We are excited about our newest Church Planting Strategist here at the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, Chanson Newborn. Newborn comes to the ABSC from Fellowship Community Church (FCC) in Forrest City, Arkansas, the church he planted in 2013.
Church planting is about reaching people with the Gospel, gathering them together for discipleship and creating a fresh expression of the Body of Christ in their culture and context. This is exactly how FCC was started. Newborn and his team started with monthly evangelistic outreaches, engaging the community and leading people to Jesus. Over the first few years they reported more than 50 baptisms. Their outreach did not end at the outskirts of Forrest City or even with different partnerships here in Arkansas. Newborn was one of the first to lead a team to engage with SEND City missionaries in Detroit.
Not only does Newborn have a heart for and lead well in evangelism, he also established a clear plan for leadership development. He identified leaders early and equipped them for the work of the ministry. Newborn leaves FCC with a new pastor that he helped raise up from within. As a natural outflow of his work within the church, others began coming to him for help and as a result, he has helped train multiple other planters.
Churches start churches, and FCC is the fruit of Wynne Baptist Church and Central Baptist Jonesboro, two ABSC churches partnering together. Their prayer, support, sending of volunteer teams, and continued mentoring helped Newborn understand the value of cooperative missions. Also, working with these strong sponsor church relationships has prepared Newborn to help other churches develop a plan to plant and effectively sponsor a church plant.
Because of all this, Newborn comes to us with a heart for reaching the lost through intentional evangelism, a proven track record of leadership development and a passion for helping churches sponsor and partner with other new church starts.
Newborn is a proven leader that can help you and your church on your journey in church planting.