WEBVTT 00:00:01.439 --> 00:00:08.960 This podcast is a ministry of Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:14.000 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org. 00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:21.039 Lord God, that is the testimony of our heart today. 00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:23.359 That you are good, good. 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:33.920 God, no matter what our circumstance looks like today or this week, we hold on to the truth that you are good, good, and you love us and care for us. 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:38.240 We thank you for the grace and mercy we find in your Son Jesus Christ. 00:00:38.479 --> 00:00:39.119 Amen. 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:41.119 Good morning, church. 00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:49.280 For those of you as Brother Don said, my name is Jerry Anderson, and I am a church planter in the city of New Orleans. 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:56.960 We're in the process of planting Riverbend Baptist Church in the West Bank of New Orleans, which I like to say is the best bank. 00:00:57.600 --> 00:01:05.040 New Orleans, if you don't know, it's split by the Great Mississippi River, and the East Bank is Bourbon Street and all of that stuff. 00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:07.920 And the West Bank is not that stuff. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:12.159 In fact, where I'm going is Bell Chase, and it's called the Boondocks of New Orleans. 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:17.840 And so pretty much there's nothing there but swamp, gas, and oil, and uh that's where we're going. 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:21.680 But I just want to thank Pastor Neil and Pastor Don for having me come here. 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:30.959 And thank you all for being here to let me just share what God is doing in our hearts and working to push back lostness in the city of New Orleans. 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:32.799 Uh this picture right there. 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:35.120 You see, there's one person that doesn't quite look like us. 00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:36.000 She's the brunette. 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:36.799 Her name is Alicia. 00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:41.439 Uh Alicia came into our home about a year and a half ago through foster care. 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:44.480 And I want to tell you, do you know we serve a God that adopts? 00:01:45.359 --> 00:01:51.840 In fact, there's a stat right now that says seven out of ten people under the age of 18 will grow up and never be in church. 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:52.640 Think of that. 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:57.280 Seven out of ten people under the age of 18 will grow up and never be in church. 00:01:57.439 --> 00:01:59.280 And so I want to just challenge you. 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:06.879 If you have a home and you have space, there's no greater, great commission work than you can do than bring in a child who needs a place to stay. 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:09.120 Lisa came in our home and she was from Nashville. 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:10.639 Nashville is the buckle of the Bible belt. 00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:11.520 You know that, right? 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:14.159 And she had never been to church before. 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:18.240 And she told my wife on the first week, she goes, Look, I don't really like that church stuff. 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:23.120 And we're like, well, baby, you're gonna have a rough year and a half because that's I'm a pastor, that's what we do. 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:29.439 And to tell you her biblical knowledge, she thought the books of the Bible were the names of Jesus' brothers and sons. 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:30.479 She had no clue. 00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:32.400 She didn't even know what we did in the building. 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:40.240 But through God's divine interaction, on Father's Day of last year, we were meeting with a couple that we didn't even know. 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:46.879 My son was going to a music camp, and pastor friends of ours hooked us up with their friends for the place to stay. 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:51.039 And this guy was an orphan, and she was having a rough day because she didn't know who her dad was. 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:55.120 And he said, Look, I don't know who my dad was either, but let me tail my father in heaven. 00:02:55.199 --> 00:03:10.159 And over a Zack Spee's meal, a stranger that we didn't know, who we were connected to by chance, shared the gospel with a girl that we had only known for four months, and God brought her to salvation because God does what God wants to do. 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:20.000 And so I'm going to challenge you, it's not part of my message, but if you've got space in your home and a heart, you can have a chaotic home, but a chaotic home that knows Jesus is better than no home at all. 00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:24.400 And so I plug that everywhere you go, God is an adopting God and his people should be adopting people. 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:27.919 So Alicia, she's in Nashville right now, studying massage therapy. 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:29.759 Pray for her in this transition. 00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:34.000 It's one thing to be forced to go to church when your father is a pastor. 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:36.400 It's another thing to be 18 and choose to go. 00:03:36.560 --> 00:03:40.560 And we're just praying that God puts around her people that encourage her with the gospel. 