Concord Baptist Association

Encouraging and supporting collaborative efforts among CBA Churches that seeks to fulfill the mission of God locally by starting new churches across Rutherford County.

More specifically, as we anticipate Rutherford county to more than double in population over the next 25 years, we desire to see churches planted across our community.

Rutherford County is located about 30 miles southeast of Downtown Nashville, TN. Murfreesboro serves as the county seat which alternates between being the 5th & 6th largest city in the state on any given year. Additionally, Lavergne and Smyrna are suburban communities between Murfreesboro and Nashville. Murfreesboro is a growing university city which is home to Middle Tennessee State University, the 3rd largest public university in the state of Tennessee boasting more than 21,000 resident students. In addition, Smyrna is home to Nissan North America and is one of the most productive automobile plants in America.

Since 2016, Rutherford County has remained the fastest growing county in the state of Tennessee. Additionally, each of the three largest cities have a mix of cultural and ethnic diversity ranging from urban, suburban and even large rural communities. The attraction to Rutherford County is easy to understand. The job market is strong as well as a friendly real estate market compared to neighboring counties. Due to this rapid growth, Rutherford County has become one of Tennessee’s least churched metropolitan communities in the southeast.

When you meet someone who was born and raised in Rutherford County, they will quickly tell you how much their beloved county has changed over the past 25 years. With the rapid growth of our community has come significant socio-economic, cultural and ethnic shifts.

Rutherford County is home to nearly 375,000 people. The population demographics are typical of other Southern cities and regions. The demographics trend slightly younger as the county continues to see exponential growth in its schools.

While Rutherford county is a predominately Anglo community, it is becoming increasingly multi-ethnic. About 1/4 of the population of the region are non-Anglo. Nearly 8% of households in the county speak a language other than English in the home and ESL programs are one of the most rapid growing programs in Rutherford County Schools, especially in Lavergne and parts of Smyrna. In addition to the majority ethnic make up going to Anglo, Black and Latino residents, Rutherford county has a significant Muslim and Burmese community planting roots here.

While a majority of households still identify as “Christian”, only about 10% of the population are adherents of non- Christian religions (Sunni Muslims, Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs, etc.). Adding to the religious diversity, much of the Christian population are nominal in their church participation and adhere more to a “Bible Belt” popular Christianity rather than communing with a local church. About 85% of our community identifies as being Christian, but less than 50% darken a door of a Christian church of any kind on any given weekend.

As mentioned above, our county has rapidly grown over the past 20 years. The need to plant new churches is vital. In most Southern communities, there is approximately 1 Southern Baptist Church for every 3500-4000 residents. In Rutherford County, there is only one Southern Baptist Church for every 8,000 residents.

There is a need to plant churches that cross so many cultural and ethnic barriers in Rutherford County. As our community sees an influx of people moving to the area from much less churched parts of our nation, it is imperative that we plant churches that meet that growth in order to maintain a Gospel witness in our community. The fields are wide open for new church works across our county and beyond. Let’s link arms together.

As Baptist churches partner together to see the Gospel transform our community, we believe that Gospel partnership should result in joint church planting efforts among our partner churches. The Starting Churches Team, whose members represent a diverse range of churches within our association, believes it is time to recover the rich history of Baptist associationalism in order to identify, assess, train and send church planters to plant healthy new churches across our community

To this end, we are implementing a pathway to recruit and assess planters utilizing the best tools available through the TBMB and the North American Mission Board. Once planters are identified, we want to see them planted into the incubator of local churches of all shapes and sizes through a meaningful but flexible residency programs for approximately 1 year. Once the planter is ready and begins gathering a core, we want to see him supported by CBA Churches with the People and Provisions needed to see their work grow into self sustaining local churches.

How can the churches of the CBA participate?

1. Cast a vision of the Biblical vision of church planting at your church.

2. Help us identify pockets of our community that need new churches.

3. Recommend potential planters for interview and assessment.

4. Create a 12 month pathway to train planters (we have churches who can help you!)

5. Join PLANT RUTHERFORD as a Partner Church committing core team members and financial assistance.

6. Assess your current resources and assets and ask God how they could be used for new works.

7. Commit to not allowing our church plants to fail through ongoing associational relationships.

Why should your church partner with PLANT RUTHERFORD?

1. The best evangelistic tool we have is the planting of new churches.

2. Engaging your church intentional Kingdom efforts prove to help strengthen partnering churches

3. Current local church ministry is not keeping up with present rapid growth much less the future growth of Middle Tennessee.

4. Healthy churches grow and one of the evidences of that is the starting of new churches.

5. Kingdom ministry

People

As we identify locations in our county to plant new works, our associational churches can begin to pray for that work and encourage congregants to join the effort either on a provisional basis or a long term commitment. Additionally, some churches may have qualified men who can be sent to lead new church plants as their planting pastors.

Provisions

Church plants often need resources to help move them toward sustainability. Most estimates reveal that it takes 3-5 years to see a church become financially self sustaining. Our associational churches can partner with a monthly, quarterly or annual stipend in addition to donating equipment that is in good shape such as Audio/visual, chairs, kid’s equipment and trailers. Additionally, one of biggest expenses a church plant faces in meeting space. A church can provide a place to meet for a season at a time conducive to both congregations. All nancial and provisional partnership are blessings to church planters!

Projects

Church planters will often seek to do outreach events in their target community. One of the greatest gifts our associational churches can do is to send a team of people who can put on “Church Plant” shirt and help minister to their communities in a way helps them gain credibility among their neighbors.