- Church planting & multiplication
Darrell Turner discovered his foundation for starting a church on the porches of his Syracuse childhood.
His block's unspoken mothers and fathers nourished the neighborhood from their porches. As kids played and adults pondered, a community gathered around words of life.
"When you want to know what's going on, you go down to someone's house,” he said of those days. “You sit there and you talk."
Decades have passed, but the power of porches still inspires Darrell and Angela Turner, who planted Solomon's Porch near Dallas, Texas, in May 2023.
"Our church Scripture is Acts 5:12," he said. "The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people and all believers met together on Solomon's Porch."
The Turners' vision for the church, which launched May 29, is loving and serving people through outreach and teaching God's word. Before starting Solomon's Porch, the Air Force veteran lived his passion as a church's outreach director.
"I go into the community," he said. "I'll sit in the dirt with them. I'm not afraid of going into the darkest parts of our community. I'm not afraid to speak to people there."
A variety of ministries aimed at one mission
He and the church regularly reach out in downtown Dallas to serve people without homes. Some people work during the day but live in shelters. Other residents live on the streets without jobs. The church has met pastors, lawyers, bankers and children from wealthy families living without homes.
Sometimes, the hearts of these men and women are angry at God. Other times, the people are mad at Christians or disillusioned by church experiences. Once in a while, a person shares out loud that Solomon's Porch volunteers keep showing up, no matter how many times they get cursed.
Over time, the people looking for a good church share that desire. Solomon's Porch wants to be that church.
They emphasize an outreach ministry called Meet the Need to build relationships and supply practical necessities. The Turners also offer grief counseling, two podcasts and a Thanksgiving feeding event in Kiest Park.
"We're going back into the community where the people are," he said. "That's where a lot of our calling and mission is."
Success starts with a bag folded just right
That contrasts with many who have left Dallas in recent years to gain a different quality of life in neighboring communities.
But, for Turner, he credits many of his family members who shaped him as a child because they embraced foster children. Their love taught him kindness and wisdom when reaching out.
Now, as people from his church serve others, he's primed to show them what a difference love makes. It all starts with how you treat others.
He and his team recently saw someone park a truck in Dallas just long enough to toss a massive bag of sandwiches on the sidewalk. Then they drove away without a word to anyone.
Turner told the team that the people around them wouldn't touch the tremendous amount of food, even though they needed it. Sure enough, hour after hour passed, and not a single sandwich was taken. The food, Turner explained, wasn't given in the right spirit.
"There's no love in that," Turner said. "He's treating them like, 'You hungry? You go get it.'”
Instead, the new church treats others according to 'porch style' — a precise way to befriend people, including how servants pack the food and fold the bag. A well-folded bag shows the person receiving the food they are valued, just as if they were a paying customer at a restaurant.
"They want to feel the love when you're giving them the bag," Turner added.
The word of the porch brings harmony with God, people
Another priority for the new church is helping people know God for themselves. Turner wants people to stand on the word of God. He encourages them to study the Scriptures and distinguish between Biblical ideas and human teaching.
On Sundays and on the streets, he proclaims God's word, just as Peter did from Solomon's Porch 2000 years ago.
"The whole vision of our porch is Solomon's village," he said. "The greatest joy I have is hearing people say, 'I have learned more about God's word and how it reflects on my life than I have ever learned before.'"
Solomon's Porch also has cultural harmony because anyone from any walk of life can join in the unity of God's love. Turner said the believers in the church have Hispanic, black and white backgrounds.
"We have harmony within God at Solomon's Porch," he said. "God's word can reach anyone."
That's why the new church invites people to come and sit on God's porch. What Turner received on the porches of Syracuse has become Solomon's Porch for Dallas, a source of proclamation and peace in the gospel.
"When I grew up, you had to be on a porch at a certain time. That's where you got wisdom," he said. "Everything comes from the porch."
Converge's 10 districts have committed to deploying 312 church planters before 2026. Read more inspiring church planting stories and learn about the goal to send out 312 church planters in five years.
