StartCHURCH STORIES

Tina Pennington was heartbroken when she learned how close human trafficking was to her local community. By following God's leadership, she founded The Beloved Haven in 2016. This ministry assists human trafficking victims by helping them rebuild and reclaim their lives. Today, The Beloved Haven is helping victims of human trafficking in multiple counties throughout North Carolina.

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Birthday Blessings KC provides children in need with a homemade, personalized birthday cake, a hand-crafted card, and a small gift. Primarily, this organization partners with shelters and other community organizations. Since 2011, this organization has helped more than 1,370 children celebrate their special day.

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Founded by Chris and Brittany Hitte, Jesus Church exists to point people to Jesus in every area of life. After much prayer and confirmation, they began planting their church in July of 2017. On the official launch date of January 21st, 2018, over 350 people showed up. Moving forward, they want to build leaders to sustain their growth and carry on the momentum of becoming a regional influence for God's kingdom. "Most importantly, we want our church to be immersed in the presence of God - and we want everyone who comes to experience that."

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Domonic Purviance founded King Culture in 2017, a nonprofit that believes challenging times require men to be selfless leaders. Through innovative educational content, classes, and media for men of all ages, King Culture aims to challenge and inspire a generation of men to grow tall enough to wear the crown of selfless leadership. “If we can equip men to be selfless leaders, understand biblical manhood, and give them a grid for navigating tough decisions, I believe we can help restore and rebuild communities and cities."

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Reverent Sound Music provides a structured performance-based program for students in the Atlanta area. Classes and workshops are held weekly and are facilitated by local, professional musicians. Through Reverent Sound Music, students give back to their local community by performing at local events and at nursing homes. This nonprofit helps students foster a life-long love of music and encourages them to follow their passions.

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In 2005, God spoke to Ben Burdick and his wife Carolea about planting a church in Bigfork, Montana. Seven years later, they launched MountainSong Church. The church holds regular Sunday services and community groups that meet twice a month. Their community groups focus on what Jesus did - discipleship by intentionally doing life with people.

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Luis Vega and his wife began pastoring the Church of the Way in Tampa, Florida, in 2007 and knew they wanted to start a Christian school one day. “The vision of the church is to disciple these kids while getting them ready for deployment, living independently, or college." "StartCHURCH was key to formulating our 501(c)(3). We got credentialed in 3 months by the school system, with free breakfast and lunch. God has been in this from day one!”

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Planted by Brandon and Sarah Crook in 2019, Beacon Church is a global house church and online network for all people. Their structure for church is focused on web-based content instead of hosting traditional live Sunday services. To create community, they train leaders to host watch parties and have home church (Crews). As a result, Beacon Church is leading the way with a ground-breaking model for church planting. "Our focus is building genuine community and reaching the lost, and being willing to adapt and innovate as we feel God leading."

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Since Love in Action began in 2018, the ministry has grown to serve over 2,000 under-served families in the city. They provide a wide variety of services to benefit their city, ranging from worship events at elderly residential centers, virtual learning training for parents to assist their school-aged children, and counseling services for those in need. In the future, they hope to get a building to have a center for discipleship and spiritual development for the men, women, and youth in the community.

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In 2017, Pastor Alycia Johnson and Pastor Courtney Wieland teamed up to open a ministry for teenage mothers. The two of them have been working hard to open a home for teenage parents in Wisconsin. Their ministry is called Tirzah Place. This ministry teaches teenage mothers and fathers life and parenting skills, setting them up for success in their parenting journey.

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In the fall of 2016, Pastor Thomas Lane and his wife Helen quit their jobs to follow God's lead to start a church in Virginia Beach. One year later, they launched Ascent Church. The church's mission is “To reach, equip, and impact others exactly where they are as they rise to new life in Christ.” During the week, Ascent Church has student groups and small groups. They also partner with a local homeless ministry.

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Stephane Clerge started Sons N Daughters Worldwide in 2017 with the mission to call young people into the identity of who God made them to be. In the beginning stages, Stephane struggled with where to even begin. "The hardest part is getting situated and getting from level 0 to level 1." He found StartCHURCH and started his journey of establishing Sons N Daughters. Now, Sons N Daughters Worldwide holds events all over their state, ministering to youths at colleges and churches and calling them into their identity.

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“We came from overseas, and we are all about bringing people together, creating unity,” said Pastor Alex Pappas. He and his wife Naomi listened to God's call on their lives to leave their home in South Africa and plant a church in Vero Beach, Florida. Besides holding services on Sundays, Oceans Unite Christian Centre runs other ministries in their community to serve the homeless, uplift the elderly, and provide recovery support programs.

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Nick Divine launched Commissioned International after a season of prayer and fasting to answer God's call to full-time ministry. Through teaching, equipping, and discipleship, he began to bring the gospel to the local community through weekly gatherings at a local coffee shop. As a result, people were radically saved and healed, and God began to do miracles on the streets. Nick envisions Commissioned International sending leaders to the nations to preach the gospel and establish training centers to make Kingdom disciples.