00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:41.919 So pray for Alicia. 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:43.840 Um, do you have the boy right there? 00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:44.639 That's Austin. 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:46.639 You'll see him at next service. 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:47.599 He's 13. 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:49.439 He's about to be a freshman in high school. 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:50.960 Pray for him in this transition. 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:56.639 He's going from a class of 100 kids to a city that school that has over 1,300 kids. 00:03:56.879 --> 00:04:01.520 And we went to freshman orientation and he was there for about five minutes and said, Dad, I want to go home. 00:04:01.919 --> 00:04:02.800 I don't like this. 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:04.159 He was overwhelmed. 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:05.360 Um, pray for him. 00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:11.520 He wants to be an architect, and so he's got his heart set on Cornell University, so pray he gets good grades because I can afford that. 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:18.560 I'm also praying that he looks at Rice, because Rice is here in Houston, that's a lot closer, but he wants to be an architect, and man, he is smart. 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:22.800 He, at eight years old, he began asking me, How do we know the Bible's true? 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:28.879 And so I had to explain to him stuff that I didn't even study until college about how we can trust Scripture. 00:04:28.959 --> 00:04:33.360 And so he's my son, he looks just like me, and he acts just like me. 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:39.040 So pray that both of us live the next six years because we are too much alike. 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:39.920 But I love him. 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:42.000 Uh, the middle daughter there, her name is Autumn Rose. 00:04:42.079 --> 00:04:51.040 Autumn Rose, like I said, is 11, and she is my artist, and with all that envelops, everything is a huge deal for her. 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:52.480 Like someday she'll just cry. 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:53.680 I'm like, baby, why are you crying? 00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:55.519 I don't know what I'm crying for. 00:04:55.759 --> 00:04:58.480 She's just, she's an artist and she wants to be an artist. 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:01.040 And I said, baby, I said, you know, artists don't make a lot of money. 00:05:01.199 --> 00:05:02.160 She said, that's okay. 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:04.720 I'll live with you and work at McDonald's. 00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:07.199 She's got a new plan. 00:05:07.279 --> 00:05:08.560 Her plan is to marry a doctor. 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:12.639 So if you know any godly men that want to be a doctor, that's her plan. 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:16.560 Um, I don't know how workable it is, but you know, God can do great things. 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:20.800 So, but she wants to be an artist, and let me tell you, she is fabulous for 11 years old. 00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:26.319 And she loves to draw and she loves to take pictures and she wants a nice camera so she can take great pictures. 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:27.199 She just loves art. 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:28.319 And then I have Catherine. 00:05:28.480 --> 00:05:32.720 Catherine is seven, and uh, Catherine is spoiled rotten. 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:35.199 That says a lot more about me than her. 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:37.920 Like, I just I will rescue her from everything. 00:05:38.079 --> 00:05:41.839 She'll be like, mama's mad at me, and I'm like, oh, come here, baby, what's wrong? 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:45.040 So my wife, right there, Emily Anderson, say hi, Emily. 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:46.079 Uh Emily, Dr. 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:46.879 Emily Anderson. 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:49.439 She won't ever let me call her that, but I will because I can get to her later. 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:55.759 She uh she moved to New Orleans five months before I did because she was the principal of the Christian school in our area. 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:01.439 And our plan was to transition from Dyersburg to New Orleans in June. 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:08.560 And so she worked out her process, she gave her school a large notice, and the school basically said, you know, the plan you've given us is great. 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:13.519 We're just gonna go ahead and accept your resignation effective immediately and not in six months. 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:17.600 Now, I don't know about you, but in that moment I was really angry with God. 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:21.040 I'm like, God, listen, I am faithfully following where you're calling me to go. 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:23.759 We're a two-income family, what are we gonna do? 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:27.040 And so we began to talk about it, and she said, Well, I'll just move down to New Orleans. 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:29.120 And so my wife moved to New Orleans. 00:06:29.279 --> 00:06:34.319 She interviewed in like nine schools and was offered eight jobs on the spot because she's fabulous. 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:36.319 She's been teaching in the city of Gretna. 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:41.360 Gretna Middle School, I just want to let you know she went from a Christian school in West Tennessee. 