Built for Speed

Charles Hill runs at about 6,000 rpm all the time! To some degree, that’s normal for church planters—big dreams, tough challenges, long to-do lists, and expansive hearts. But when Charles and his wife, Tiffany, moved their family to plant a church in South Jordan, Utah, they entered a particularly challenging race.

South Jordan is one of only two places in the world with two Mormon temples and almost no churches that follow Christ alone by the authority of the Bible alone. But the Hills intend to win this race by introducing Jesus as “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).

Despite their driven tendencies, Charles and Tiffany, along with their three children, have learned to hurry up and wait since moving to Utah in 2009. They originally intended to spend about a year getting to know the culture and building relationships before launching in October 2010. Plans changed when their original sponsors and replacement sponsors both had to discontinue financial support. One organization made a strategic change of direction; the other experienced tough economic realities.

But what do you do after you’ve moved your family from rural Ohio to suburban Salt Lake City? You push in the clutch, downshift, and keep racing!

Launching With Momentum

Charles did what he has become well-known for—he improvised. He put together a new support team and pushed back the weekly service launch for the new church, One Community, from October 2010 into early 2011.

Bummer.

But the Hills have no plans to idle. By borrowing equipment, begging help from a friendly local church, and using previously scheduled mission teams in slightly different ways, Charles and his team pulled off back-to-back preview services in midsummer. Having built a strong relationship with a local charter school, and having previously planted a church in small-town Ohio, Charles couldn’t “hit the pits” yet. Instead he and his team gathered more than 100 people on each Sunday evening and sang, prayed, and cast a vision for One Community.

And they celebrated their first two baptisms! Preview services continued through the fall, and the church anticipates a January grand opening.

Building Support for One Community

Charles’s first church-planting experience was in Loudonville, Ohio, a farm town of 2,800, where he moved in 2002. By God’s grace and power, New Hope Community Church quickly grew to three regional campuses. Now Charles is attempting to do it all over again in the rocky soils of Utah.

With the backing of Stadia: New Church Strategies (www.stadia.cc) and a friendly congregation called K2 the Church (www.k2thechurch.com), Charles is working with leaders in the Christian church movement to build a network that can provide the support he needs to launch a church with momentum. Knowing that well-wishers and missions teams don’t equal an ongoing launch team, Charles is determined to have more than 50 local adults committed before the church’s grand opening. Stadia is helping form a support network around Charles and One Community.

Prayer and Partnership in Salt Lake City

More than two years ago, Steve Edwards (st*********@******ne.net) and Doug Crozier (www.cdfonline.org) launched the Salt Lake City prayer initiative. Charles didn’t know anything about the initiative early on, but he sensed God leading his family to Utah. He barely touched the clutch and changed lanes from a comfortable and effective ministry in Ohio to South Jordan, Utah, where some estimate 8 of every 10 people are part of the Latter-day Saints religion. The tires were smoking and the engine whined, but Tiffany and the kids were aboard. Now there are others in the race. Soon there will be more who are part of One Community (www.onecommunity.tv).

You’ll recognize them by their racing stripes!

Brent Foulke is associate executive director for mobilization for Stadia: New Church Strategies in Irvine, California.

Author: Brent Foulke