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In July of 2018, Pastors Fred and Mary Chinn founded Tobiah Life Center to impact their city with the Gospel. When the pandemic hit, they partnered with their local hospital to provide medical support, literature, and screenings during COVID-19. They continued drive-by ministry to widows, single mothers, and families in need of food. "We are not just a charity organization. We are bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ that changes lives. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to them.”

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In 2018, the OneRace movement began. With over 250 churches represented and more than 500 leaders present, OneRace held a gathering of worship, prayer, and repentance on the top of Stone Mountain. The event at Stone Mountain was a catalyst that launched the OneRace movement into further discussions on decrying racism. On July 19th, 2020, OneRace hosted March on Atlanta, a worship and protest event to cry for social justice in America. Thousands of ralliers joined together to march from Centennial Olympic Park to the State Capitol and back.

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Houses for Healing is a ministry based in Abilene, Texas. This ministry provides free temporary housing to people who are receiving medical treatment and may be without living arrangements. This ministry also partners with surrounding churches and ministries who send their teams to provide care, prayer, and friendship to those living in the homes.

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In 2010, Trey and Marlo Dowdy took on the church's lead pastoral role, with a mission to represent Jesus everywhere they go. They believe that church is so much more than a building or place to worship on the weekend. God's Church is about connecting relationally with Jesus and then with others, growing in faith, and building a strong foundation for families. They partner with the community in unique ways to meet both the spiritual and physical needs of Galveston.

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“In a few short months, God assembled a team, provided every dollar we needed, secured a venue, and we opened our doors,” said Pastor Eric. “We haven't looked back since.” Pastors Eric and Erica Giesow were called by God to move back to their hometown and plant a church in Scranton, Michigan. After much prayer and fasting, they launched Alive Family Church in September 2017. This church's vision is to help people know God personally and to live passionately for Him.

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SHE VET iNSPIRES is a television show that airs in several states across the country. This broadcast serves as a guide to help female veterans transition out of the service. It also features veterans who have successfully completed the process. This nonprofit organization was established to create a safe place for women veterans to share their stories.

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Through hands-on learning experiences, Rise Above IT's mission is to teach students about computers and how to fix them. This nonprofit is located in Gwinnett County, Georgia and collects computers and other computer equipment. Currently, this nonprofit is raising funds for a building to hold classes.

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Brazos Church launched in January 2019 in a local movie theater. Before the church was planted, Pastor James Menephee met with city officials and local pastors to learn what the needs of Rosenberg, Texas were. Today, Brazos Church serves the seniors of the city, a great need expressed by other churches and the mayor. They also have initiatives to help plant other churches, train up leaders, and invest in the community through local partnerships.

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In the fall of 2012, Pastors Derek and Ashley Anglin began meeting with a launch team of 15 people. A few short months later, in February 2013, NewGrace began with its first service at the local theater with over 140 people in attendance. Since that time, NewGrace has seen tremendous growth. The church's mission is to gather, grow and go, so everyone in their community, locally eventually globally, can experience the new life that Jesus promises.

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After training with evangelist and missionary Reinhard Bonke, Bernie Moore followed God's leadership to start his own evangelism ministry. Bernie and his team have big dreams of continuing to evangelize in Africa, India, Pakistan, Brazil, and other countries to spread the Gospel. Their primary focus is to go where no one has gone and to share the good news about Jesus. Since 2009, Bernie Moore Ministries has seen 1.2 million people come to Christ.

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In 2014, Brenda and Jay Swartz returned home to North Carolina from active duty and began developing a resource for military service members and their families. As a result, Warrior Family Ministries was founded to endorse, equip, and train men and women to serve as chaplains in their communities. Brenda says, “StartCHURCH helped me overcome the fear of starting a nonprofit... when we got approved for 501(c)(3) status, I knew I was ready!” In six short years, WFM grew into a nationally recognized chaplaincy company that operates across the United States.

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Just Unleash My Potential (JUMP) is a nonprofit that provides help to men who are being released from prison. The founder, David Hodge, visits Central Florida prisons every week to teach inmates the skills they need to transition into society successfully. These men all have potential and dreams for their lives. JUMP helps them unlock these possibilities so they can reach them.

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In 2019, Shala Graham answered God's call to start Calling Qualified Ministries. Their mission is to inspire God's people to answer their calling to Jesus, regardless of where they are in life. “There's purpose on each of our lives. [When God connects me with someone] I'll help get them a plan and strategy to start taking steps toward their calling today.” “I knew how to set up a business but not a nonprofit. That's why I reached out to StartCHURCH! It's been a great process to go from scratch to have all of the things needed to start my ministry.

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Reaction Tour provides opportunities for youth around the world to learn practical life and creative skills. Similar to conferences, these tours include preaching, worship, and workshops. Workshops provide a hands-on learning experience in areas of art, videography, photography, music, business and professional basics, vision, and dance. This is all free for students who attend. Through Reaction Tour, there have been many students healed and many people coming to Christ and finding their God-given passion and purpose.

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