00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:42.959 So picture all of that. 00:06:43.519 --> 00:06:48.160 To Gretna, where four years ago there were 200 arrests in her middle school. 00:06:48.480 --> 00:06:50.800 She has a student that was pregnant. 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:54.959 She had she had more relationships with probation officers than parents. 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:56.480 That's just Gretna. 00:06:56.720 --> 00:06:59.920 But you know, God has used her to be a light in that school. 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:06.319 And the first day, she was listening to some Christian music, and a teacher knocked on her door and said, I thought you might be a Christian. 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:08.639 There's two more of us in the building. 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:14.000 Now, a hundred teachers on staff, three Christians in the building. 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:18.560 And so God has provided her opportunities to present the gospel and share with kids. 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:20.399 And only that, God has blessed her. 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:26.399 Uh within six months, she'd already moved into an administrative role that she's supposed to start in August. 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:38.240 But she was supposed to drive with me here yesterday, but I ended up going to pick her up at the airport because on Friday, her superintendent called and said, Can you come in at noon for an interview for a position, a principal's position? 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:39.519 And my wife said, sure. 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:41.839 And so she interviewed for a principal's position. 00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:46.959 We're waiting to see the response on that, and we're hoping that's a positive thing that she gets the yes. 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:49.519 But God has just used her dramatically. 00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:57.360 And what we can look back now and see, even though our plan was to move in June and she left early, God had a reason for all of it. 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:01.759 We're closing on our house next week in New Orleans, a house we've bought. 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:06.079 Um, my kid Austin got into a charter school, which he would have missed if we'd not been there. 00:08:06.240 --> 00:08:10.079 And if he hadn't gotten to one of the charter schools, he'd have to go to one of the normal schools in New Orleans. 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:12.879 And New Orleans is not known for its great school system. 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:17.040 Instead, he's gonna go to the number one high school in Louisiana, praise God. 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:23.759 My daughters have acclimated the city, and so while I've had a plan, we followed God's plan, and God's plan has been much better. 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:26.720 Uh, it was the longest five and a half months of our lives. 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:31.920 I tell you, I'm glad we had a strong marriage when we started, and I'm grateful that we have a strong marriage still. 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:33.840 Uh, my wife, like I said, she's incredible. 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:40.159 I've only got evidence of one poor choice she made, and that was 14 years ago, and she chose me and she stuck with me. 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:47.759 So, so I always tell her, look, you made me, so I can't really trust you for rational decisions in our relationship because you chose me. 00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:49.279 Uh, we're going to Bell Chase. 00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:53.519 Now, New Orleans, I want to be honest, I did not want to go to New Orleans. 00:08:53.840 --> 00:09:02.080 In fact, about uh October of 2015, we began to feel this uneasiness, this unsettleness like God was moving us. 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:04.480 And I'm not from Tennessee, as you can tell. 00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:06.559 I don't sound like a Tennessean, y'all. 00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:11.440 Um, I'm from Washington State, and I moved to Tennessee in 1994 to go to college. 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:14.000 Thought I'd be there for four years and go back home. 00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:15.919 I've never gone back. 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:22.480 Uh, I've been in Ohio, northern Cincinnati area, northern Kentucky, and I've been in Tennessee, but never back to Washington. 00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:27.279 Well, in about 2015, October, I felt like God was doing something. 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:30.000 And I thought, well, God is calling us back to East Tennessee. 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:31.679 All of my wife's family live there. 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:33.279 That's where we lived before we moved. 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:44.639 And honestly, there's no greater place than Knoxville, Tennessee, September to December on Saturday mornings to watch the University of Tennessee volunteers play football. 00:09:44.960 --> 00:09:47.279 Because I believe that God loves Neeland Stadium. 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:48.639 I thought, this is where we're gonna go. 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:51.519 I know I'm not gonna get anyone agreeing with that. 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:54.559 Uh but I'll be telling you, God loves the underdogs. 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:56.320 So he's a T U T fan. 00:09:56.399 --> 00:10:03.440 In fact, this funny story, my son, 13 years old, until last year, had never seen Tennessee beat the University of Florida. 