Church planting is at the heart of what we believe God has called us to do in the Central District. It is a vital part of our history and heritage. Our district was the first in the C&MA to hire a director of church planting in 1967. Church planting is a core component of our current vision and mission. We are prayerfully and aggressively pursuing a decadal goal of planting 40 new churches.
Why do we plant churches? Why would we pursue a goal of planting 40 new churches? New churches penetrate a community with the good news of Jesus Christ. They bring evangelistic passion and activity to communities that inevitably results in people coming to know Jesus Christ as Savior. In the average American community today about 60 percent of the people are unchurched – they do not live in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That tells us that a vast percentage of communities are under-evangelized. And the New Testament method of evangelizing a community is to plant a church. That’s what the book of Acts is all about and that’s what we believe God has called us to do.
And He is blessing our efforts. To date nine new churches have been officially planted during this decade and five additional church planting projects are underway. One of those churches is Metro Alliance Church in Cleveland, OH, planted in 2001. Led by Pastor Juri Ammari, Metro Alliance Church is an urban church plant on the culturally diverse Near-Westside. A congregation of over 90 people reflects the diversity of the community. About 50 people have trusted Jesus Christ as Savior as a result of this church plant.
Another of our Central District church plants is in remote, rural Rosedale, WV. Rosedale Alliance Church was started in 2002. In this community of about 400 people, we have seen over 60 people pray to receive Jesus Christ. Pastor Trevor Morris leads this congregation that is powerfully impacting life in Rosedale, WV.
I am grateful for your interest in the Lord’s work through our Central District church planting efforts. If you have questions or would like to discuss being involved in church planting in some way, please give me a call at 330.336.2911 or e-mail me at tsovine@wadsnet.com.
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