Church Plants
Engaging Culture through “Table Church”
For the Reverends Josh Wilton and Andy Withrow and their families, ordinary life is a calling.
Church planters of the Table Church in Victoria, British Columbia, Josh and Andy have a vision to create effective multi-congregational places of worship rooted in neighborhoods and built around ordinary life. They use the image of a pomegranate to describe their innovative model - one fruit (the church) that contains many clusters (neighborhood 'table' groups). In their words, their church plant model is "a house church on steroids."
The pair takes engaging the culture literally. Recently, Josh and Andy hit the streets to ask provocative questions and captured the unscripted results on video. What they learned is striking - view their experience here on their 40 Answers Video. In this follow-up video, the two leaders offer conclusions based on their research and ask for support for their ministry.
Doing Church Differently in LA
By Jim Gray
It all started with a Spirit-dream to create a community that could connect with people who have either given up on church, or have never had the opportunity to experience a faith community in the first place. It all started with that and two guys praying outside of a bar for four hours at two in the morning.
Two years later, ReGeneration L.A. has come into its own as a legitimate faith community. Not that we have it all figured out - in fact, far from it. But what we do have is a story: a story of God moving and of people who have moved with him.
For those readers unfamiliar with what ReGeneration L.A. is about, allow me to briefly explain: ReGeneration L.A. (or ReGen for short) is a Los Angeles based church committed to building a spiritual, faith-based community that allows people who are "turned-off" by the typical way of "doing church" to find their place in the Kingdom of God by providing a safe context in which people at many different places on their spiritual journeys can build relationships with each other, ask serious questions, and mature in their own spiritual growth. The ultimate goal is to be a church that builds the Kingdom of God by transforming both individuals and local communities through creating disciples that make disciples and churches that plant churches by loving God, loving people, and training ourselves to become like Christ in character and in action.
Quite a mouthful.
But really, I make it sound more complex than it is. Simply put, ReGen is highly relational in nature, as is the process of discipleship. Heart on heart. Life on life. Skin on skin. Loving people for no other reason than because they are valuable to God. Investing in people's lives; walking with them on their journeys. Sharing their joys and their sorrows. Hearing their stories. Being authentic. Making peace and fighting for justice for the poor and oppressed. Caring for the widows and the orphans (often times literally). Offering people a place in God's Kingdom. That's what its all about.
To that end, ReGen doesn't meet in a building. I don't have an office. I split my office hours between my room at ReGen's ministry house, Hesed Manor (which is always open to people), and local coffee shops. ReGen functions as a network of closely-related, like-minded house churches (which we call "Clusters") where people can come and get invested in each other's lives, and ask real, tough, honest questions. These clusters meet in people's homes in different locations throughout the L.A. area.
The closest thing that ReGen has to a central location is Hesed Manor (from the Hebrew hesed meaning "God's Love"). Hesed Manor actually used to be a meth-lab before ReGen got its hands on it. How did that happen? Someone fixed it up and gave it to us. So now, I live there with five other Christian men and our seventeen-year-old foster kid who is well on his way to becoming a man of God himself. Through God's grace, we have slowly begun to transform our community - our house used to be known to deal in death and slavery; now it deals in life and freedom. The neighborhood kids come over and play baseball in our yard because its safe; the students from the local high-schools come over after school to do their homework (and eat all our food); local college students come over to study and talk with one another.
Each Sunday evening, our whole community (i.e., all the clusters) come together at Hesed Manor to do something as an entire body. We don't always do the same thing. Sometimes we just fellowship and have a huge meal together; other times we kick it in the back around the fire-pit; other times we have our monthly Worship Gathering.
At one of our recent Worship Gatherings our associate pastor, R.J. Dyer, gave a fantastic message titled "Cross Roads, Vantage Points, and Darkest Hours: The Journey of Christian Discipleship." RJ said that many times while on the journey of discipleship we will experience all of these things: decision making places, places where we can see where we might have ended up, and times when we're not sure if we're still on the right path. This message turned out to be incredibly meaningful to our community because so many of us are standing at a vantage point where we can see where we might have ended up had it not been for God's grace in our lives.
