The Summer 2011 edition of On Mission Magazine discusses the South Region of the United States and I was particularly interested in their discussion of Mississippi.

First, out of the more than 104.3 million people living in the South, 64% or 67 million, are considered to be “lost” – without Jesus Christ.

Second, Mississippi was voted by USA Today to be the “most religious state in America”, with one church for every 1,300 people. However, according to statistics by ONE8 church planting network, 50 – 54 percent of Mississippians are unchurched. Our statistics in many categories should reflect a different story if we are the most religious state.

The message is that our work is never ending and God’s word must reach each new generation that comes along. Church Planting is an effective way to reach the unchurched portion of our population – new churches must evangelize and do outreach in order to survive – and the environment is commonly different. Two examples of new church plants in Mississippi include “Lifepoint Baptist Church” in Senatobia where there is a membership of about 700 in just six years, and “The Life” which began January 2011 in Oxford, less than one mile away from First Baptist Church, who is responsible for planting the church. 75 – 100 people regularly attend.

Our recent trip to Grace Life Church in Forrest City, AK with a team on the ground assisting the church with outreach and street evangelism showed our team the value of sharing the Gospel.

The full Summer Edition and the full article entitled “Unleashing the Missions Engine”, can be found at www.onmission.com .

link to article: http://www.onmission.com/onmissioncb.aspx?id=8590001236