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:05.120 He didn't think it could possibly happen. 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:06.720 We finally did it, praise God. 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:08.960 Um, so I wanted to go to Knoxville. 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:12.639 But the doors, just nothing felt right. 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:17.679 And you know, sometimes you just get a check in your spirit where you know something's not, and nothing just seemed right. 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:22.080 About the same time, uh, my youth pastor at the time, he'd worked for me about three years, his name was Doug May. 00:10:22.159 --> 00:10:26.720 He was like, hey, I need you to pray for me because I'm getting ready to transition at the end of this year. 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:32.240 I want to go finish my MDiv, my Master's of Divinity, at the seminary in New Orleans and pray that God finds a place of ministry. 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:41.360 And so we began praying, and my wife began doing research, and she said, Hey, you know, the North American Missions Board is looking for pastors to go plant churches in New Orleans. 00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:42.159 You need to pray about this. 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:47.200 I said, No, I do not need to pray about that because I do not want to go to New Orleans. 00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:54.080 I had I'd been involved in church plants most of my ministry, either bivocationally or volunteer-wise, and I knew how hard it was. 00:10:54.320 --> 00:10:59.759 I knew how much it was uncertain, I knew how much difficulty was, and I kind of liked being in an established church. 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:05.039 There's something about coming every Sunday morning and having a treasurer hand you a check that I really like. 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:08.000 Um, and and I didn't really want to go to New Orleans. 00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:10.000 I said, God is calling me to Knoxville. 00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:11.360 She said, just pray about it. 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:14.000 I said, I don't need to pray about it, I'm not gonna pray about it. 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:18.559 Well, my wife did not relent, and she said, Hey, we need to go down to New Orleans. 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:23.279 The missions board is doing a catch the vision tour for pastors to come down and see how they can get involved. 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:24.720 And I said, Okay, I'll go. 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:29.840 Because here's what I know you either love the city or you hate the city. 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:32.559 And I thought, I'll go to New Orleans and I'll hate the city. 00:11:32.879 --> 00:11:34.960 Case closed, I can go to Knoxville. 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:40.000 I got down to the city and I just fell in love with it. 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:42.639 And let me tell you, New Orleans is not Bourbon Street. 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:43.440 That's where the tourists go. 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:45.919 It's the number one visited city in the world, by the way, for a tourist. 00:11:46.320 --> 00:11:47.679 But that's not where people go. 00:11:47.840 --> 00:11:49.120 That's not New Orleans. 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:58.799 And I spent the weekend and I heard all these stories of what church planters are doing and the stories of lostness, and my heart just broke for the city. 00:11:59.120 --> 00:12:05.919 And the closest thing I can connect it to from scripture is if you read the story of Acts, Paul is trying like crazy to go to Asia with the gospel. 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:13.200 And every time he tries to go roadblock, roadblock, roadblock, and finally he has a dream one night about a man in Macedonia that said, Come help me. 00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:15.759 And Paul woke up the next morning and ran. 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:23.039 The closest thing I can see is I felt like God was directly saying, Come help the city of New Orleans. 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:24.879 And so we began the process. 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:26.159 It's not an easy process. 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:30.799 The North American Missions Board, which you guys partner with, is awesome at what they do. 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:32.720 They don't send just anybody. 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:40.080 You go through a long process where they evaluate you, and I had to give them people to talk to, and they had to sit down. 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:48.480 I had to go to a weekend where they sat down and they were invasive in our marriage and asked questions that my mama doesn't even ask, and I had to answer the questions honestly. 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:51.360 And it was a real time where they began to investigate. 00:12:51.519 --> 00:13:00.159 Not only do you feel called, but does the church feel like you have the skill set and the relationship to work? 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:03.519 Let me tell you, I believe that God speaks clearly through his church, don't you? 00:13:04.159 --> 00:13:09.840 Every time you see in the book of Acts, when something was done, the church always affirmed it. 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:14.159 And so the North American Missions Board said, Hey, you know what, we confirm that you have a calling. 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:17.360 And a church in Pentacola said, Hey, we confirm that you have a calling. 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:20.080 And so we began going to the city of Bell Chase. 