The lack of a grocery store inside the city limits of Romulus, Michigan, leaves some people feeling forgotten.

But God’s great love and the passion and diversity of Romulus residents embolden Aaron and Sheena Hicks about the airport town’s future. That’s why they started a church in the community of 24,000 that lies just southwest of Detroit. 

“This is a great place that could embody this vision of being a reflection of heaven on earth,” Aaron Hicks said.

That confidence matches the spirit, he explained, of the community and its resilient, optimistic residents. They want to take the town of single-family houses with a lot of warehouse workers further than it’s ever been. 

Rise Church, which started in October 2021, derives its name from its core pillars. The church exists to Reach people, Introduce them to Jesus, Serve the community and Equip others to do the same.

Taking a job, finding a calling

 

The Hicks came to Romulus because of Aaron’s job in telecommunications and weren’t sure how long they’d stay. But the more they prayed and walked with Christ in the city, the more God’s desire for the city developed in them.

As they researched the community, the city’s diversity was one of the first things that stood out. Hicks said the people are almost 50/50 white and black, male and female and under 40 and over 40.

“I always had a vision of leading a church like heaven,” Hicks said.

That’s why Rise church is sharing the hope of Jesus with people who don’t even know who he is. Romulus is a place where most are unchurched or have no religious affiliation.

Many of the people, he explained, could be perceived as agnostics who don’t know if God exists. Sixteen thousand of the city’s 25,000 people have no church affiliation. Hicks said an increasing number of people are opposed to Christian faith and being part of a church.

 

I always had a vision of leading a church like heaven.

PastorAaron Hicks

People around the church are into crystals, horoscopes, the universe or praying to a dear goddess instead of the God of the Bible. 

“They’re all over the place with their faith,” Hicks said. “They kind of lean on their own understanding of who God is.”

One of the largest Muslim populations in the United States also influences the Detroit area’s spirituality. Despite all the diversity of spirituality, Hicks said the area’s churches tend to create traditional religious experiences for those in Romulus.

“There aren’t a lot of outward-focused, missional-based churches here,” he said. 

Moreover, most Romulus residents, he said, don’t experience the innovation or modern ministry offered at culturally relevant and Biblical congregations.

“You have to do work to help them unimagine their prior experience,” he said.

But a new Converge church like Rise can surprise people through a different ethos and the paradigm of churches creating a gospel movement.

How is the light shining in this particular darkness?

 

The congregation has opportunities on two fronts. First, they serve kids in the Romulus schools by showing youth how people can volunteer, get scholarships and be trained in media.

Secondly, the church is helping believers like Ron Youngblood find a wise, influential way to serve Christ. Youngblood came to Christ in a federal prison after he committed a hate crime. A year after his sentence ended, he started attending Rise services and seeking a way to serve.

Youngblood wanted to work on the safety team but was also unsure if he’d be accepted because of his past. He quickly learned that if God could forgive him, Rise Church would welcome him.

“If our narrative is just come to church and experience life change, maybe we don’t gain the momentum necessary that we need to be impactful,” Hicks said of deploying God’s people into service. “We used that momentum to help deepen people’s faith in Jesus and go a little bit further in their own personal relationship and what it means to be a disciple.” 

That effort also attracts nonbelievers who represent the motivated, resilient people eager to make Romulus a place people can’t forget.

He said the church has seen these fellow residents look past Rise as a church and get involved if it means doing something for the greater good.

“This is a perfect ground for God to do something great,” 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.