- Church planting & multiplication
For two years, Agape Christian Fellowship in Fort Myers, Florida, has welcomed carloads of worshipers from nearby Naples every Sunday.
But, in October, the Converge church gave them all a reason to stay in Naples: Agape Christian Fellowship planted a new campus there, with Dr. Frantz Machoule as pastor.
Machoule and Agape Christian Fellowship founding pastor Dr. Phil Phillips said about 60% of Naples’s people have been emotionally hurt by a church in the past. Still, they persist in seeking Christ and spiritual development in their hearts and habits.
“They’re making their way back to God,” Dr. Phillips said. “God is opening a door for us to reach those families.”
Machoule was one of those people who drove a half-hour from Naples to worship in Fort Myers. Now, he pastors the congregation, which gathers for Sunday worship, children’s ministry, life groups and a monthly prayer gathering.
Those opportunities serve the dechurched young people and others seeking God in Machoule’s town.
“Most of them are looking for a church,” he said. “They come and they receive the word — and I know they are going to be changed,” he said.
Ambitious, affluent people still need Christ but struggle to trust the church
Phillips said Naples is a community with people motivated to make progress in life. People want a good career, a growing bank account, happy families and accomplishments in all they attempt.
“You cannot be stagnant if you live in Naples,” Phillips said. “You almost have to have a thirst for progress.”
About 100,000 people live in Naples, many from Ohio, Minnesota, Chicago and other northern U.S. communities. People move here for golf, beaches and tropical weather, Phillips explained. And Naples has a higher cost of living than Fort Myers.
But increased incomes haven’t met all their needs. There are many lost people. Phillips has also seen that church hurt leaves them unsure if they can trust the church with their spiritual desires and search.
An opportunity for the church comes when people are having relationship issues, challenges with finances or learning how to honor their family more than their jobs. But Naples tends to be a community with questions and wants to be informed from God’s word, but not preached.
In response, Agape Christian Fellowship offers sermon series on real-life situations using God’s word to share hope and transformation.
The approach is working for the church. People walk in one way, Phillips said, and leave months later with a better handle on their emotions or improved conflict management skills. People also come to Christ after sermons and find freedom in every area of their lives.
“That creates a non-threatening way to expose people to Jesus,” Phillips added. “We’re preaching that God has given us the answer for everything we need.”
God’s agape brings an end to shame, separation and sin
Phillips grew up with churches that shamed him and used guilt to pressure him on his behavior. Years later, he understood more and more of God’s grace, and now he orients his leadership around grace even as the church challenges people to obey.
Now, pastors Phillips and Machoule continually emphasize grace and acceptance for the people who come to the Naples campus of Agape Christian Fellowship.
Phillips chose the name Agape, a Greek word which refers to God’s unconditional, beneficial love, for the church. Seeking such an encounter with the Lord is why so many families from Naples drove to Fort Myers for two years.
It’s also why Agape planted a new church for their neighbors 45 minutes south of For Myers. Phillips, Machoule and many more wanted their neighbors to spend less time driving and more time discovering God’s grace.
“I wanted people to experience the love of God when they come to this church,” he said.
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.