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:25.200 And uh Bell Chase, if you've ever watched NCIS New Orleans, right? 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:26.240 That's Bell Chase. 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:27.360 It's a it's a military community. 00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:29.440 My wife and I have military background. 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:32.320 I spent eight years in the National Guard. 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:33.200 My wife spent 12. 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:37.600 She's a much better soldier than I am because she is so much better at taking orders and giving them. 00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:55.039 I was not good at it, but we we loved the military life, and so there's a military base there, and I'm actually going for a physical in the next month to go back in the reserves as a chaplain because it opens up another 4,000 people that I can get access to on a consistent basis to share the gospel with. 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:59.440 But the city of Belchase, if you don't count the military base, it has 12,000 people in it. 00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:02.080 That's a 28% increase over the last 10 years. 00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:03.519 It is a growing city. 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:08.879 Its number one industry is oil and natural gas. 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:11.440 Did you know there's oil and natural gas in the Gulf Coast? 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:13.519 Oh, you duh. 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:15.679 Well, that that's another, in fact, they're building a new refinery. 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:18.240 It's gonna be between 500 and 1,000 jobs. 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:20.639 The average starting wage is$70,000. 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:22.960 I told my wife I'm in the wrong business. 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:27.600 Well, I said I said that to say that there's a growing community, but and it's a young community. 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:29.600 The median age is 34, it's young people. 00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:33.279 Here's what happened: New Orleans was destroyed about 10, 15, 10 years ago. 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:35.519 This little storm, you guys remember it, right, Katrina? 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:37.600 What wiped the city out? 00:14:37.840 --> 00:14:45.919 Well, all these millennials came in and they did work and they fell in love with the city, and so these millennials are coming back, and so the age group is dropping to about 34. 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:56.480 But in this city of 12,000 people, I sat down with a pastor of the church there and I said, Hey, just Jason, just tell me what an average Sunday looks like here in Belchase. 00:14:56.559 --> 00:15:02.240 He said, if every church had their top attendance, there's five evangelical congregations. 00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:05.200 He said there'd be 400 people in church on Sunday morning. 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:08.559 Now, I was talking with Brother Don. 00:15:08.639 --> 00:15:11.279 He said there's about a thousand people that worship here on a Sunday. 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:19.120 So twice as many, more than twice as many people will come through this building today and worship Jesus in the entire city of Bell Chase. 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:26.480 See, for me, as my wife and I talked, there's gonna be no shortage of people that want to go to an hour's pool and pastor an established church. 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:29.600 My church I left in West Tennessee, I could have stayed there forever. 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:33.039 They loved me, they liked me, and it was comfortable. 00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:35.120 My wife was the principal of the Christian school. 00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:37.200 We had a pretty easy life. 00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:43.039 But you know, as I gave my resignation, I wasn't even out the door and they had resumes to take that spot. 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:48.639 There's a shortage of people that are willing to pack their lives up and go to New Orleans. 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:51.279 And we just felt like that God was calling us to do that. 00:15:51.440 --> 00:15:55.679 And so people ask if there's only like 400 people, what is the worship? 00:15:55.759 --> 00:15:56.559 What are the people like? 00:15:56.639 --> 00:16:00.879 And and the first thing is this about 48% of them have no affiliation at all. 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:02.399 They don't even care about church. 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:05.679 God is either there or not there, don't really care. 00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:08.320 A lot of that is that millennial influence, you know. 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:15.519 Unfortunately, the largest demographic of faith people in our in our country are non-affiliated, people who just don't even have a background. 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:24.240 See, about 15 years ago, we realized that that 75% of the kids that graduate our churches from high school will leave and never go and never attend church. 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:25.840 About we retained about 25%. 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:30.799 But we weren't concerned because we thought, well, they'll get families and they'll come back. 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:36.960 And I bet if we looked around this room, a lot of you left high school, went your own way, had families, and came back to church. 00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:38.000 Is that the story of anybody here? 