Outside after the gathering I stood next to one guy who had recently left a life of drug and alcohol addiction. Someone from our church took him in to live in the spare bedroom at their home for free until he got his life straightened out. Now he has full-time work, a car, and a place to live. He was in tears. He told me "Jim, only now can I see where my life was going. I'm so grateful to God that things are different now. I never want to go back to that dark place."
Later that evening, he and another guy were baptized.
Discipleship to Jesus Christ and the transformation into His likeness that comes along with it are a long process, not an overnight fix. Regeneration by the Spirit doesn't end with coming to a saving knowledge of Christ; it begins there.
That's why ReGen is committed to being a community of discipleship - a community that seeks to transform both individuals and groups of people for the Kingdom: one block, one college dormitory, one urban neighborhood at a time. It's not about finding a cooler, hipper way to do church; it's not about a funny message or great music (though sometimes we have both). It is about discipleship, which happens because of a Person - the Person of Jesus Christ. It is about allowing Christ to stand between us and our brothers and sisters, and remembering that the Church exists for the sake of others to glorify Christ.
And surely He will be with us to the end of the age.
Soli Deo Gloria, Jim Gray is Lead Pastor of ReGeneration L.A.
Transforming a Yacht Club into Worship Space
After meeting for eleven months on Saturday evenings in church space donated by the First Baptist Church, Transformation Anglican Church in Garland, Texas, now meets in the dining room of the Yacht Club in nearby Rockwall for Sunday morning worship. Though their initial donated space provided a traditional setting, the Saturday evening time slot wasn't desirable for most people and left little room for growth.
Now parishioners greet as many as 22 new visitors on a Sunday morning.
Transformation Anglican's picturesque outdoors setting for Eucharist, above.
Perhaps the picturesque backdrop and comfortable setting for Sunday morning attendees is making a difference; glass walls on three sides of the new meeting space provide a water view of yachts trolling in and out of the harbor. "People say that God creates custom artwork for us each week," jokes the Rev. Donald McLane.
"We are experiencing visitors from many religious backgrounds and recently had an 18-year-old college student whose mother is a Muslim and father a Christian make a decision to follow Christ," rejoices McLane.
On Sunday, December 14, 2008, ten people made a public profession of faith and joined the church. That makes a total of 18 new members since moving locations. "We are seeing people who want to give a public profession of their faith," explains McLane. "They are not ashamed of the Gospel, are sure about their commitment to Jesus Christ and want to be actively involved in this church."
While the Yacht Club dining room seats 200 people, the average weekly attendance at Transformation has jumped from 95 people one year ago to 130 today. McLane is projecting a move to two services in the near future, continuing their journey of "transforming" an attractive place to eat into one that satisfies spiritual hunger on Sunday.
A Foot in the Door:
God lives in a Michigan Pool Hall
Colorful banners now hang where pool balls and cues were once stored, and Canon Jack Lumanog overflows with enthusiasm about his congregation's visible and accessible location. The Rector and his team transformed an abandoned 7,000 square foot pool hall into a new place of worship for members of Christ the King Anglican Church in Lansing, Michigan--a growing part of the city that neighbors Michigan State University (MSU).
Canon Lumanog is Rector of one of only three churches officially recognized to participate in Michigan State Universityactivities.
"The people of Christ the King drew my wife and me to Lansing, but the campus was a close second," recalls Jack. "I got a call from Jon Shuler, Rector of Grace Anglican in Florida, while I was still living in Kansas, urging me to come to Lansing, noting that there are 45,000 college kids on the campus of MSU.
Jon challenged Jack to consider the global impact of influencing students, especially those from abroad. "I couldn't stop thinking about it," admits Jack.
Christ the King is an official, recognized church on MSU's campus, giving them the freedom to advertise, rent space, have their own email account and take part in the university's academic orientation, which includes meeting with incoming freshmen and their families. The congregation's status has gotten Jack's foot in the door, opening opportunities for him to speak, pray at ministry events and lead students in Bible study. He has also accepted a recent invitation to take part in an upcoming campus-wide ministry event called Veritas Forum organized by Campus Crusade and InterVarsity ministries.
