Story by V. Michelle Bernard
Members and leadership planted a record 65 churches across the Columbia Union Conference in 2019, reports Frank Bondurant, vice president for Ministries Development. “We support the development of new churches so as to establish a presence in communities that are not being served by our existing congregations, including in major urban centers like Baltimore, Reading, Pa., and Washington, D.C.,” he says. “It’s exciting to see them grow and also birth more church plants.”
Bondurant also adds that church plants typically meet in public places such as schools, community centers, store fronts, and are positioned to reach the public that wouldn’t normally enter a church. “The research indicates a higher ratio of baptisms per member for church plants than in existing churches. Also most new church plants already have it in their DNA to start another church plant so we end up with more churches in diverse places,” he adds.