Launching a 2nd Church Plant
On January 11, 2026, during our Sending Sunday, we surrounded our daughter church, Nations Church, in prayer. As their parent church, we laid hands on them, asking God to guide, protect, and empower them for the work ahead. The words below were part of what was shared by Pastor Phil before we prayed together.
As followers of Jesus, we are all called to make disciples of all nations. That mission is not reserved for a few. It belongs to every believer. And as we align our lives to the mission of Jesus, something beautiful happens. People come to faith. Lives are transformed. Communities begin to form. Leaders are raised up. And when the Spirit of God gathers people around the gospel, new churches are born.
That is what we are celebrating with the launch of Nations Church, our second church plant. When we first met Alvin and Juana in the fall of 2023, they had just moved from Saipan to the Seattle area. They joined Anthem Church with a clear conviction that God had called them here. They carried a deep burden to reach people with the gospel, to start Bible studies, to raise up leaders, and, Lord willing, to multiply disciplemaking groups that would one day become a new church.
Those early months were marked by ordinary faithfulness. They were learning the culture, meeting people, building relationships, and trusting God for provision. We were getting to know them, and they were getting to know us.
And there was also a long list of needs. A place to live. A car. Financial support. So we prayed, and asked for support. And little by little, God provided. Furniture was donated. A place to live opened up. Eventually they moved into a home. What began as a donated vehicle turned into a financial gift for a reliable car that now allows them to travel throughout the Puget Sound Region. Provision did not come all at once. It came step by step. Prayer by prayer. Gift by gift.
But God was not only providing materially. He was moving spiritually. Throughout 2024, we began hearing story after story of people making first-time decisions to follow Jesus. Conversations at Home Depot. Prayer in Panera. Walks through the neighborhood that turned into gospel moments. Ordinary conversations were creating eternal impact. The Spirit of God was on the move in truly supernatural ways that only speak to God’s faithfulness and heart for the whole world.
In that first year alone, 34 adults responded in faith, giving their life to Christ. We celebrated story after story of lives being transformed by the gospel. It was supernatural. It was God’s work. Since then, 21 people have been baptized. Multiple disciplemaking groups have formed. Today, about 50 people sense God’s call to step forward together and become a new church family. That does not happen by accident. That happens by the Spirit of God at work, and the faithfulness of God’s people.
And this is where we must pause and remember that church planting is God’s miracle. It is not ultimately about strategy. It is about obedience. It is about believing that when Jesus sends, He also supplies. When He calls, He empowers. When He commands us to make disciples, He intends to work through His people to accomplish that mission. And, we have seen this before. In 2021, we sent Jeff and Beth Newcomer to begin a new work in Wyoming. In 2022, Steve and his family joined them. In January 2023, Thunder Basin Church officially launched. Sam Balli, his family, and Pastor Phil had the joy of participating in that celebration. Now, only a few years later, we are witnessing God do it again.
We are part of something exciting that God is doing, which means:.
First, for the new church family of Nations Church: God is only getting started. You are stepping into a journey that will require unity, humility, daily dependence, and sacrificial love. Do not take one another for granted. Walk in step with the Spirit. Serve the Lord, not the approval of people. Cast seeds faithfully and water what grows. God alone gives the increase. He has been faithful, and He will continue to be faithful.
Second, for Anthem Church and every follower of Jesus reading this: what a gift it is to be part of God’s mission. His heart is to reach the whole world. And He invites ordinary men and women to participate in that work. We did not orchestrate this. We simply responded. We prayed. We gave. We sent. And God did more than we could have asked or imagined as we trusted in Him and His work of the Spirit in our lives.
Jesus said in John 14:12, “Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” Moments like this remind us that those words are not theoretical. They are alive. The risen Christ continues His work through His Spirit, through His Church.
Today we stop and say, “Thank you, God!” We celebrate God’s gift of Nations Church as our daughter church that officially launched on January 25, 2026. We pray over this extended family with gratitude and expectation. We thank God for the miracle of our first church plant, Thunder Basin Community Church in Upton, Wyoming, as well as, our own parent church, Crossroads Bible Church, and ask a blessing upon them. And we ask the Lord to continue expanding His kingdom in our city, in our region, and around the world. Pray for Ganzo, who joined our church with a heart to reach the Mongolian people on the Eastside of Seattle. Pray for David, who joined our church with a heart to reach the Hispanic people in our area. God is working. May we never settle for small prayers. May we never shrink back in fear. May we pray God-sized prayers! And may we continue to believe that the God who began this good work is able to do far more than we imagine.
God is building His Church.
And He is not finished yet.