"Christ the King is one of three churches asked to be involved; the other two have over 2,000 members each, while we average 65 people on a Sunday," quipped Jack. "We are an ancient...future church connection on campus with a sacramental presence that makes sense to people. We don't have slick programs, but we offer a timeless message and can promise people an encounter with God through the liturgy."
Moving Westward
God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age. - The Great Commission from The Message
The Anglican Mission is serious about evangelism through church planting, and leaders have committed to moving west into a mission field greatly in need of the transforming power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In early January, the Mission launched a new initiative designed to plant well over 100 new churches over the next 10 years primarily, but not exclusively, on the west coast.
According to Pew and Gallup's research in 2008, "Younger adults and those Americans who live in the Western part of the United States are much less likely to believe in God than are those living elsewhere... The highest number of atheists and agnostics live in the western USA...One quarter of western U.S. adults claim no religious affiliation."
Churches for the Sake of Others will be led by the Rev. Dr. Todd Hunter and will create a church planting movement, developing churches and leaders committed to beginning new congregations. These churches will emphasize multiplication through planting daughter churches at the rate of at least two every five years.
"The Gospel spread in Acts and throughout history via church planting - you and I are Christians today because someone planted a church," Todd explains. "My team is committed to engaging the post-modern culture and drawing the unchurched to Christ by going where they are."
"Todd Hunter is uniquely gifted and equipped for this ministry," said Bishop
Chuck Murphy, Anglican Mission Chairman. "Todd's tremendous passion for, and experience with, planting churches shaped around Kingdom-based, missional encounters with contemporary culture is just what we need for our West Coast Initiative," he concluded.
Churches for the Sake of Others is intentionally starting in several cities at one time. "We are not trying to start individual churches; we are trying to start church planting movements that are based in local congregations," Todd emphasizes.
Response to the new initiative has been extremely positive - individuals and groups across America have expressed interest in planting a church with the Anglican Mission through Churches for the Sake of Others. The budget for 2009 has been fully funded, and Todd is now planting new congregations simultaneously in Boise, Idaho and Costa Mesa, California. Other church planters or potential core groups are currently identified in five locations in the greater Seattle area; Portland, Oregon; Reno, Nevada; Salt Lake City, Utah; as well as San Diego, Sierra Madre and Azusa, California. Todd has assembled a staff of church planting coaches and mentors to work closely with the nascent congregations.
"We are currently working on 15 church plants with a dozen more possibilities in the pipeline," Todd noted. "If we can begin the multiplication phase in the next five years, while continuing to add new church plants, we will, by God's grace and power, reach our goal of launching a church planting movement that includes hundred of new churches that express the Gospel of the Kingdom on behalf of the least, the last and the left out," he continued.
Todd describes the key characteristics of these new churches as "Gospel and Scripture focused congregations that depend on God's Holy Spirit, manifest the Kingdom of God in their midst and raise up sold-out followers of Jesus." In addition, he emphasizes the importance of the components of liturgy, the Sacraments and an order of daily life contained within the fabric of these congregations.
Bringing to this new work over 30 years experience as a church planter and church planting consultant, Todd says he has found new life and fresh expression in his current work with the Anglican Mission. Most recently, he served as President of Alpha USA and previously held the position of National Director for the Association of Vineyard Churches (1994-2001) following John Wimber's death. Todd's book, Christianity Beyond Belief: Following Jesus for the Sake of Others, was published in early February and another book is planned for release later this year. Ordained to the diaconate last fall, Dr. Hunter will be ordained to the priesthood on March 24, 2009.
"We praise God for continuing to raise up and draw to the Mission leaders like Todd to help us both plant new churches and carry the message of the Gospel throughout North America," Bishop Murphy said.
Mission in Manhattan
Demographic studies show that the nation's population is shifting significantly to urban settings. New York City's population alone numbers over eight million, and the 23 square-mile boroughof Manhattan is home to some 1.6 million. Hundreds of thousands of these individuals are unchurched. R-J Heijmen, in the ordination process as an Anglican Mission priest, and wife Jaime, are preparing to serve in this mission field, fueled by passion for urban church planting and for New York City specifically.
