Planting a Church for a Future City
As dairy farmers move out and developers move in, families are flocking to South Ontario, California. Plans are in the works for 100,000 new homes over the next seven years, and with this anticipated housing boom comes the significant need for a church.
So Pastor Steve Airth and 17 others from Gateway Community Church in nearby Chino moved in to start GracePoint, a church plant that is determined to show people where “real life meets real faith.” In mid-October, GracePoint began meeting in a local elementary school on Sunday evenings, and by late January, the church was averaging 40–50 people per week.
With a relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere, GracePoint aims to reach South Ontario’s newest residents, the majority of whom are couples in their late 20s and early 30s. According to Airth, many young couples are actually looking for a church for their children, “but what they don’t know is that they need it, too!”
As new families move to the community, GracePoint doesn’t hesitate to extend a warm welcome to people of all ages. With direct mailings, personal door-to-door contacts, and phone calls, Airth says, “We don’t let people slip through the cracks.”
And as this church plant grows and thrives in its new environment, it’s not just focused on the present. “We want to be a church that plants churches,” Airth says hopefully. “We already have a church planting fund set aside. Before we move out of the elementary school and into a new building, our goal is to have a plant ready to go.”
And at the rate South Ontario and GracePoint are growing, that won’t be long.
