Motorcycle Sabbatical Goes ‘off-road’ Visiting Small Churches

August 30, 2022258 views0

Motorcycle Sabbatical Goes ‘off-road’ Visiting Small Churches

2022-08-30T13:05:25+01:00

By Church News

Jeff Farmer rode his Indian Chieftain motorcycle off the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary campus in May, it marked Day One of a five-month, sabbatical year journey that covers thousands of miles and 45 states in the US.His goal was to step into growing, small-membership churches around the nation and see what fuels their growth.“The purpose of the Caskey Center is to encourage and equip,” said Farmer, associate director of the NOBTS Caskey Center for Church Excellence. “That’s very much a part of who we are, and part of why I’m going.”Ministry context, ministry focus and evangelism strategy will be the focal points of Farmer’s interviews with pastors across the country. From that, Farmer hopes to formulate principles and tools that other churches can use.“We have so many churches that are small in size,” Farmer explained. “A lot of them feel alone, as if there’s no way to grow a church in their context. But I’m finding churches in every context that God is able to grow.”While Farmer will visit about 100 small membership churches, he looks forward to another ministry aspect of his trip.Farmer expects gospel conversations to come up daily. His bike, with its “classic look” and illuminated headdress light on the front bumper, will provide the starting point.“Whenever I ride my Indian Chieftain, people come over and talk to me,” Farmer said. “God has used the motorcycle as a great icebreaker for me to get into gospel conversations.”Farmer’s route will take him to churches that recorded 100 or less in worship attendance in 2016 and then experienced at least a 10% growth over the next five years (to 2020). Other criteria include at least one baptism in the first and last years, a baptismal ratio of 35 to one, or less, and at least 25 percent growth from baptisms.Farmer’s journey will take him from the West Coast, across the mountainous west and into the Midwest, through the Great Lakes region and then into the Northeast as far as Maine before turning South and onto the final leg of his trip back home to New Orleans.ALSO READ Rick Warren Preaches Final Sermon As Saddleback Pastor