Stories

The church is called to provide a home for all of God’s children, but sometimes children are overlooked. Thanks to you, a Resonate church plant has been able to show children how much God loves them.

God called Eric and Shumaila Sarwar from Pakistan to Artesia, Calif., to plant Artesia City Church in partnership with Resonate. As they joined the local community of immigrants from Pakistan and India, it soon became clear that God had called them there for a reason.

Church plants are key to bringing the gospel to unreached areas. But how do church plants work? And who will do the planting? With Resonate’s help, John Granada  is learning these things firsthand.

John felt a call to church planting after serving at Vida Nueva, a CRC church plant in Miami, Florida, for 14 years.

“It was a process of discerning a desire prompted by the Spirit,” said John. “I was envisioning, dreaming, and considering how God had gifted me and my family to serve. We were waiting to see what place he would lead us to.”

Rev. Geoffrey and Rev. Ashley Van Dragt planted a campus ministry in Seattle, Washington, seven years ago. Now, they’re planting a church.

Geoff and Ashley started Graduate Christian Fellowship (GCF), a joint effort of Resonate Global Mission and InterVarsity, at the University of Washington in 2011.

Two churches are tackling Oakland, California’s gentrification and racial division head on: they’re merging.

Bernard Emerson started The Way Church in Oakland three and a half years ago. One year later, Resonate Partner Kyle Brooks planted Oakland Communion. This year, the two congregations joined to form Tapestry Church.

“We come from different church traditions and different church backgrounds,” said Bernard. One church is Baptist; the other is Christian Reformed.

Note: Read the introduction to the Used Tires series to learn the meaning behind the metaphor.

Detroit,  Michigan, is a city known for its poverty and resulting crime. Many neighborhoods, blighted from downturns in the once-booming auto industry there, could be described as “used tires.” But as Mark Van Andel saw beyond that and began serving in the Brightmoor neighborhood, he has partnered with Resonate Global Mission for church planting support.

Ronnie Lopez’s passion for the Reformed faith stems from his time growing up in the Philippines. That’s where, 50 years ago, he met Vince Apostol, Resonate Global Mission’s first missionary to this country, and became a member and seminary student in the CRC of the Philippines.

“It’s embedded in me,” Lopez said of the Reformed worldview. “And the moment you understand it, it leads you to a life of gratitude in the Lord.”

Scott Vander Ploeg looks back on the time he spent serving in Nigeria as one of the most “stretching and rewarding” years of his life.

Scott and his wife, Andrea, served with Resonate Global Mission at Veenstra Seminary in Donga, Nigeria, in 2001-2002. This was an internship during Scott’s studies at Calvin Theological Seminary.

The majority of Christian Reformed church plants Resonate has worked with over the past decade are still serving their communities. In fact, 144 churches planted in the last 10 years are thriving. However, sometimes the call to plant a church turns out to be temporary and the church folds after a few years. In these situations, church planters have found that even when a church stops meeting, their efforts have not been in vain. 

How many times have you heard the Christmas story? Too many to count?

For some, the Christmas story will be new this year and God is still doing amazing things through this story.

Ben Katt, Resonate Global Mission’s regional mission leader for the Western United States, recently recorded two examples of this while visiting Anchorage, Alaska on his podcast, Replacing Church. Ben visited Parachutes, a drop-in center for high-risk teens that partners with Resonate.

When you ask God to do something ten years in the future, you might forget about that request. But God won’t. 

That’s what James Kim found to be true when he received an unexpected email from Resonate Global Mission (then Home Missions) asking if he had interest in planting a church.

Kim first considered the idea of becoming a church planter in 2006, when he was studying at Calvin Theological Seminary and began exploring what that path entails. Still, he wanted to gain some experience first.