Following his graduation from Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, R-J began a one-year Fellows Program at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City in mid-August. This program is a ministry of the Redeemer Church Planting Center, which was established to facilitate the selection, training, placement and coaching of church planters for multiple denominations or affiliations. R-J will receive extensive training in church planting specifically designed for "pastors who want to start a church in NYC...to renew the culture for Christ."
The RCPC website describes New York as "the single most influential city in the US" and adds, "...as this city goes, so goes US society."
Upon completion of the Fellows Program in July 2009, R-J and Jaime will officially launch a new Anglican
Mission congregation, but they are already building contacts and laying
the foundation.
"We are getting to know families in our neighborhood and are actively involved with our children's two schools and the community," R-J said.
"We want to build credibility through relationships."
R-J's goal is to draw a core group of about 40 people who will spread the word to other Upper East Side families and young adults. Next follows the search for space and gifted leaders for worship and youth.
"We are connecting with connectors, people with wide networks," he explained. "We'll rely on word of mouth rather than marketing tools-news spreads quickly in New York."
R-J's hopes and dreams for the church plant center on creating a place where people encounter God in an environment of grace and authenticity.
"We will aim for excellence in all aspects of our life together, proclaiming Christ's Gospel to people who need his love, grace and forgiveness," R-J noted.
This mission in Manhattan will require a significant financial investment. R-J's training as well as
church planting and living expenses are being funded by Redeemer Presbyterian (10-15% of the cost), R-J's own fundraising efforts and the Anglican Mission.
"When Canon Allen Hughes told me about meeting R-J and Jaime, I knew we were blessed with an unparalleled opportunity for creative partnership with Redeemer in order to break into the most significant urban center on the east coast," said the Rev. Canon Ellis E. Brust, Anglican Mission President and CEO.
Planting a church in Manhattan will inevitably present challenges, but R-J's experience and entrepreneurial passion have equipped him well. He served for five years as New York City Director of the Fellowship of Christians in Universities and Schools (FOCUS). Under his leadership, this city youth ministry grew from a core group of 50 to over 200.
"Urban church planting requires unique vision, ability and gifts," said Canon Hughes. "R-J is the right person at the right time in the right place."
Both R-J and Jaime testify to the powerful way God has led and provided for them as they weighed options for their future.
"God has gone before us in amazing ways, and we are confident that He will continue to lead and empower us for the joyful work ahead," said the young visionary.
Contagious Christianity at Cambridge
Cambridge worship team plays upbeat music with meaningful lyrics that are easy to sing.
For the past thirteen years, Cambridge Church in Leawood, Kansas, has created an ethos that always considers what it feels like to be a newcomer- that heroic man or woman who has decided to come to church for the first time in a long time... or ever. The leaders want to demonstrate how much they care, as Jesus does, about reaching people that are lost, searching and hurting.
"Life was just so much better for me after I became a Christian that I wanted everyone else to know God," shares the Rev. Jay Fowler, Rector. "We are all messed up at some level, but what
He offers is so great that we want to reach people with what we discovered for ourselves..., it is contagious evangelism."
Fowler and Associate Pastor, Josh Yerton lead members through dedication of new property.
Because over fifty percent of attendees at Cambridge are previously unchurched or disconnected, many in their 20's and 30's, the leadership is deliberate about the language used to communicate the Gospel message. They are sensitive to explain prayers and liturgy as they go and try to avoid Christian clichés and phrases like "we all know the story of Moses."
"I don't mind offending people with clarity found in Scripture, but I don't want to turn them away from Christ by the patterns we get comfortable with as Christians," admits Fowler.
In the midst of a capital campaign program to build a church, Cambridge currently meets in a Middle School on the edge of a newly developed neighborhood of single-family homes. Friendly members in casual attire welcome visitors as they arrive in the parking lot and throughout entryways to help alleviate the awkwardness often felt by newcomers trying to find their way through unfamiliar territory.
High school leaders for middle school ministry-"K-Life."
Sherri Opplinger, an occasional churchgoer before finding Cambridge, began attending one year ago with her three children while going through a divorce. The church had such a radical impact on the family that they intentionally moved within walking distance to the church.
