What God Did in a Small Church, in a Small Town

Bardwell Baptist Church is located in Bardwell, Kentucky, a town of 714 people. Twenty years ago in 2000, the population was 799. Bardwell is, for the most part, an unknown town in a rural area of Kentucky. 

But God knows where Bardwell is. 

Jason Burnett became the pastor in 2021. Worship attendance was around 100 when he arrived, down from a remarkable peak of 200 in the year 2000. 

The church has a number of members who are ready for God to do something in their church. Indeed, the church called Jason as its pastor with a keen awareness that they had to reach people with the gospel. 

A little over a month ago, the church began the 30-day journey through The Hope Initiative (www.HopeInitiative.com). 

You must hear what God has done in that church in that small town. Chuck Lawless conducted a brief ten-minute interview with Jason. 

Watch this video and be amazed. It is nothing short of a miracle. 

If God can do such a powerful work in this church in a non-growing, rural town, He can do that same work in your church. 

What an amazing God we serve.

Read more from Thom Rainer »

This article originally appeared on ChurchAnswers.com and is reposted here by permission. 

Thom Rainer
Thom Rainerhttp://ThomRainer.com

Thom S. Rainer serves as president and CEO of Church Answers and executive director of Revitalize Network. He served for 12 years as dean at Southern Seminary and for 13 years as the president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources. Also a respected researcher and former pastor, he has written more than 25 books, including many best sellers, such as I Am a Church Member. Rainer and his wife, Nellie Jo, have three grown sons, several grandchildren and live in Nashville, Tennessee.

Ohio Church Makeover

This move would not only give them room to grow, but also would enable them to do a lot more to fulfill their mission of being a church focused on “building the kingdom, one life at a time.”

How Much Tech Do You Actually Need?

Because you cannot do this alone, you are going to have to trust the right individuals who know more about tech than you do. Your calling is to shepherd. Do that.

Gene Appel: Do Less Ministry; Reach More People

None of the programs at our church were bad in and of themselves. The volume of it just prevented us from being focused on building relationships with those who are far from God. So, we had to do less ministry to reach more people. It sounds funny, but people had to be trained in how to do life with nonbelievers or people spiritually disinterested.