about the ring community church
"therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17
leading people to a more intimate relationship with God, for His glory.
the body at the ring community church desires to be like Jesus in every way. the only way this can become a reality is by His power and grace at work in us though our relationship with Him. this is why our mission statement speaks of an intimate relationship with God...that is the key. as our lives look more and more like Jesus', God uses us to change the world. we try to build our lives around these truths, and struggle together in the process.
:: our name ::
originally, we decided to call our worship service "the ring" after a powerful sermon given by dave edwards at a new orleans "cross seekers" rally. using a hula-hoop, dave compared our lives to that giant ring.
there are two main components of the ring: the presence of God in your life, and the principles of God's Word applied in your life. the goal of the Christian life is to stay in the center of the ring.
dave went on to explain that it's easy to live a life of compromise that is half in the ring and half outside the ring. our minds and bodies may be inside the ring, but our time is not, or our money is not, or our dating lives are not. his challenge that night was for us to keep every aspect of our lives in the middle of the ring.
God used that message more than dave edwards will ever know. soon after that night the name was chosen. our goal in every worship service is to be in the center of the ring, through worship and the study of God's Word. and, as we leave each week, our prayer is that we will live it out every day.
we still desire to and strive to remain in the center of the ring, but as we've grown into a church, we find ourselves relating to another meaning as well...a meaning inspired by dieter zander's model of missions.
he describes church as a giant ring. as the body holds onto the ring with one hand, we reach into the world with the other hand.
at the ring, we desire to share Jesus with everyone we come into contact with. if those people step foot inside the doors of the church, great. but even if they never step foot inside of the ring community church, we desire to still share the Christ in us, for His glory.
:: our story ::
the ring began in march of 1998, with 32 students gathering in the sanctuary of parkview baptist church, for a time of worship and Bible study. no one there that night, including those in charge, knew what the future held for the ministry. all they knew was that God had revealed a need, and had given them a vision to meet that need.
it began in the heart of jim wallace, the minister of education at parkview.
baton rouge is the home of louisiana state university, southern university, baton rouge community college, and several other higher education insitutions. the campus ministries were strong and committed. however, few local churches were taking advantage of the mission field sitting in their backyards.
after much prayer, bro. jim sat down with josh causey a senior at lsu, to discuss starting a sunday night college worship service. the concept was a very simple time of worship and Bible study, aimed specifically at college students. although josh was skeptical, the two began to pray, and a few weeks later the ring met for the fist time.
the ring met in the sanctuary for the next year and a half before moving to the gym. the worship was led by full release, the band from the lsu baptist student union (now the baptist collegiate ministry). each week different speakers would teach from God's Word.
the service began to grow numerically, but the students needed something more to help them grow deeper. as the leadership prayed, God led them in the direction of small groups.
each sunday night, groups of 8-10 students would engage in a short discussion, followed by a short teaching time. this allowed them to get to know one another and talk about what God was doing in their lives. these groups were the beginning of the weeknight community groups that meet today.
each wednesday night, the small group leaders met to discuss the upcoming sunday night topic. it became clear to these students that God was doing something special, but it was unclear exactly what. they decided to take the time between the fall and spring semesters to individually pray and seek the Lord's direction for the ministry.
this time of prayer, known as 30 days, has become one of the most vital dynamics of the ring. at the end of the 30 days, everyone gathered together to discuss the things God had taught them over that month.
after that first 30 days, the group believed that God had planted a vision in their hearts that the ring would become a church. while everyone agreed that would happen, they also agreed that it wouldn't happen any time soon. in the mean time they should focus on growing closer to the Lord and one another.
God continued to birth new vision in the leadership as the ring grew beyond the worship service. Bible study groups, known as community groups, began meeting during the week. leaders were emerging and a passion for reaching the campus was spreading.
a leadership team of eight elders was formed in 2000, and they met each week to pray and give direction to the ring and its ministries. today the ring's four elders still meet on a regular basis overseeing and praying for the body.
in the fall of 2005, josh met with the pastor at parkview, bill pruitt, to discuss the vision that God had given for the ring five years earlier. they decided that the next step was for the elders to put together a plan of action.
after bringing their plan to bro. bill that spring, the ball starting rolling: meeting with parkview's staff, trustees, deacons, personnel committee, finance committee, and finally taking it to the church for approval.
after a summer of planning, a huge turnover in leadership at parkview, hurricane katrina, and hurricane rita, the final plan went to the people of the ring on september 18, 2006.
the ring went into preparation mode taking up our first offerings, forming a finance team, and starting a nursery.
josh compared the prep time to the time a baby spends in the mother's womb. expecting mothers are cautious of their health so has to birth a healthy baby. likewise, the ring ministry prayed vigorously against spiritual attacks and more than ever set their focus on the Lord so as to birth spiritually healthy and fruitful church.
on february 12, 2006, the ring community church was officially born!
that night, we celebrated the fulfillment of God's promises, both in our own lives and the life of the new church.
the birth moment was incredible, as our ring community gathered in the middle of the gym, encircled by hundreds of supporters - parkview church members, friends from other churches, parents, family members, and ring "alumni." continuing where he had begun eight years earlier, bro. jim prayed over the ring. this time not as a vision but into life as a church.
today, we are still learning and growing. God has blessed us beyond belief. we are continuing to seek His vision for our church, and looking for ways we can lead people to a more intimate relationship with God, for His glory.