"My kids were lost and struggling in school throughout my divorce, but with the support of this church, their lives have been changed," Sherri explains. "They cannot wait to go to church and are always inviting kids from school and the neighborhood to come with them. One of their friends spends the night with us on Saturdays just so he can go to Cambridge."
Several times a year, the church hosts fun community events complete with pony rides and inflatables.
"On those Sundays, we double our attendance, and the neighborhood parties give us an excuse to refocus on evangelism and raise the awareness of how it feels to be the person on the outside," said Fowler.
Before Billy Brimblecom started regularly attending Cambridge in 2005, church was not a part of his adult life. At 28, diagnosed with cancer, his life was in a downward spiral, and he knew things neededto change.
"I had been to Cambridge a couple of times with friends, but it was the music and Jay's teaching that brought me back," reflects Billy. "Being a musician, the contemporary worship is relevant and appealing, not stuck in ‘70's renewal' or a certain genre. I like the way Jay talks, not preachy or over my head-he speaks in a way I can understand."
Though Billy lost his leg to cancer, he dreams of the day he can go to Rwanda to visit their sister parish in Cyangugu. Billy and many others at Cambridge are growing in their faith through an intentional discipleship experience called Life Revolution that "hits them right where they are."
The year-long course uses a creative blend of teaching from a Campus Crusade curriculum, intimate small groups led by a mentor and planned one-on-one times between each mentor and mentoree.
"I had a reticence about doing programmatic discipleship but combining all the elements has proven to be life-changing for participants," reports Fowler. "Most of the comments I hear from them are about how much they treasure the mentor relationship and how going through Life Revolution has taught them how to get into their Bible."
Fowler challenges those that complete the program to become a mentor themselves. Last year, five out of 30 became mentors to the next class, and many assumed major leadership roles in the church, proving that such relationships are crucial to Christian maturity.
The successful ministry Cambridge experiences stems from knowing who they are and what God has created them to do as a parish. People once disconnected from God are finding healing and wholeness in the casual, relaxed environment that welcomes a soul just they way they are. The leadership team, intensely receptive to the Holy Spirit and His leading, keeps things fresh and alive at Cambridge, and they rejoice in the part they have been privileged to play in the Great Commission.
The Advent of Belonging
Church planter the Rev. Thomas (Tommy) Hinson with wife, Laura Waters Hinson.
Remnants of faded punk rock stickers cling to brick walls on a turn of the century church located off the Metro in Columbia Heights, District of Columbia. If the weather is cooperative, groups of young, urban professionals linger or conversation in front of the massive wooden doors that welcome worshippers before Sunday evening worship and after they share dinner together.
Church of the Advent, a plant of the Church of the Resurrection in Capitol Hill, is communicating a message of Christ infused with creative expression, palpable sincerity and genuine relationship that over one hundred post-moderns find appealing and profoundly fulfilling. They are discovering a reality: It is possible to experience a sense of belonging at a church.
Advent's temporary home, the Casa Del Pueblo. Photo by Laura Waters Hinson.
"Since moving to DC three years ago with my wife Tiara, I didn't like the city much until I found Advent, and now I love it," remarks Adam Johnston, fellowship group leader. "I now feel a sense of belonging. The Lord has used relationships found in the community of Advent to deepen our faith and make the Gospel real." Columbia Heights is a socio-economically diverse community where subsidized housing sits adjacent to luxury condominiums. A wasteland from the civil rights riots of 1968, drug dealers used to be common fixtures in the neighborhood.
Today, it is home to the largest concentration of ex-Peace Corps workers anywhere in the world, with the new Metro line bringing rapid development and population growth. Advent borrows space from Casa Del Pueblo, an old Methodist church with about 60 years of delayed maintenance - no air conditioning and unreliable heat. Pigeons frequent the building, leaving droppings on pews and feathers swirling above heads.
"Our dilapidated building has become part of the DNA of our church," remarks the
Rev. Thomas (Tommy) Hinson. "In the winter, people bring blankets to hand out and thermoses of hot chocolate to share. In the hot summer, they supply coolers of ice and cold wash cloths."
"My husband Rob and I have attended beautiful churches with stained glass windows. Advent is not that, but when we visited, we met Christ in a way that was refreshing and we just had to come back," shares Ellen Vest.
