by David Clark
DETROIT, MI – In 1 Corinthians 3:6 the apostle Paul says “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth”. Church planting within itself is a journey that is not for the faint of heart. There are many highs and lows that come with the work of ministry. As one will soon discover while attempting to plant a healthy church that spreads the gospel and is the hands and feet of Jesus.
We have been on the church planting journey to plant the S.E.E.D. Church (Salvation.Education.Edification.Discipleship) for the past two years. When I first received the vision to plant S.E.E.D Church, I wrestled with so many emotions and questions. Am I ready? Where will we plant? Who will buy into the vision? Who will support us? As I wrestled with the questions, there still remained this unwavering faith and commitment to plant a church that would represent the Kingdom of God.
Over the past year, church planting has been eventful. However, I have been able to see the hand of God present in so many ways. Amidst planting a church in a pandemic, I have been challenged to grow.
In 2020 I joined a multi-contextual apprenticeship through Mile City and the House Church of Detroit. The apprenticeship has been a unique experience. It has provided me with an opportunity to do life with other church planters, and the chance to do ministry in two different contexts.
The benefit of being around other church planters is the gift of encouragement that comes in subtle ways. It has allowed me to take the time to learn, compare, and contrast my church plant with other planters. Through this I have learned new approaches to church planting. Some that are different than I would have originally considered.
With just about anything in life, there have been some of the low moments. We experienced as a church the starting and stopping of in-person gatherings during the rise of Covid. Many people have felt apprehensive of returning to in-person gatherings and found comfort tuning in to online service.
We have stories of people who made commitments to be a part of the work of ministry, but due to unforeseen circumstances were unable to finish them. However, even in the midst of those challenging times we have experienced many celebratory moments.
Last year our church spent time praying for a location and place where we could have our Sunday morning worship services. God answered through a pastor who offered us the use his building. I also joined a discipleship cohort that has equipped our ministry with systems, processes, and culture to help us to make disciples.
This past year our church planted the first of many community gardens at “The House Church”. In September, we had our first vision night, and in December our church partnered with faithful supporters to provide gifts for three families for Christmas.
All of these God moments happened before our official launch. As we strive to stay the course and remain faithful, we are looking forward to the upcoming year and everything God will do through S.E.E.D Church as we prepare to launch in fall 2022.
Perhaps you have been looking for a local church plant with which to partner. You can join S.E.E.D Church in a number of ways. You can agree with us through prayer and you can come alongside us as a resource to help us impact the community around us.
You can contact us by email at theseedchurch313@gmail.com, visit our website www.seedchurch313.com, or follow us on our social media platforms-Facebook: Seed Church Instagram: Seed Church 313.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Clark is the Lead Pastor of S.E.E.D Church in Detroit, Michigan. He attended American Baptist College, and studied at NOBTS. And he enjoys sharing the gospel, traveling, fishing, reading, and playing pool.