The congregation is about 25% white, 40% Latino, 20% Asian and 15% to 20% African American and African. Eighty different nationalities are represented in the church, and 475 people made first-time commitments to Jesus during services in 2024.
“The more central the gospel becomes in your ministry, the more you can fly above all of that division because the gospel transcends it.” -Pastor David Uth
Rather than solely coming alongside communities following major natural disasters, the church decided to use the ministry’s life-saving—and life-giving—equipment year-round.
On Judgment Day, I won’t hide. I won’t run. Not because I’m innocent, but because I’m forgiven. Jesus paid it all.
The size of the church never limits the scope of God’s power. God does big things in small churches!
“We minister to the broken people in our community through many ministries, and we attract a lot of people who want to join our church because of our ministries,” says Art Ayris, executive pastor of administration at First Baptist.
“People see “big C” church as judgy, legalistic rules. If we can work together and show the opposite of that, I feel like that’s our role: to rewrite the narrative of church based on serving.” —Meghan Smith, Trace Church
Last year, Evangel started a church two hours away inside the largest women’s prison in New York. A pastor and a team go every Thursday to share a message, preach and lead worship for the prisoners.
Church leaders must recognize that what feels hidden is actually hurting people, and that discipleship includes helping people break free from destructive patterns.
There’s no joy in sharing these stories, but there’s clarity. These experiences shine a spotlight on what must change if we truly want to be welcoming communities of grace.
