As we start a new year I think it is a great time to reestablish the role the Denton Baptist Association (DBA) plays in expanding the Kingdom of God through church planting. The DBA is made up of just over 100 churches. These churches fund our week-in and week-out ministries. The DBA partners with the UNT BSM, the TWU BSM, Camp Copass, Disaster Relief, and Raceway Ministries. We equip and encourage pastors. We organize an annual leadership conference to help leaders all across Denton County be more effective in their ministries.
We also help plant churches. More specifically we recruit, assess, equip, plant, coach, and multiply. Monthly we recruit new planters through our monthly Church Planters Lunch. These lunches are times for planters to network and fellowship. Lunches are led by area planters who pass along wisdom to the guys coming behind them.
Using Send Network material we have established a cohort training that propels brothers to plant. For an entire year they meet every other Thursday afternoon to study theology, church planting principles, and pastoral ministry. These sessions are led by area pastors. As a result, numerous DBA pastors are key to planting churches in Denton County.
Further our team regularly coaches different men in the field in order to help them remain healthy and effective for the task God has given them. Through the generosity of our churches the DBA also has a funding structure to support each of our planters.
We are also beginning to meet directly with churches and missions committees. Our team can come speak to any DBA church about what God is doing in Denton County as well as how our churches can participate.
Church plants need more than what one association can offer. They need denominational assessment through either Send Network – SBTC or Texas Baptists. They need a sponsoring church and numerous supporting churches. They need a strong network of individuals praying for them and financially supporting them.
However, our association plays a key role in planting churches in Denton County. By partnering with the DBA a planter will be equipped, encouraged, and resourced to plant. He will find fellowship and a brotherhood of other planters. He will find like-minded pastors to pour into him.
We are not the only thing a planter needs. However, the DBA plays a key role in spreading the gospel, expanding the kingdom, and planting new churches in Denton County.