Dwayne Milioni has been the Senior Pastor at Open Door Baptist Church since 1999. Pastor Milioni has led Open Door Baptist Church (where contributor Nathan Akin is a member) to become a Great Commission Resurgence kind of Church. He is a committed expositor who faithfully preaches book by book and chapter by chapter through the Bible. He is currently taking the church through the Gospel of John. In addition, the church is committed to the work of the Great Commission both nationally and internationally through Church Planting. Open Door Baptist Church has raised up leadership within its own congregation and sent them out to plant Hope Community Church in Del Rio (Texas), Treasuring Christ Church in Raleigh (NC), Christ Baptist Church in Wilson (NC), Cornerstone Church in Myrtle Beach (SC), one in an international context, and by next summer Redemption Hill Church in Boston (MA). In addition, through the Church Plant in Del Rio (which is a border town), a bible institute has been established in Mexico to train Mexican Pastors in preaching, hermeneutics, and theology. Open Door believes that Church Planting is vital and has now established a North American Church Planting Foundation to partner with other churches in furthering Church Planting efforts in the United States. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GET INVOLVED WITH THIS CHURCH PLANTING FOUNDATION, PLEASE EMAIL US AT baptist21@gmail.com.
Open Door is also committed to training a future generation of men to teach other men (2 Tim. 2:2). So, Pastor Milioni has set up a cohort called “Shepherd’s Training” to train men in the congregation as potential elders of future church plants. This training involves personal mentorship from an elder or church leader. It also involves curriculum and training through topics of leadership, preaching, pastoral ministry, and theology. The interns are instructed through reading, writing, and cohort discussion. This is an exciting ministry and it is my hope that every Church would seek to implement something like this in their church. I believe every Southern Baptist Church should seek to implement preaching, missions, and training of the future generation like Open Door has done and is doing. I am grateful to call Open Door my home Church and to be a part of what that church is doing for the good of nations and the name of our Lord Jesus.
Interview with Pastor Dwayne Milioni (part 2)
Questions:
- Open Door Baptist Church is not a mega-church, how can small churches go about getting involved in church planting like Open Door has? THIS NEEDS TO BE HEARD BY ALL OF OUR CHURCHES
- How has planting churches overseas through the IMB been?
- Are there any differences between planting nationally and internationally?
- It would be your hope that more churches would take a role in planting churches overseas?
- Why is team planting our focus at Open Door Baptist Church?
- Why are you such a big proponent of Expository Preaching, and do we struggle with that in the SBC?
- Open Door has an extensive Internship program, tell us a little about why and what the end goal for the internship is? Also, tell us a little bit about how to implement this into a church?
- What advice do you have for young men aspiring to Gospel Ministry?
- Why do we do small group ministries?
- Why did Open Door move to a multiple Elder model?
- What are the challenges for Evangelicals and more specifically, Southern Baptists in the 21st Century?
Quotes:
- “What a great question to ask is, how can we get the 90 plus percent of our churches excited about missions and church planting… investing intimately in it” (In the context of getting smaller churches, which is the majority of the SBC, involved in church planting and missions)
- “Find, if you don’t have all the resources, first you want to cooperate with other likeminded churches” (also from the first question)
- “Commissioning belongs to the local church” (speaking about local churches taking a greater role in overseas church planting)
- “We pour our lives into our church planters for years… we take on the responsibility to recognize calling”