Growing churches inevitably run into a need for a new facility. While this is a sign of God’s blessing, it can prove tough for a young church planter to find a suitable location that can reach their target demographic and serve their existing church members. Each year, new Every Nation church planters report on God’s faithfulness in this area.
One of our newest church planters, Jon Owens of City of Lights Church in Indianapolis, shares an incredible testimony of the multiple times God answered prayers for their young church as they grow rapidly.
We have seen God do so many things at City of Lights in our short time as a church! One of our biggest breakthroughs and testimonies has been our facility.
We launched in a movie theatre in March of 2017. We had a great start and it was an amazing God-story that got us that location. However, as more and more young families began to join our community, the limited kid’s space became a real challenge. Movie showtimes also limited our opportunities for ministry and fellowship.
One day, while I was praying in my office and thinking about different facility options, a friend and pastor in the area called and asked if I was in need of a new place to meet. He had just had a meeting at a YMCA in the heart of the city, and said that the CEO of the Y had been praying to find a pastor who would plant a church in that specific Y center. This YMCA was only three years old and had been intentionally placed in one of the rougher neighborhoods as a catalyst for revitalizing the surrounding community.
On August 20, we held our first service there at the Avondale Meadows YMCA. It was incredible! Our City Kid’s space at the YMCA was not only five times what we had at the theater, but it was a gorgeous, state of the art play and learn center. Our fantastic team of volunteers completely transformed the gym into a beautiful and welcoming worship space, and the CEO of the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis not only attended but was blown away by the church community he saw growing before his eyes. Since then, we’ve seen our church nearly double, our community impact has significantly expanded with our partnership with the Y, and several of the YMCA employees now call City of Lights their church home. As a matter of fact, the associate director of that location started serving in our City Kids ministry.
We felt the pressure to move and make room for the children of our young families. However, we have been moved as God has continued to provide and make room for more and more son and daughters to be added to our spiritual family.