Yes, the network works

Ministries in Orlando, Memphis, Belleville, and Alton show the impact of cooperation

Alton | For a new church plant in Illinois, the road to Alton starts in Orlando and makes a loop back through Memphis before landing in the Mississippi River town about 20 miles north of St. Louis. The Orlando pin on this map is at the University of Central Florida (UCF) where two men who would become pastors were active as college students. The other pins are on the churches where they pastor today. And the final point is at Requiem Church, a new Southern Baptist church plant that Pastor Vince Bissey started in 2022.

Bissey and his family attended August Gate in Belleville for 10 years before the church, led by Noah Oldham, sent Bissey to start a new congregation.

A new church can’t really get going without a place to meet, and the space for Requiem is provided by Heartland Baptist Church in Alton, where Alex Melton serves as pastor. Melton said the church was happy to allow Requiem to use this space, formerly used by its student ministry.

Requiem, which means “rest” in Latin, holds its worship services there each Wednesday evening so it does not conflict with Heartland’s Sunday services. “It’s a great use of that space,” Melton said. “This is a very cool partnership. They came in and completely renovated that space with new drywall and paint.”

Once Requiem had meeting space, the new church plant needed furniture. That’s where Matt Crawford’s Trinity Baptist Church in Memphis came in. He wanted his church to explore its part in church planting and participating in the Great Commission. One of his dreams for his church is to one day send out a church plant of its own.

Last year he reached out to church planters in St. Louis, to see if there were any new church plants that Trinity could assist. That’s when Crawford learned about Requiem.

“We were not ready yet to be the main financial supporters, but I asked for some targeted needs that our church could help with,” Matt Crawford said. “Requiem was moving into a new space and needed to furnish it, and was looking to raise about $6,000. Our church’s mission committee has a real heart for missions. I took this request to them to see if we could help, and they took care of the whole amount.”

Requiem Church used those funds to purchase a room full of tables and chairs. “We wanted it to be a very inviting environment, like a coffeehouse, a jazz club, or a comedy club vibe. Our goal was relaxed reverence,” said Bissey. “We wanted a very comfortable space.”

The church planter said the target audience for this church is blue-collar creatives, a growing demographic in the area that includes people who work regular jobs—perhaps shift work that pays the bills—which frees them up to pursue their passions outside of work like visual arts, videography, photography, and music.

“We’re really trying to tap into that as far as vibe and feel, so that the crew will feel comfortable coming in,” he said.

For a new church plant, being part of a denomination that values cooperation and shared support for missions is vital to their viability. Through Cooperative Program missions support, some 50,000 Southern Baptist Churches engage in starting new churches where gospel witness is thin, whether in North America or across the globe. And as co-laborers in the kingdom, churches such as those pastored by Crawford and Melton readily engage directly, church-to-church, as the SBC network works to spread the gospel.

Bissey said he has been overwhelmed by the support he’s received from local churches like Heartland and supporting churches like Trinity. “I know that radical generosity is one of the core values for Heartland, and I’ve seen that in both Matt and Alex. The way they have led their people, and it has just been incredible,” Bissey said. The supporting pastors in the network that helped Bissey have connections back at the UCF Baptist Campus Ministry. The men were on campus at different times, but both trace their passion for ministry and missions to their time there, and to a leader named Brad Crawford (no relation to Matt).

Matt said the Baptist student ministry is very missional, establishing a Great Commission culture, and giving students lots of opportunities to be involved in mission work, like the work he did in Japan.

“If I were to boil down Brad’s impact on me personally and in ministry, it would be discipleship through relationships,” he said. “He’s so good at getting to know you, making you feel comfortable and being a friend. He is so good at ministry through relaxed time together. He makes that seamless. You can see some of that fruit in connecting with Alex and Kelli and partnering with Requiem.”

Alex (Kelli is his wife) connected with Matt through their shared relationship with BCM leader Crawford. They had not met personally until both attended the SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim last year. That connection led to both pastors supporting Requiem Church.

“I don’t believe in coincidence,” Melton said of how they ran into each other. “I believe in ‘God incidents’ and how God brings people together for his purposes. We sat together and that started the connection with Matt and Vince.”

Brad Crawford said he loves the fact that two of his former students in Florida have partnered together with their churches to help encourage and resource another church 1,000 miles away in Illinois.

“It’s been a joy but certainly not a surprise to see that God has done great things in and through the lives of Matt and Christie (his wife), and Alex and Kelli,” he said. “They have been an inspiration and an encouragement to me and so many others as they have gone from their college years in BCM to getting married, raising families, and serving faithfully in ministry. The churches they lead and this church plant they are assisting are blessed to have them.”