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:39.679 You kind of left for a little bit and you came back. 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:42.080 We weren't concerned because we thought they'd come back. 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:43.759 Remember my stat earlier. 00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:48.879 Seven out of ten people under the age of 18 don't have a church background. 00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:50.399 You know what that means? 00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:53.440 There's no faith to go back to. 00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:59.440 So 48% of the people in Bell Chase, they don't even have a faith background. 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:02.960 The other population is huge, 43% Catholic. 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:06.880 Um, you guys down here in Texas, you know Catholicism is a big thing, right? 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:08.559 It's a huge thing in New Orleans. 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:11.359 Uh, the oldest, that's a picture right there of St. 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:12.720 Louis Cathedral. 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:17.519 That is the oldest active, continually active Catholic church. 00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:19.599 And it's a generational Catholicism. 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:22.880 In other words, my mama was Catholic, her mom was Catholic. 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:25.039 All the way back to the 1700s, we were Catholic. 00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:26.319 It's huge. 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:27.839 In fact, it's deeply rooted. 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:31.839 I'll talk to some guys that can share you a salvation by grace story. 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:39.920 They can present the three circles, they know the gospel clearly, but they'll never leave the Catholic Church because that's everything. 00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:41.119 For several reasons. 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:43.920 One is they don't want to go to the public schools. 00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:47.839 And to go to the Catholic school at a great discount, guess what you got to be? 00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:53.119 You know, to get a burial spot at a at a gravesite, guess what you gotta be? 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:58.160 So they're not willing to give that up, not just that, they're not willing to give up the family connections. 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:00.640 The other part of that is very nominal Catholic. 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:07.279 They're kind of like, you ever met Baptists that they say they're Baptists or they say they're churchgoers, and you see them on Christmas and Eastern Mother's Day? 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:17.359 I'll tell you, the interesting thing for me, pastoring a church in West Tennessee, is I'd see the obituary and I'd read somebody that says, faithful member of Harvest Baptist Church, and I'm like, baby, I don't know who that person is. 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:20.880 There's that population, they're Catholic in name only. 00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:23.039 The other thing is you got about 3% Buddhists. 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:27.359 Now we're gonna plant in, and I know I talk fast, I'm sorry, I get excited. 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:34.640 We're planting in the northern part of Bell Chase, where Belchase connects with a part of New Orleans called the English Turn and Algiers. 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:41.279 And in that about five-mile radius, there's about 30,000 people, but no churches. 00:18:41.599 --> 00:18:44.480 Gotta drive three to four miles to find a church. 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:56.160 As I leave my house in Algiers that we're buying, as I cross the bridge into the English Turn, I will pass two Buddhist temples before I pass an evangelical church. 00:18:56.559 --> 00:18:58.240 3% of the population is Buddhist. 00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:02.319 There's a Thai Buddhist temple and a Vietnamese Buddhist temple. 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:04.880 The other thing is there's two to three percent Muslim. 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:10.559 My wife, the school she teaches at, they have a full-time Arabic interpreter because there's Muslims there. 00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:12.000 It's just the population. 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:19.759 My daughter will tell me that a teacher will come in a couple times a day and escort kids out of class so they can go pray and come back to class. 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:21.359 The Muslim population is growing. 00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:27.119 In fact, there's about twice as many Muslims and Buddhists in this area than there are evangelical Christians. 00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:30.240 In fact, stats tell you about 1% are evangelical. 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:31.920 Now, let's be honest. 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:35.440 You ever know anybody that went to church but didn't know Jesus? 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:37.680 Here's what I believe. 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:41.519 I believe that 1% doesn't mean 1% of them actually know who Jesus is. 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:46.319 That 1% is probably closer to about 0.5%, a half a percent. 00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:48.000 Here's what that tells me. 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:55.200 That tells me in the city of Belchase, in New Orleans proper, there's 1.2 million people. 