Post-moderns gather for conversation in the fellowship hall. Photo by Rachel Eisley.
"In busy Washington, DC, people generally don't make time to build relationships and professionally creative people are hard to find," Ellen continues. "At Advent, we found an anomaly in so many people being unusually gifted in the arts and equally serious about their faith."
"Had we not been meeting Christ, we would have gone somewhere prettier and climate- controlled," she laughs.
The service at Advent is fully liturgical and yet user friendly for their mostly unchurched audience, complete with explanations by Tommy throughout the service, and in the bulletin, on understanding the liturgy.
"The traditional 17th century liturgy is connecting twenty-somethings," explains Adam. "It isn't dead language to us, it is real and deep and that becomes increasingly apparent the more we use it and explore it."
An enclave of extraordinarily talented musicians and artists make worship rich and vibrant, with a collective mix of instruments and creative music arrangements. Their shared love of traditional hymns and contemporary songs reflect a sincere passion for worship.
"It is an act of worship when they play, not just a performance," shares Rob Vest. "The spirit in the song selection and depth of meaning in the words are expanding our concept of God."
Community continues throughout the week as eight fellowship groups meet in different parts of the city. Tommy creates a brief, one page summary of his Sunday teaching as a guide, with three sets of questions to keep groups focused and connected.
"Going to Advent is the highlight of our week," says Hilary Henry, founding member of Advent. "The teaching is consistently full of grace and timely with every aspect of the church having transformation as the goal. People are very real and open to knowing and being known by each other. They don't have any expectations of how church should be because for most of us, it is our first church experience out of college, and we are making faith our own."
So the answer is "yes". It is possible to have a fulfilling sense of belonging in a church.
As the neighborhood of Columbia Heights changes through revitalization initiatives, Church of the Advent is doing their part to foster reconciliation and transformation in the souls of those the Lord entrusts to their care. The result is a genuine, caring, community that fulfills the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.
Building Community in Boston
Home of one of the newest Anglican Mission Church plants, The Rev. Mark Booker and family.
In the city of Boston with over 600,000 residents, real community may be in short supply. Church of the Cross, one of the Anglican Mission's newest church plants under the leadership of the Rev. Mark Booker, seeks to build an authentic "family of God" in the midst of this urban center.
Until his move to Boston on Palm Sunday of this year, Mark served as one of the pastors at Church of the Resurrection in Washington, DC, and is the Northeast Network Leader for the Anglican Mission. He is building on the foundation of a small group of believers who had been meeting together since 2008, initiated by seminarian Ben Rey. A 30 member core team meets twice a month on Sundays for Eucharist followed by dinner. On the other two Sundays, they host "Story and Song," opportunities to build community through personal testimony, worship and prayer.
In addition to reaching the dense population of students and artists in Boston, the core team shares a heart for reaching out to the marginalized in their city. As the church develops, its leadership expects to establish relationally-driven ministries of justice and mercy.
"We may well struggle between vision and reality for the rest of the life of the church," Mark notes, "but we pray to become a diverse community that reflects our city and embodies the vision and values of the Kingdom of God."
According to demographics, Boston is the second youngest city by population in the country, and in this early stage of formation, many of the core group are married, twenty-something grad students.
"We need older members," Booker explains. "It would be great to see mission-minded empty nesters and retirees moving to urban centers to provide wisdom, hospitality and resources to help church plants."
In July and August, the Bookers opened their home on Wednesday nights for an eight-week series called, "The Church in the City," exploring what it means to be a community focused on discipleship and mission in an urban context. The series was designed to build and clarify vision among the core group.
The Church of the Cross core team also seeks to nurture existing relationships and form new ones through informal gatherings including visits to art shows, service projects, camping trips and prayer times. Friday night discussions in various venues around Boston an open forum for non-believers who are exploring the Christian faith.
"Our approach is relational rather than programmatic," Mark explains. "We believe that being missional in Boston is not about doing events, but adopting a lifestyle."
As Mark balances life with his wife Mandy and their three young children in a new city with being a church planter, he is encouraged by the number of non-Christians whom they have been able to engage in four short months and looks forward to weekly worship services scheduled to begin on September 13.
