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Kingdom Minded People
By Brad Cowger
Olathe—We have all seen examples of kingdom minded people: a missionary that gives his whole life to a remote village; a healthy church who gives up their members and resources to plant a new church; a woman who volunteers in a soup kitchen so that she can share the love of Christ. These are all great examples of kingdom-minded people. I would like to share one more.
Community Baptist Fellowship in Olathe had a sweet fellowship and a nice building, but an aging congregation. Most of the fellowship actually came from outside of Olathe and did not live in the community. They were a loving, supportive, but dwindling fellowship.
After losing their pastor, they realized their small church family had a median age of 70 and their community’s median age was 35—younger than the national average.
After much prayer and research, they decided that the best thing to do was to disband, invest their lives in other fellowships, and ask a younger pastor to come to Olathe and start something new. They understood that Olathe, a community of several thousand, would not be reached unless the church got younger and that a brand new church plant was probably the best way.
However, their commitment to that church and community did not stop. Some of the members continued to give to the church so it would have a good financial start when the new church planter came. They also refurbished the building so the new church planter would have a nice place to hold services.
As a result, God sent Jeff and Tammy Bachman to Olathe as new church planters. Since the Olathe community rallies around its schools and sports, the couple is a good fit. Tammy is a schoolteacher and Jeff is a coach and a former youth pastor. Their four children, all under the age of 13, will also be great missionaries to that community. Pray for them as they begin to reach this community for Christ.
