Riverbend Baptist Church

Let’s Plant a Church

Riverbend Staff — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 21:26:21 +0000

A few weeks ago I concluded the 14th chapter of Acts. We looked at the many sides of a healthy church. One of the characteristics of a healthy church we see in the New Testament is church planting. In short, the process of planting a church looks something like this:

1. The sending church recognizes the need for a Bible believing, Christ centered, Great Commission minded fellowship in an area that is without this type of church. 2. The sending church would appoint leadership to go and began to evangelize the community. 3. As God redeemed members of the community the leadership would organize those believers into a fellowship that would continue the pattern of disciple making. I realize this is a gross oversimplification of the process but for the purpose of this article it will suffice. The pattern we see in the New Testament remains a viable plan that is relevant and practical for the 21st Century.

Let me remind you of the some of the statistics I shared with you earlier this year. In Hall County it is estimated that over 100,000 individuals do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The average church in Hall County has a membership of 415. If we use that same average membership figure it would take an additional 247 churches in Hall County to reach the lost. It is estimated that there are 6,700,000 individuals in the state of Georgia that do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ. The average church in the state of Georgia has a membership of 428. If we use that same average it would take an additional 15,800 churches to reach the lost in our state. It is estimated that there are 219,000,000 individuals in the United States of America that do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The average church in America has a membership of 352. If we use that same average it would take an additional 600,000 churches to reach the lost.

It is obvious to me and I pray it is obvious to you that at our current levels of Bible believing, Christ centered, Great Commission minded churches we cannot reach the incredible numbers of unbelievers that surround our homes, schools, playgrounds and places of work. The North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (NAMB) has divided the continent into five regions: South, Midwest, Northeast, West and Canada. NAMB also done extensive research within each of these regions and made the following determinations:

Northeast: A lost population of 51,000,000 with a 37,788 population per church

West: A lost population of 62,000,000 with a 16,084 population per church

Midwest: A lost population of 52,000,000 with a 12,802 population per church

South: A lost population of 67,000,000 with a 2,697 population per church.

Our county, our state and our nation is in desperate need of Bible believing, Christ centered, Great Commission minded churches. If current churches that believe the Bible want to exalt Christ and reach the lost do not invest in new church starts no one will. I want to ask you, my church family, to begin praying about when and where Riverbend can plant a church so that we can see the lost saved in our county, our state and our nation. Will this journey be difficult? Yes it will. Will this journey require sacrifice from all of us? Yes it will. Will this journey be worth the price paid? YES, YES, and YES. Let’s GO reach the world with the Gospel.

Pastor Matt

A Successful Local Church

Riverbend Staff — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:25:26 +0000

No matter the endeavor I would think that all of us want to succeed. As a matter of fact, I have never had a conversation with an individual that gave any indication they wanted to fail in life. Unfortunately, sometimes we do fail. Read the newspapers or the social media sites and you will see we are inundated with failure. Business are failing, banks are failing, marriages are failing, governments are failing (in some cases this isn’t all that bad), athletic teams are failing, schools are failing, and some churches are failing. Yes, you read that correctly, churches are failing. It is estimated that 4,000+/- churches will close their doors this year. It is also estimated that 85% of all churches are stagnant or declining in membership and/or attendance. Why are so many churches closing or declining? I will not pretend to have the many answers to that question. However, as I study the text of Scripture I see examples of healthy, growing, successful local fellowships of Christ Followers who made an impact on their communities and the world. One example of a healthy, growing, successful local fellowship was the church at Antioch. This week we will study four principles we see in Acts 11 that contributed to the health and growth and success of the church at Antioch. I would like to invite you to join us this Sunday at 900 or 1030 AM as we study this text and unpack these principles.

Pastor Matt

Big God… little me

Riverbend Staff — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 18:30:58 +0000

Listen as Pastor Ben Thornton takes us on a journey through Isaiah 40 and examines the greatness of the Creator.

August 28; Aaron Coe

Riverbend Staff — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:56:14 +0000

Listen in as Aaron Coe from the North American Mission Board shares, along with guest worship leader Dennis Jernigan

August 21; Helping Hands Ministries

Riverbend Staff — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:48:29 +0000

Listen as Dr Brenda Kowalske and members of Helping Hands Ministries share

August 14; Jason Lester

Riverbend Staff — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:43:30 +0000

Lusten as Jason Lester shares about the ministry of Fellowship of Christian Athletes

August 7th – Ken Grindle

Riverbend Staff — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:24:51 +0000

Listen as Ken Grindle shares about the ministry of Net India

LET’S GO – A Month of Missions

Riverbend Staff — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:10:52 +0000

Our month of missions has begun. I am excited about the month of August in the life of our church family. I am excited about the guest missionaries we have coming in to share what God is doing in them and through the ministries they serve in.

This week we will have the privilege of hosting Jason Lester. Jason serves as the Director of the Gainesville/Hall County Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Jason is doing an amazing job of exposing our student-athletes to the Gospel. We are blessed to have Jason in this community. Other than the local church FCA has done more to encourage, challenge and help me in my faith journey than any other ministry. I believe in the mission and purpose of FCA and want to encourage you to make this Sunday, August 14 a priority. You will hear what God is doing in our local schools through the FCA ministry as well as the many opportunities you can get involved in with FCA.

Have a great week and I look forward to seeing you Sunday.

Pastor Matt

Stop Worrying and Don’t Start Again

Riverbend Staff — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 16:24:24 +0000

Listen to this powerful and convicting message from Matthew 6:25-34 on why worrying is unhealthy.

The Tabernacle & Jesus

Riverbend Staff — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:56:27 +0000

Listen as Pastor Matt Wethington teaches on the aspects of the Tabernacle and how each of them are completed in the person and ministry of Jesus Christ.