Bridgewater Church met Feb. 12 for the first time at the Madisonville Maritime Museum in Madisonville, La., and has averaged more than 40 in attendance at weekly worship services. Photo courtesy of CBF of Louisiana

ATLANTA – Amid disaster response efforts to rebuild homes and lives after Hurricane Katrina, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church start has been born in western St. Tammany Parish, La.

Bridgewater Church, which launched Feb. 12 with a worship service at Madisonville Maritime Museum in Madisonville, is already averaging more than 40 in worship. While this church start was planned before Katrina, the storm undoubtedly shaped the church’s ministry.

"Even eight months after Katrina, people are still not back to normal," said the church’s pastor, Reid Doster. "People are grieving over tangible and intangible losses. Bridgewater is meeting a need for the familiar – something that feels rooted in timeless truth - and a need for closeness with safe people."

Doster, who led CBF of Louisiana’s Katrina relief efforts as its disaster response coordinator, has previously served in four other Baptist churches and most recently as pastoral care director at a local Presbyterian church. There, his pastoral gifts were renewed.

"It got harder and harder for me to sit through a sermon because I wanted to be preaching," he said. "The Lord seemed to be nudging me and saying, ‘Well, what are you waiting on?’"

When CBF of Louisiana began looking for a place to start a church, St. Tammany Parish was the fastest growing area of Louisiana. Growth potential still thrives with 27 housing developments being constructed in the church’s focal area. But with the strength – the highest per capita income and number of college graduates – also comes weakness – highest suicide rates, rampant divorce and substance abuse, Doster said. Two of the church’s small groups offer support for members dealing with grief or divorce.

"Many people here have tried everything and are coming to the conclusion that the only thing that can help them now is a savior. We want to introduce them to Jesus Christ, get out of the way and let them get acquainted," Doster said.

CBF church starts are vital to the Fellowship’s growth, but Doster has been slowly introducing the Fellowship to attendees, many of whom are not familiar with the movement.

"Once they experience our reverence for biblical authority, balanced by respect for honest questioning, and see our commitment to justice and mercy in the world, they will understand who we are," he said.

Some attendees heard about the Fellowship because CBF volunteers helped clean and repair the damage Katrina caused. Volunteers helped Lonnie and Tina Livaudais, who even though their home and business flooded still donated 50 hymnals to the church. Pam Howell, the church’s music minister, and her husband, Mike, also suffered significant damage to their home and business. Because of the experiences of the congregation, "Bridgewater will probably always have disaster response in its DNA," said John Daugherty, CBF of Louisiana’s coordinator. "It will certainly be a part of the make up of their congregation."

Bridgewater Church is supported by three other Louisiana CBF churches: First Baptist Church in Shreveport, Broadmoor Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, and Emmanuel Baptist Church in Alexandria. For more information on Bridgewater, visit the church’s Web site at www.bridgewaterchurch.info. For more information on CBF church starts, visit www.thefellowship.info/CL/churchstarts/.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.