We're Starting a New Church!
Baltimore has so many steeples. Why start a new church? The sad truth is that in just the last five years, the number of churches closing annually has outpaced the number of new churches opening. Combined with the fact that most congregations across the country are shrinking and aging, this presents a great need and a great opportunity.
Starting (or planting) new churches is one of the most effective ways of reaching people who are not being reached by existing churches, including younger generations, different ethnic groups, newer transplants to the city, and people who haven’t had a great experience in established churches.
Beginning new churches is critical for keeping the church looking outward. Without the challenge of planting and re-planting, it is easy for churches to get focused on their own comfort and maintenance. Starting new churches keeps Jesus’ final instructions, The Great Commission, on the front burner.
How it Works
We hope to begin regular, weekly worship in the spring of 2025. In the intervening year, we’ll spend time doing more learning, praying and building relationships in the Hamilton/Lauraville neighborhoods. We’ll aim to gather a core group of at least 50 people, with at least 20% of them not being current members of Saint Mo’s. We’re raising financial support with an initial goal of $10k/month to help support the church. Down the road we anticipate additional fund-raising associated with growth and building needs.
How You Can Help
- Give. You can help out by becoming a monthly supporter. (Select Hamilton-Lauraville Church Plant fund from the list of funds).
- Connect. We'd love to hear from you if you or someone you know might be a good fit for this new church.
- Pray. This whole endeavor is perfectly designed to fail unless God shows up. Join us in praying for God to guide, provide and empower this undertaking.
Questions
Where will the new church meet for worship?
TBD. We’ve hosted several seasons of Alpha in a local coffee shop and multiple worship nights in the church building of an existing congregation. We’re on the lookout for a space that would be great for us. Likely, we will borrow or rent space for a while and look for a suitable space to purchase, which will entail a capital campaign.
Who will lead the new church?
Saint Mo’s is blessed with a strong team of volunteer and staff leaders. This team is deep enough to begin the process of starting a new church. Down the road, we plan to hire leaders for the new church as well as raising up and developing new leaders within.
What will be the relationship between the new church and the existing one?
The plan is for a strong, mutually beneficial relationship. Although the congregations will be distinct, leadership and resources will be shared and both congregations will be expressions of the same legal entity. In church planting vernacular, we will be going from one “campus” to two “campuses.” Unlike in some models where a campus is essentially an overflow venue for a video feed, we intend for both locations to benefit from in-person preaching and worship and for each location to have ample opportunity to develop ministries and relationships that are a good fit for their respective neighborhoods. This model reduces overhead, increases “success” rates, and helps to mitigate overall risk.
What about the existing churches in the area?
When done well, starting new churches isn’t a net drain on existing churches. Typically, new churches connect with people who are less likely to connect with existing churches. Since our inception, benefitting the collective Church of Baltimore has been one of our goals. That will not change. Part of the start-up process includes connecting with the leaders of existing churches to learn from them and to explore opportunities for relationship and partnership.
As in our own beginning, we will ask a handful of healthy, established churches in the area if they are willing to send a few mature leaders “on-loan” for a short season. This helps to keep the theological and cultural streams forming us broad and strong.
What will the new church be like?
We hope that the best bits of Saint Mo’s culture, as it currently exists, are transplanted into the new church. We want the new church to be welcoming and vibrant. We want it to reflect the diversity of the community. The music will be contemporary but connected to the great tradition of Christian worship. The theology will continue to stand in the deep center current of historic Christianity and will be evangelical in the historical sense of emphasizing the authority of the Bible, the centrality of the Cross of Christ, the importance of turning toward God for salvation, and lives lived deliberately in the Way of Jesus. The proximity to a major university means that we will aim consistently to preach in a manner that is compelling for students and faculty. The proximity to physical needs means that we will aim consistently to serve the community with the resources we have available.