Considering a Partnership with the Pillar Network
Links are towards the bottom of the page
What is the Pillar Network?
Pillar is a community of SBC and International Baptist Churches that are doctrinally aligned, missionally driven, and committed to equipping, planting, and revitalizing churches together.
WHY CONSIDER PARTNERING WITH PILLAR?
Our desire is to see healthy churches planted and prospering in our community and around the world. It has been our joy to plant a church in North Georgia, to support church planting work in Providence and Phoenix, and to have supported an International Baptist Church in the UAE. Our goal is to continue this type of missional ministry in confident cooperation with other like-minded churches. Pillar gives us a unique opportunity to meet that goal.
WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT PILLAR’S DNA?
GOSPEL PROCLAMATION
We proclaim the gospel of our sovereign Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
BIBLICAL AUTHORITY
We submit to the Bible as our final authority in life, faith, and doctrine.
LIVE EXPOSITION
We promote live expository preaching to equip the church
ELDER LED
We believe in congregationalism, led by a plurality of qualified, male elde
CONFESSIONALLY BAPTIST
We unite around historic, Baptist theology as SBC and International Baptist churches
KINGDOM MINDED
We cooperate to start and strengthen churches all over the world
IS PILLAR IN COMPETITION WITH THE SBC?
No, Pillar is part of the SBC. Pillar churches are SBC churches, with the exception of its international partners who must share Pillar’s DNA in order to cooperate. If the SBC were a crowded lunch cafeteria on the first day of school, Pillar is like finding a tableful of friends.
WHAT WOULD A PARTNERSHIP LOOK LIKE?
Two things would happen early in our partnership, and other developments would take time. Immediately our leadership would start meeting leaders from other Pillar churches in order to build relationships and discover opportunities for equipping, planting, and revitalizing churches together. We would also begin offering financial support to the work of Pillar through reallocating 1% of our SBC budget giving and utilizing the NAMB portion of our World Mission Offering.
In time we believe Concord will have the opportunity to provide equipping events for regional pastors within the network. We anticipate working with other network partners in our region to start and strengthen local churches. We also hope to be in prayerful partnership with at least one international church plant.
WHAT ABOUT THE MISSIONS WE CURRENTLY SUPPORT?
Partnering with Pillar is a “both/and,” not an “either/or.” We will continue to support missionary families like the Simpsons and the Hovies, and to pursue our work with the Heils among the JRPK people in Brazil. Pillar will simply make it easier to expand our missional efforts alongside like-minded partners, particularly in North America.
WHAT’s Next?
1. The elders spent 2024 reviewing Pillar’s doctrinal statement, video-conferencing with Pillar leaders, talking to several Pillar partner churches, and attending the Pillar National Conference. We would like to invite you to begin acquainting yourself with Pillar. We encourage you to use the links below to learn more about Pillar.
2. We have invited Pillar’s Executive Director, Nate Akin, to lead our mini-conference on Sunday, March 2. Be sure to attend that special event, where we will get to know Nate through his preaching, hear more about the joy of confident cooperation, and have time of Q&A.
3. In May, we will ask you to approve a recommendation that we partner with Pillar so that we can formally begin Pillar’s assessment process and know how to prepare our 2026 budget. Our hope is that you will join us in our excitement about starting this strategic partnership.
Web Links
Map of Pillar Network churches (closest to us are in Knoxville, Nashville, and Atlanta)
Brief interview article with Pillar Exec Director Nate Akin from a Pillar partner church
Audio Links
Below are links to three episodes of The Pillar Network Podcast. The first two share the heart of Pillar from their leadership and member churches. The third gives a good snapshot of how Pillar Network churches function amidst and alongside the SBC and other current church trends.
Do you have questions about a potential Pillar Network partnership?
We hope you do! The pastors have been prayerfully asking questions and pursuing answers for several months. Please ask your questions to a pastor in the coming weeks. If we don’t have an answer, we will get one. If you would prefer, you can send a question through email. We want the church to be able to think and pray through this with as much information as possible. We hope you will be as enthusiastic about this as the pastors are in the coming months.