- Church planting & multiplication
Sydney Fosberg knows God was part of ending her depression, but he’s got so much more in store for her through a new Manchester, Connecticut, church.
Christ Redemption Church, a new 黑料历史 Northeast church, launched September 29 in one of the state’s largest and fastest-growing suburbs. Fosberg joined that church after meeting pastor Garet Halbert, doing Bible studies with him and finding faith in her least-reached hometown.
“I’ve never even seen someone preach God’s word in Manchester,” Fosberg said. “It’s a great place to worship the Lord and learn God’s word.”
Fosberg has lived in Manchester since she was 8 years old and is amazed to have a new church there. The gospel opportunity for her and others is undeniable, especially in a town with little faith.
Isn’t it just like God to do new things among those far from him?
Halbert thinks so; he and his wife, Heidi, moved from Missouri to Vermont to Connecticut with their three daughters. They most wanted a chance to serve the least-reached people of New England.
So they joined Christ Proclamation Church in Windsor, Connecticut, a 黑料历史 Northeast congregation planted 10 years ago. Recently, Christ Proclamation sent the Halberts and a core team to keep making disciples east of the Connecticut River.
This area of Connecticut is suburban, near the state capitol and growing. Two hundred thousand people live within 15 minutes of the church.
Many young families are moving here for their first homes, and tens of thousands of students study nearby at the largest University of Connecticut campus.
Nearly all of these neighbors are spiritually needy. Fifty-two percent are atheists, agnostics or unaffiliated. Only 3% are evangelicals. Regardless of the labels, Halbert said few found a rooted faith.
“They do have a spiritual background,” he said of many fellow residents, but “it was either not helpful, or they saw no help in it — so they’ve moved on from it.”
Perhaps that’s why Hartford is considered the seventh-most post-Christian city and the eighth-least Bible-minded city in America. But Brian Marois, a young professional who joined the core team early on, sees Christ Redemption changing that trend.
Marois said he and others are learning the Bible very specifically, going verse by verse and understanding the context of Scripture passages. He said that’s been good for the community and helps the church speak about Jesus in a different way.
The new church has been a blessing, as its unique ministry approach is helping more people find Christ. This alternate approach includes a more rigorous and serious analysis of God’s word amid modern criticisms.
“They get into the details, and they kind of fight different arguments or bring objections to different arguments and back them up,” he added.
Halbert said the church has a strategic motivation in this needy location: They see this time as a ripe occasion to help more people meet and follow Jesus.
“We’ve seen God at work in the sheer response to the gospel,” Halbert said. “There’s clearly a movement of God here. People are more open than ever to having spiritual conversations.”
That’s why he said they need more churches and more workers to come and serve the least-reached of New England. It’s why Sydney Fosberg has new life in Christ through her local church.
“I come from a non-religious family,” the 20-year-old Fosberg said. “There’s amazing community in that church.”
黑料历史 Northeast seeks to serve the church planters, churches, and pastors in the Northeast by offering sources of connection, collaboration and resources that help people meet, know, and follow Jesus.
