For the nearly 45 years of its existence Founders Ministries has been committed to the recovery of the gospel and the reformation of local churches. From the outset we have tried to encourage and resource pastors to teach God’s Word to God’s people in churches so that they will become biblically renewed and empowered to fulfill the responsibilities God that God assigns to local churches. We have focused our efforts primarily but never on Baptist churches.
That is the context out of which Founders emerged and with which we are most familiar. Baptists are very much our people. We know the good and the bad about Baptist churches. And we want to see bad Baptist churches become good and good ones become better.
That’s the reformation part of our mission. The phrase Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda secundum verbum Dei (the church reformed, always reforming according to the Word of God) adequately captures our aim.
By God’s grace, we have seen the Lord bring about significant biblical reformation in many churches through the years. More often than not, those stories are not well-known. Faithful pastors shepherding healthy churches rarely call attention to themselves. That is both understandable and commendable.
But the stories of God’s grace in using a godly, equipped man to get a church that has lost its way back on track are worth telling. They are encouragements and reminders that Jesus Christ is keeping His promise to build His church on earth in ways that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. He has been doing that for 2000 years and will continue to do it until He returns and makes all things new.
That is why I was filled with gratitude and deeply encouraged myself when I first saw the documentary produced last year by First Baptist Church of Clinton, Louisiana. Christ the Lord: A Church Reformation Story recounts the amazing story of the biblical renewal of that church. The reformation largely took place under the leadership of my brother, Bill Ascol, when he was called to pastor the church in 1984. It has continued under the ministries of Fred Malone and Tom Hicks.
Anyone who has known that church only over the last thirty years may be tempted to assume that it has always been characterized by the kind of love, grace, joy, and holiness that it exudes today. But that is not the case. The spiritual vitality the people of FBC currently enjoy did not come without a cost. God renewed that church by sending them a pastor with a sharp mind, warm heart, steel spine, and an unwavering confidence in the power of His Word and Spirit to accomplish His will.
I recently showed this documentary to the Founders Seminary students in my ecclesiology class. It challenged, instructed, and encouraged them. I believe it will have a similar impact on other pastors and aspiring pastors who might be tempted to doubt whether difficult churches can be restored to biblical faithfulness.
Take 35 minutes to get a glimpse of what has done in the life of a wonderful congregation. Then pray that He will do the same thing in thousands of other churches throughout the world.
