- Church planting & multiplication
The Lord sparked Theresa Barksdale into spiritual growth through something she'd never done: help start Rise Community Church near Dayton, Ohio.
Rise’s core team knew the city's people needed a shift after hardships during the past few years. So pastor Tokunbo Adelekan, Barksdale and the group chose “Rise” as a name that could help the city hope in the God who creates new beginnings.
"I felt there was a mission that needed to be done," Barksdale said. "To keep it to yourself, that's not what Jesus did."
Rise has not kept Christ's grace and truth to themselves since they started on Mother's Day 2022. The church reaches out through gas giveaways and offers a grief-to-grace ministry for families suffering the death of loved ones. Plus, Rise embraced a local Haitian-American community who now worships with them through a translator.
According to Adelekan, the best way to attract the unchurched and unbeliever is through “radical hospitality.”
"It's important that we get to know people," he said.
A spectrum of ministry for the seasons of life
Rise's ministry includes hearing from the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. Commitment to those practices has led the church to serve people through Sunday worship, Bible studies for youth and adults, specific activities for men and women and a robust social media presence.
"We want to let people know you are valued by Jesus Christ," Adelekan said. "Why don't you journey with us as we learn more about this Christus Victor who values you?"
The culture of the Dayton area has deep roots in innovation, particularly with aviation and the Wright Brothers, who had the world's first flight of a controlled, sustained plane in 1903. Such identity upholds the church's priority of giving the city more to aspire toward.
"We try to work on Jesus, jobs and justice," explained Adelekan. "We're trying to build the beloved community in Dayton."
Rise’s name continues to help the church as it serves the community. The Dayton area has humanity's historic need for a savior and modern yearnings of people seeking a new future for the 800,000 people of the region.
The moderate state has family-oriented people who stay focused on established ways of life while accommodating people from around the world as the economy and education change.
"We're in the heart of many things when it comes to generations and ethnic groups," Adelekan said. "We want to open ourselves up to multigenerational and multiethnic (people)."
That's why they say yes to opportunities, such as Haitian-American believers in nearby Springfield. They sought a congregation to join, and a member of Rise was willing to drive a bus to get them. Now, Rise is gaining a regional reputation as a place that welcomes outsiders into the family of God.
"We're reaching outside the doors," Barksdale said. "We are all there for the same purpose."
‘We’re on that mission too’
On any given Sunday, Michele Sumerlin greets people, helps with the live stream, cleans seats, and places Bibles. Her widespread service reflects the family approach of working together that Rise's culture creates.
Sumerlin has experienced and observed how much Adelekan reaches out to people and cares for them. The grief-to-grace program personally blessed her after she lost two sisters in May and had a heart attack in August. Even as the church served her, she joined the work of sharing Christ and ministering to others.
"If he could save every soul, he would, and we're out there with him," she said of Pastor Adelekan. "We're on that mission too, and it has made me grow so much in Christ."
Since joining Rise’s founders in Christ's mission, Darrell Sutton has been growing more and serving more than ever.
"I was getting fed, but I wasn't getting full," he said of his spiritual life before Rise.
Like Barksdale, Sutton's fresh spiritual growth stands upon what Rise emphasizes: spiritual advance, discipleship and evangelism through prayer, Scripture and working for God.
"We make mistakes when we put the work of God before the word of God and worship of God," Adelekan said.
For Sutton, God's plan is clear to him now that he and his wife have joined Rise. The church's volunteers doing Christ's work are creating a new future, lifting the city.
"Each week, we got new people coming in," Sutton said. "The word is getting out. They come, they come back and they bring somebody else."
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.