00:19:55.680 --> 00:20:08.160 And by our best guess, maybe one, if we're generous and we count all the mainline Protestants, if we count every church that's Protestant, maybe 8%, but let's just say, let's say 10%, can we round up to 10%? 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:09.200 Let's round up 10%. 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:18.960 If we round up to 10%, 1.1 million people face a Christless eternity every single day in New Orleans. 00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:21.680 Less than six hours away from here. 00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:25.680 In the South, in the Bible belt. 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:27.279 Now here's what I believe. 00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:28.880 Anyone believe that heaven's a real place? 00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:31.279 You know, I believe heaven's a real place. 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:33.279 This Bible here tells me it's a real place. 00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:39.359 Jesus said, I'm gonna go, and I'm gonna go prepare a place, and when I come back, you can be where I'm gonna be. 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:40.160 He's talking about heaven. 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:41.519 I believe that's real, don't you? 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:43.920 In fact, that excites me some days. 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:49.200 In fact, Paul said our light and momentary troubles are okay because we're getting a glory that far outweighs them. 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:54.799 I believe that heaven is an amazing place and God is wanting us to be with him, don't you? 00:20:55.680 --> 00:20:56.960 Here's the problem. 00:20:57.519 --> 00:21:01.440 I also believe there's another place in the Bible that we don't talk about a lot. 00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:02.720 Hell. 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:09.119 And if heaven is a real place, because Scripture says heaven's a real place, you know what that means? 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:11.519 Hell is a real place. 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:29.200 And 1.1 million people, if we're generous, if we give them 10%, are facing an eternity where they're gonna wake up, and they're gonna wake up in a Christeless eternity where the Bible says there's weeping and gnashing of teeth. 00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:31.599 Totally separate from God. 00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:41.599 See, because the problem Jesus says this, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except by me. 00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:48.079 I believe that 1.1 million people have not been introduced to Jesus Christ. 00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:53.680 And like Paul says, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess in heaven on earth that Jesus Christ is Lord. 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:55.039 And for us, that's a great day, right? 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:59.519 When that trumpet sounds and the sky parts and Jesus comes back, I'm like, Yes, he's Lord. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:01.359 Is great, we're done. 00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:04.160 Because let me tell you, there are some days I just want to be done with this, don't you? 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:10.720 There are some days I'm tired, I'm worn up like, but even so, Lord, come quickly because this is hard work. 00:22:12.079 --> 00:22:20.799 But for those 1.1 million people who don't know Jesus, they're gonna say He's Lord, but just be like, oh my goodness, He's Lord. 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:23.279 And there's no chance at that point. 00:22:23.839 --> 00:22:24.799 So God has called us. 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:29.519 Now the question is, how in the world are you gonna reach out to 1.1 million people? 00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:33.920 I'm not going to reach out to 1.1 million, because I can't affect 1.1 million people. 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:39.279 I'm gonna focus on the city that God has called me to, which is Bell Chase. 00:22:39.519 --> 00:22:44.400 And from Bell Chase we'll extend just like you all will focus here in Richmond, Texas, right? 00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:48.240 Your primary mission is the people you see day to day. 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:50.880 Let me tell you, if you won't do it here, you won't do it anywhere. 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:53.519 People say, Oh, I want to go to a missions team and I want to share the gospel. 00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:57.920 Look, if you're not sharing the gospel here at home, don't think that you're gonna go on the missions field and share the gospel. 00:22:58.000 --> 00:22:58.640 It's not gonna happen. 00:22:58.720 --> 00:23:02.640 You're gonna be just as shy and just as not wanting to do it, and you're gonna have every excuse not to. 00:23:02.880 --> 00:23:05.359 Mission starts at home and always goes out. 00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:09.119 Let me say, mission starts at home and always goes out. 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:12.720 In case you missed that, mission starts at home and always goes out. 00:23:12.880 --> 00:23:15.440 So we're gonna start in Bell Chase where God has called us to be. 00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:19.200 And there's four strategic places we really believe that God has called us to. 00:23:19.279 --> 00:23:20.880 And number one is the school system. 00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:24.000 My wife is has been blessed to be in the school system. 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:29.680 She's she talked to me, she said, I'm really nervous about interviewing for this principal's position because I know we're trying to plan a church. 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:30.720 What if this takes up my time? 