Third in a series on successful church replanting in Kentucky.
LAGRANGE, Ky. (KT) – Ten years ago, Buckner Baptist Church found itself at a crossroads in its ministry. The church was not necessarily on the verge of closing its doors—at least not yet—but an aging congregation with only a handful of children pointed to an uncertain future.
A turning point came when the church’s pastor left to take a missions position. In response, the congregation formed a pulpit supply committee. One member of that committee had a daughter who attended Ashland Avenue Baptist Church in Lexington and suggested that congregation might offer a different path forward.
What they discovered was a unique model. Ashland Avenue had a history of “adopting” churches—helping stabilize them financially and in leadership, guiding them toward growth and eventually returning them to autonomy. It was a different kind of replanting strategy…