Taking It to the Streets

During the EFCA Leadership Conference in June, John Stevens was presented with the Church Planter of the Year award.  

When God ignited John Steven’s heart for church planting, He confirmed it by showing John unusual favor in his new community. Taking the advice of "becoming an expert in your community and knowing it well," John took to the streets.

He began prayer walking neighborhoods of Shelby, Ohio. He stepped into a community known nationwide for its heroin epidemic. The response and hunger of the people for the truths of Jesus Christ was immediately evident.

One of John’s first prayer-walking encounters was a car dealer, who prayed to receive Christ. John was then invited to a neighborhood cookout and asked to lead in prayer. He witnessed to a juvenile boy just released from jail for under-aged drinking. That young man accepted Christ later that week. This immediate response to John’s prayers was "God’s stamp for me." He knew he was called to plant a "missional church."

John is pictured in the middle with fellow church planters Kevin Crawford and Pablo Cachon.

Launched in a Coffee Shop

Core Community Church began in a coffee shop. John approached the owner and asked if a small group Bible study could meet on Sundays. People who were hungry for the gospel started showing up. Even the employee assigned by the coffee shop to be present was drawn into the truths of Christ. By adding a children’s component, the group grew to 35 people in just five months.

They soon needed to find another place to meet. John’s willingness to pray and walk the streets of his community opened the doors for a new church location. As John took initiative to introduce himself to the mayor, school superintendent and principals, and the Chamber of Commerce leadership, he offered to pray for them. As he engaged with city leadership, he discovered that many of them were living in upheaval with spiritual needs. As he listened and offered prayers of blessing, God began to show favor to John again.

The city leaders wanted to start a community center in a closed-down school, and so Core Community Church was offered the opportunity to use the facilities at very low rent in exchange for overseeing the center. Soon they were at two services to accommodate some 200 people. They discovered that the greater the presence of the church in the community, the greater the transformational influence they had in the neighborhood. Revitalization was happening on both physical and spiritual levels.

"The community is hungry to have a church be present in their community," said John. "In church planting, you can develop an identity and infuse it from the very beginning. It allows the church to be an irresistible influence."

One week each year the church adopts an area of the community to influence with the love of Christ. They recently adopted Second Street, which is one of the worst in the city. They worked with a trash company to pick up and dispose of piles of garbage. They helped a landscaping company beautify run-down homes. They were even willing to clean up the yards of known drug dealers. They ministered to the children and provided community meals. They refurbished the street with the hope and love of Christ, which opened the door to greater trust among the people. Now some of those families are coming to the church.

The Favor Continues

The church may eventually need to find a new place to meet, as there are plans to reopen the community center as a school again. Because of the drastic changes in the community, there is renewed hope in even revitalizing the school.

That means more change may be coming to Core Community Church. But their influence in the community has given them favor with others. One church has offered to share their sanctuary on Sundays. Another church in decline has offered to share their building and rearrange their schedules to accommodate Core Community. And still another building owner has offered significant rent-free terms if the church will move into the downtown to help revitalize that area.

Still More to Do

John does not see the vision of the church changing any time soon. "There are still 7,000 unchurched families in Shelby," he said. "That’s still a lot of people to reach to know Jesus. So our vision doesn’t need to change; it just needs to be reiterated over and over."

This church plant believes in engaging the community on a continual basis. "We just need to get into the community and live it out," said John. By continuing to promote Jesus Christ, the people of Core Community trust that God will provide Acts 2 moments by adding to their church daily.

Story by Carol Madison