Plant a garden, plant the seed, plant churches

When we say, “plant a garden,” we have in mind God's planting in the garden of Eden. God is the great Gardner, and he gave his first family a garden of life in which to grow in the knowledge and enjoyment of him. Ever since sin came into the world and death to follow, the work of God is to restore the garden in the far greater form of the kingdom of God.

Our strategy begins with an intentional plan to plant and nurture the garden of this body of believers. By preaching, counseling, singing, praying, testifying, communing, and teaching the whole counsel of God to everyone—from the cradle to the grave—we intend to bloom with delight in the God of our salvation.

When we say, “plant the seed,” we have in mind the idea that we cannot contain our joy in God. It must be shared to be complete. We spread it to our children, our families, our neighbors, our coworkers, and the nations. Spreading the seed of God’s glory in Jesus Christ motivates all of our dreaming and planning. We do not hold to a "come and see" faith but a "go and tell."

This implies that we do not desire to grow in size indefinitely here at this location. Instead, we intend to grow the "plantings" of the Lord in this church so that, when they mature and are called by God, they can be transplanted into other ministries, church plants, or missionary posts worldwide. That’s what we mean by “plant churches.” We are eager for local churches to be established throughout southeast Michigan and beyond that joyfully embrace our vision of God.

We welcome new worshipers and desire to lead them to further pursue their eternal joy in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. And we long to so nurture, train, and grow these disciples of Jesus that they go out to spread the very vision of God that drew them here in the first place; we desire to be both a seed-bed and a sending base.