Darrel Land preaches at the Christian Church of Jasper (Indiana), which he planted with very little help or financial support.
A Church Planting Hick from French Lick
By Kent E. Fillinger
Jasper, Indiana, is not likely on your bucket list of places to visit. If you are like me, you need the help of MapQuest to even find it. And Jasper also isn”t the type of town a typical church planter or church planting organization would pinpoint for a new church.
But Darrel Land is not your typical church planter. At age 26, he was confident God was calling him to plant a church in this small, rural community of 14,000 people in southern Indiana.
Land grew up about 30 minutes away in French Lick, and his brother taught and coached in the Jasper school district. Even in Bible college, Land felt God was calling him to plant a church in Jasper because there were no Restoration Movement churches located in the town populated by German Catholics and other traditional mainline Protestant churches.
While serving in another Indiana congregation, Land asked spiritual mentors and friends to pray for him regarding his ministry calling, and they echoed God”s call for him to plant a church in Jasper.
Land resigned from the church he was serving and moved back to French Lick to live with his family and to plant a church in Jasper. He didn”t have a coach. He had no support from a church planting organization, no previous church planting experience, and no staff team. With only $75 a week in financial support from his home church, Land placed some ads in the Jasper newspaper, and the Christian Church of Jasper held its first service on May 21, 2000, at the Jasper Days Inn with 14 local members and 20 visitors from other churches.
First Growth
After experiencing some growth, the church moved to a local movie theater. In August 2001, the church purchased a local warehouse to hold its services. After six years of substantial growth in the warehouse, the church built a new $2 million, 15,000-square-foot facility and moved into it in February 2007.
Using a simple, informal, internal capital campaign, the church asked its members to make an anonymous commitment to the new facility. Through the generosity and growth of the church, the entire $2 million was received in one year.
Land confessed he “underestimated God” because he thought the new facility would provide enough space to grow for at least five years, but after only one year the church had outgrown its new facility and needed to expand. The church grew 154 percent in three years and has grown 14 percent this year; it now averages 752 in three services.
In late 2008, the church began an $8.5 million, 45,000-square-foot expansion project. Land said giving for the expansion has again exceeded expectations, enabling the church to reduce the amount it needed to borrow. Throughout its growth, the church has continued to strive to keep its focus on Jesus (and not on new buildings and facilities).
Core Values
Land says the church lives by three core values: preaching Jesus and his Word; offering a worship style unlike any other area church; and “loving on people.” The church also has been active in community outreach events and leverages available media and technology””a quality Web site, Facebook, Twitter, and sermon podcasts””to help set it apart from other area churches.
Land encourages other church planters to “be patient, because the growth doesn”t happen overnight.” He noted the Jasper church had minimal growth the first three to four years, and that a lot of people came and went during that time. Land said he would be interested in one day starting a group focused on planting churches in rural, small towns.
The church”s facility expansion should be finished by next May, but Land anticipates a 1,100-seat worship center will also be built someday. Land and his staff have consulted larger Indiana churches for help in navigating the challenges of leading a fast-growing church. The church recently completed a ministry restructuring as it continues to adapt its infrastructure and communication to catch up to the growth.
The church also continues to explore church planting possibilities somewhere in the United States, including outlying rural areas. The church is committed to reaching people for Jesus and it is willing to do whatever it can to best accomplish that goal.
Kent E. Fillinger is president of 3:STRANDS Consulting and associate director of projects and partnerships with CMF International, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Today was my first experience with CCJ. I was in awe from the minute I walked into the building. I was greeted by friendly folks with smiling faces. My home church has an attendance of 20-50. I loved the music and the band. The sermon was uplifting. I guess the only thing I really missed was not knowing anyone there other than my family. We live about 40 away which is a problem. After reading the above article, I have hope that someone will help plant a similiar in our area which is in Pike Co. We have several tiny churches which are not capable of this kind of worship and outreach. Most messages revolve around tithing more so the church doors can stay open. Most of the time, I leave feeling beaten. I do not enjoy going for the message but miss the fellowship when I miss. I am going to pray that somehow, our area will too be blessed with a church staffed with similiar people and technology as I witnessed today. My 11 yr. old grandson asked if we could go back next week and I said we could but know we cannot continue to travel every Sunday. We just really need something similiar closer. I keep hearing those famous movie words in my head, “If you build it, they will come.”
May God bless you each and every day and may you never take his grace for granted.
Tanya