Now a multiplying church, Redeemer Church is sending out a team to bring the gospel into neighborhoods where relationships and trust have been years in the making. With a focus on outreach and partnership, City of Shalom Church is already modeling the same multiplying spirit that shaped Redeemer from the start.

Redeemer Church in Rocky Mount, N.C., is getting ready to commission a team to plant City of Shalom Church, also in Rocky Mount.

Redeemer was in its own early days as a church plant when they started supporting other plants. That was 12 years ago. They’ve since partnered with more than 20 other churches in some way, committing 10% of their budget to church planting. They sent out their executive pastor to replant a church in Virginia in 2022.

“To be part of Redeemer is to know that our aim is to plant more churches,” said Lead Pastor Dayton Hartman. “If we’re not planting the church, we’re going to help somebody else do it.”

SendNC provides strategic support for Redeemer and has identified it as one of 22 multiplying churches in North Carolina.

“SendNC has been with us every step of the way in the planting journey,” Hartman said. “From an intentional assessment process, to relational and financial support, SendNC has been a critical partner for us multiplying the gospel in our city.”

Lemanuel Williams is an elder at Redeemer. He’s been part of the church for 11 years. For the last two, he’s been preparing to plant a church in the area he has served vocationally over the last decade.

Williams began part-time philanthropic work in downtown Rocky Mount in 2015, while completing his seminary degree.

“I did not know that that was the means the Lord was going to use to burden my heart for people in a place,” Williams said.

From education, he shifted his focus to neighborhood and housing development, eventually forming a nonprofit organization in May 2022: Building Shalom, which he leads as executive director. 

As part of Building Shalom’s program, he guides participants in drafting 12-month life plans. One theme repeatedly showed up in people’s plans: a desire to focus on their spiritual life. 

“But they weren’t connected to a church,” said Williams. “That was it. There’s open opportunity here. We’re meeting our neighbors’ needs materially. Now, who can go?”

Hartman explained that Redeemer has cast a wide net across Rocky Mount, reaching a diverse range of people along the city’s main commercial corridor. The church is growing, with a congregation that spans different educational backgrounds, income levels and ethnicities. But even as Redeemer’s reach expands, leaders recognized that certain parts of the city require a more focused, contextual approach.

The team sent to plant City of Shalom includes people from Redeemer who have personal histories in the very neighborhoods they now serve. Their approach is less about gathering a large core team and more about leading with outreach. 

“Our core team is made up of people that look like the demographic in the communities we’re working in,” Williams said.  

One member is a woman whose child was part of a summer after-school program Williams organized years ago. She went on to participate in Williams’ homeowner program and take financial literacy courses. Williams later officiated her wedding. She eventually also joined Building Shalom’s staff.

“We see the ecosystem as a discipleship pathway,” Williams said. “It’s not merely that we’re giving to our neighbors. That’s both people that we’re serving, but also those that serve with us.”

Counting the cost of multiplication

There is a great cost to becoming a multiplying church, but it’s one that is “absolutely worth it,” both pastors shared. 

“Kingdom collaboration is not easy, and it takes sacrifice on both sides. That’s going to be needed in towns like ours,” said Williams. “Acts shows us in Scripture that multiplication happens this way.”

For Hartman, it will hurt to lose leaders and members who have joyfully and faithfully been part of the Redeemer family. But ultimately, he said, “Jesus always makes room for us, and so we need to make room for others.”

“Part of how we make room for others is being willing to sacrifice in our own congregations. … It’s also multiplying churches, so there’s room for more people in your city and your community to come hear the good news of the gospel and see it put on display.”

“For Redeemer to be one of 22 multiplying churches in North Carolina, at such a young age, is pretty remarkable,” said Mike Pittman, SendNC director. “We are excited to see so many multiplying churches, but we are asking the Lord to continue to increase that number for His glory, and to see it result in new churches being planted in every town, crossroad and region across our vast state.” 

Even as City of Shalom heads into their pre-launch season this fall, they are already living out the same sacrificial heart for multiplication. While they continue to raise funds for ministry, they have been able to support another planter in Tarboro with a gift. 

“We’re cultivating a culture from the very beginning that this is a collaborative work – not one church, but several advancing the kingdom,” said Williams.

City of Shalom will continue holding regular vision nights this fall, meeting in small groups and discipling the core team. They’re partnering with the nonprofit Building Shalom on outreach events, as they continue to build trust among the community. Their next vision night is Aug. 21. 

Redeemer has committed to at least three years of supporting City of Shalom financially, and championing the plant through encouragement and sending volunteers to help with different needs. 

N.C. Baptist churches can support church planting this fall through the North Carolina Missions Offering (NCMO). Gifts to the NCMO fund church planting efforts through SendNC, as well as Baptists on Mission and associational mission projects. Learn more and give at ncmissionsoffering.org. 

By Liz Tablazon, N.C. Baptist Contributing Writer