- I grew up on the mission field.
(gentle music)
Southern Baptist sponsored my parents in 1969
to go to Colombia.
And that's where I grew up,
I grew up in Bogota city of 5 million.
- [Narrator] While growing up and serving with his family
on that mission field.
Brian made a profession of faith at 10,
and experienced the call to missions
and specifically church planting at 15.
Then a family friend suggested
he pursue his ministry training at Samford University,
where he would also meet his wife Laura,
that would be the first of his mini connections
to Alabama over the years.
Since college, God has used Brian and Laura,
along with their two children all around the world
from Ecuador, North Africa, to California, Washington,
Virginia, New York, Florida and now again Alabama
- I always come back to Alabama.
We're here to serve God's purposes.
And see a church planted and or church replanted
or a church gathered in from other denominations
and other walks as they become Southern Baptist
and walk with us and being gospel bears
and being part of the change
that God wants to do here in every community in Alabama.
- [Narrator] And so it was that on April 1st,
just as the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown was taking place,
Brian returned to Alabama
to become the lead church planting strategist
for the State Board of Missions,
building on the foundation laid by his friend
and predecessor Lamar Duke who passed away earlier this year
and who Brian first encountered in New York.
- I was touched by Lamar's heart for the nations
and a heart for lostness
and a heart for the church.
And I thought, I like this guy,
I know that God has laid a foundation
that is Bible center gospel centered
all about the church that he's gonna use
to move forward and to create a movement
to seeing 20 and 40 and 60 churches planted
and replanted and new churches gathered in
as we work together for the sake of the gospel.
- [Narrator] The pandemic hasn't slowed Brian down.
If anything, he's more excited than ever
about starting new churches in resourcing church planters.
- We wanna have an Alabama, not just a lots of churches.
We want to have churches that plant churches,
that plant churches.
Church planting is always on my heart
because I know that people need to hear the gospel
and they need to have a place they can go and worship
with people that are growing in the gospel
and making a difference in our community.
- [Narrator] He's especially excited
about the impact the Myers Mallory
State Missions Offering has on church planting in Alabama.
- Your giving allows us to not only train
and equip planters and resource them with opportunities
to get helps for them.
But also it allows us to support directly
support several of these church plants throughout the year.
Also, as someone moves to be more stable,
it allows us to give and help them rebuild buildings,
fix up buildings, have a permanent witness in a community.
One of the new things we're doing this year
is we're also opening up coaching.
We wanna coach church planters.
We don't wanna just send them out,
so every church planter has a coach
and we're about helping them monthly reevaluate.
I have somebody to listen to their needs.
So as you pray and as you give,
and as you get involved with church planting locally,
you're gonna make a great difference for the kingdom.
(gentle music)