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:36.799 And I said, baby, you're gonna have way more influence as a principal of a school than I will be as a pastor. 00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:39.680 You're gonna be able to bring in teachers that share your worldview. 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:41.039 You're gonna be able to affect culture. 00:23:41.119 --> 00:23:43.920 You're gonna have parents come talk to you that will never come talk to me. 00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:50.240 Who knows if God hasn't called us to New Orleans specifically so you can be a principal here in the school system? 00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:52.160 God knows what he's doing. 00:23:52.400 --> 00:24:02.079 Not just that, my my friend Doug, who was praying for a place of ministry, has conveniently agreed to come minister alongside me, which is awesome, because I am not an administrative guy. 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:06.319 I don't just I just don't have the skill set, but he loves spreadsheets. 00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:08.559 I get to tell him what I want to do and he makes it happen. 00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:09.440 It's awesome. 00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:12.000 And so, but he's also teaching in the school system. 00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:16.079 So we've got two different schools we're involved in in loving and caring for people. 00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:18.559 The next thing you see down the bottom corner, that's a big party. 00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:20.559 That's because New Orleans loves to party. 00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:23.759 Let me tell you, I don't downplay the door-to-door evangelism. 00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:25.599 I think that works to an extent. 00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:26.880 But you know what? 00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:29.599 People don't want you in their homes, right? 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:35.839 You know, when I sit down to dinner about seven o'clock, five o'clock, you know, I don't really want a lot of knocks on the door, do you? 00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:37.440 I've been working all day. 00:24:37.599 --> 00:24:40.960 What I want to do is I want to sit down with my family and enjoy my meal. 00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:42.720 And so I still do some door-to-door. 00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:45.599 We have teams that'll come down and help us canvas and find out who's there. 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:54.160 But man, you throw a pot together in New Orleans, you throw some corn and some sausage and some shrimp in that pot, people will show up. 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:55.279 People in New Orleans like that. 00:24:55.440 --> 00:25:04.720 And so we're asking for teams to come down and help us put together block parties because people will come, enjoy the food, enjoy the fellowship, and we'll have opportunities to dialogue with people. 00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:09.599 You know, Paul in the book of Acts went where people gathered and shared the gospel. 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:12.400 He went to the synagogues, but the synagogues didn't want him very long. 00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:15.519 So he would go where people were and he would share the gospel. 00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:17.920 And so we're gonna do block parties. 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:20.480 Next top corner, that's a little bit of a picture of work. 00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:24.880 I really feel that at least for the short term, God wants me to work bivocationally. 00:25:25.119 --> 00:25:30.559 Not necessarily because we need the extra income, but because I don't know a lot of people in New Orleans. 00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:33.680 And so I have God is just amazing. 00:25:33.839 --> 00:25:41.519 Before we were in West Tennessee, we had a series of a time where we were bivocationally working at a church, and I worked for Panera Bread Company. 00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:44.000 I managed and I was a manager there. 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:48.559 And my dad always taught me, he said, son, whenever you work somewhere, you leave on good terms. 00:25:48.640 --> 00:25:51.279 He said, because you never know when you're gonna need to go back. 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:58.880 And so I worked there, and my best friend, I had worked for him at Fazoli's, and he was a manager there, and I was a manager at Panera together, and he managed Panera. 00:25:59.359 --> 00:26:06.000 And well, lo and behold, about four years ago, the franchise that I worked for bought all the franchise rights to New Orleans. 00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:14.960 And back in December, when I was talking to my friend, he said, Look, he said, if you need work, I can hire you third shift to bake bread in New Orleans. 00:26:15.119 --> 00:26:30.960 And so I'm Monday night, I'm talking with a guy there, and I'm gonna start working three nights a week, baking bread, not because I necessarily love baking bread, but because I'm gonna be in the facility where I'm gonna meet people, and God is gonna bring relationships that I can bring the gospel to. 00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:32.720 I want to let you know something. 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:37.039 You don't have to go on the missions field to find a mission field. 00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:42.319 Whatever vocation God has given you, that's the place of ministry and missions work he's given you. 00:26:42.559 --> 00:26:49.519 You should be always having your eyes open where you work and where you spend time, saying, God, who do you want me to share the gospel with? 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:53.359