to groups inside and outside the church who are living out the Gospel in our community. If you would like to connect with others to do ministry such as prison ministry, food distribution, thrift store ministry, international ministry, school reading programs, please email us at missions@temple.life.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Temple is entering a new partnership this year with Renew Church in Baton Rouge. This church plant is in its grassroots stages as pastor Checkerz Williams and his family plant in an area of great need. We are supporting them with short-term teams and financial resources.
Calgary, Alberta Canada
Only 52 percent of Calgary’s 1.4 million inhabitants claim to believe in Jesus Christ. And with only one Canadian National Baptist (CNBC) church for every 44,586 people, there’s a long way to go in reaching this city. In the fall of 2016, our church began partnering with the South Winds Church Network and specifically Multiply Church which is scheduled to launch weekly services in the spring of 2018. Our church is involved in sending short-term teams as well as financial resources as we come alongside what God is doing in Calgary.
Chicago, Illinois
In 2015, our church entered a partnership with Church of the Beloved in Chicago. This young church plant has grown leaps and bounds in just a few short years and is intentional in impacting lostness caring for the “least of these,” and church planting. Our church partners with the Church of the Beloved by sending short-term teams and volunteers as well as helping them financially.
Los Angeles, California
In 2015, the Lord placed the city of Los Angeles on the heart of the hearts of our Pastor and many church members as a strategic and timely location for the advance of the Gospel. As that vision moved forward, we connected with two churches; a new plant (Story City Church) and a church revitalization (Unity Baptist Church). God is moving through both of those fellowships, and we have had the privilege of encouraging both through sending short and mid-term teams and financial resources.
Puerto Rico
A group on islands in the Caribbean Sea, Puerto Rico is home to approximately 3.4 million people. This tropical paradise has been a popular tourist destination for years, but when Hurricane Maria hit in September 2017, everything changed. Devastated by the storm, the region is rebuilding and still in desperate need of practical assistance, personal connections and consistent presence. In January 2019, Temple will send a team to share the good news of Jesus and help Puerto Ricans get their lives back on track. If you have a heart for helping, this could be your opportunity to make an immediate difference and have an eternal impact.
Montana
Easthaven Baptist church in Kalispell, Montana is impacting the world through planting churches, Christian education and rejuvenating hearts through camp ministry. Temple has partnered with EBC for several years sending personnel to serve them on various projects. This year Temple will send a team to build, repair and maintain facilities to be used to impact lives for ministry.
South Asia
In 2009, Temple set out to develop a long-term international mission partnership through the International Mission Board (IMB) in an area with little evangelical witness and great spiritual need. Through a process of prayer, research, and consultation with IMB, the Lord led us to a specific state in one of the countries of South Asia. This state is home to over 70 million people, and less than 0.5% of them are followers of Christ. For several years, we have sent short-term teams to partner with cross-cultural missionaries and local church planters, focused on evangelism and leadership development. In addition to sponsoring long-term missionaries through IMB, we also support and train local believers who are planting churches across the state and beyond.
East Asia
East Asian peoples represent a fourth of the world’s population. They live in a region that is home to four of the world’s ten most populous cities. Among them are 213 unreached and unengaged people groups.
Hungary
After decades of being under communist control, the lack of ethical guidance has left a spiritual and moral vacuum in the lives of young Hungarians. Summer language camps are taking place at many of the schools for social and cultural enrichment and as a means of connecting church members with the students and their families. Some camps are being conducted by a church, some with and some without a school connection. This summer, Temple will re-engage this opportunity and lead English Bible Camps in Hungary.
Nicaragua
In 2008, Temple connected with an organization serving the people of Nicaragua called Nicaraguan Christian Outreach (NCO). We took our first medical mission team that August and our team fell in love with the Nicaraguan people. We have taken a medical team back each summer since. Since then, we have added construction teams and we sponsor feeding stations for children living in impoverished communities. In 2015, one of our families stepped forward to follow the call as the first long-term.