Covo and Bivocational Church Planting: 3 Lessons From Jake Davidson
In the fall of 2021 I interviewed church planter Jake Davidson of New Beginnings Baptist Church in Pembroke. NBBC is a part of the Christian County Baptist Association and is partnering with the association, the KBC, and others to reach the lost with the gospel. As we talked, three main principles kept coming to the top: church planters must be Focused in their Evangelism, Be Thankful in their Covo/Bivocational Work, and always Learning.
Jake is a very evangelistic pastor. His sermons are centered around the gospel, he teaches evangelistic principles to those attending NBBC, and schedules time each week with his church to go into the community and share their faith. One member told me, “before coming to NBBC, I wasn’t sure how to share my faith or how people would receive me. After going out on Wednesdays with my pastor, I feel confident to share with anyone!” Jake and the church are praying that the Lord will give them relationships with those in the military community as Pembroke is very close to Fort Campbell. Pastor Darrell Crawford of Living Hope Baptist in Hopkinsville is very excited to be partnering with Jake and NBBC as their sending church. “Jake loves sharing the gospel with people. If you’re not sharing the gospel, you can’t plant a church.”
Jake and his wife Ashley are very grateful for the business that the Lord has allowed them to run from their home. Jake says this has not only provided for their needs, but has given them a way to work together to raise their children at home. “There is no way we could have started this church without having the freedom to work like we do. The Lord provides for our needs through our church, partners like our sending and supporting churches, the KBC, and our business. It’s through our business that that the Lord gave that we are really able to provide food and keep our household running.” Together, they design and build custom seat cushions using the Etsy platform. You can support them at https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheDavidsonDesign.
Jake is also an avid learner. He is working to complete his MDiv from Gateway Seminary and gave this advice to anyone in ministry: “I highly encourage other bivocational pastors to keep getting as much education as possible. It’s grown me spiritually, taught me how to exegete scripture, and how to lead. God uses the current classes I’m taking for situations I’m encountering. I’m thankful for the KBC’s partnership with Clear Creek Baptist Bible College and their Certificate Program for Bivo pastors. Programs like this one and the one I’m going through are excellent for church planters.”
Jake mentioned the amount of spiritual warfare he encountered was unexpected. “Satan will go after you, your wife, and your family. God has grown us through it and has blessed our family. If you are praying about planting a church, be ready for spiritual warfare. Satan will attack you.” When asked how Kentucky Baptists can partner with him and the church, he said, “We ask for and need your prayers. We are small and don’t need much right now. Evangelism is free and we have plenty of work to do, but we need prayer partners.” If you’d like to sign up to pray for planters like Jake Davidson, please visit http://www.kybaptist.org/pray4.
Please see the full KentuckyToday article here.
Toby DeHay 