We love stories from the field for all of us to get a better connection to our churches and to be encouraged by what God is doing. This is great story from Zeeland Michigan that is published in this month’s New Horizons magazine. We are sharing it here for greater reach and encouragement.
The author is Michael Schout, pastor of Grace Fellowship in Zeeland, Michigan. New Horizons, March 2024.
Three years ago, I told the story in these pages of the beginning of Grace Fellowship Church in Zeeland, Michigan (see “One Church Planter’s Journey,” May 2021). A daughter of Harvest OPC in Wyoming, Michigan, Grace Fellowship was planted in 2018 as a recipient of the Seed and Sower Fund. In 2023, we concluded support from the Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension. What’s the best way to tell the story of our development and growth over the last five years? Since “people are more important than things” (to quote John Shaw), I’d like to tell the story from the perspective of the various people here whom God has been transforming through the power of the gospel.
Needy and Needed
But before I do that, I want to share two truths that have been foundational to Grace Fellowship. The first comes from Ed Welch, who says that we in the church are both “needy and needed.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said this, repeated this, and have gone back to this in these first five years of church planting. It’s one of those statements that is part of the DNA of our church. We are all needy, which means the gospel really is our only source of power, strength, and hope. We need the gospel not just to get us saved but to keep us growing, which is why we often talk about walking with limps. From the leadership down, all of us are sheep before any of us are shepherds. And all of us are severely broken and incredibly weak.
But we’re also needed. Not just some of us. All of us. Every single person who walks into our church. We’re all members of the same body, with different functions, varying gifts, and tailored usefulness. These twin truths—needy and needed—have been an anchor for us as we’ve welcomed people from all different backgrounds.
Gospel Doctrine + Gospel Culture
The second big idea that has been vital is what Ray Ortlund in his book The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ calls “Gospel Doctrine + Gospel Culture.” It’s the doctrine of the gospel that is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, but it’s the culture that flows from that doctrine that will start to transform a community.
One of my favorite quotes from Ortlund, which I’ve shared in all our new members classes, goes like this:
The doctrine of grace creates a culture of grace. When the doctrine is clear and the culture is beautiful, that church will be powerful. But there are no shortcuts to getting there. Without the doctrine, our culture will be weak. Without the culture, the doctrine will seem pointless. . . . If by God’s grace we hold the two together—gospel doctrine and gospel culture—people of all ages will more likely come to our churches with great joy. (21–22)
Some of our folks have grown up with solid gospel doctrine, but the culture has been missing. There’s little joy and lots of condemnation. So when they see this kind of gospel culture, they can hardly believe it. Others have come with little to no understanding of the gospel at all. For them, hearing the gospel preached, that Christ has redeemed sinners, has been a spiritual awakening.
Who Is Coming?
But now to the stories of people. And I want to give glory to God because he has done it. Our boast is in Christ: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (1 Cor. 3:6–7).
One of my favorite stories is of a woman in her seventies, who was out walking one day to Dollar General. Because our church building is right next door, she saw our sign out front. Curious, she asked our secretary if the “Orthodox” in our name meant that we are Jewish. Well, our secretary was ready with an answer and invited her to our church, and she’s been with us ever since.
Then there’s the story of a single woman in her fifties who worked at one of Zeeland’s newest and favorite restaurants, StrEATs Taco Kitchen. My wife had been meeting there with various women in the church for fellowship and struck up a conversation with her. This woman reads lips because she is mostly deaf. My wife invited her to church—and she came. She shared that she had been looking for a church where she felt safe ever since losing her mom. Now she is an active participant and attends an adult Sunday School small group for adults with various disabilities. She’s an incredible encouragement.
Another story is that of a couple in their sixties who moved to the west side of the state and were looking for expository preaching, thanks to the influence of author Nancy Guthrie. Our website includes our core values—one of which is expository preaching—so when the wife researched churches in the Zeeland area, she found ours, and they’ve been here ever since.
A couple in their forties with several kids came from a very religious background, but they were weary and wounded, longing for gospel freedom. By God’s grace, they have found it—to their absolute joy. Now they can’t get enough of Christ-centered preaching as they soak in the amazing news that Christ came for sinners.
When a man in his fifties became sick with cancer, the whole church felt it. Eventually, he had to be moved to a hospice facility. Someone suggested that since he couldn’t worship with us, perhaps we could send some of our body to worship with him via livestream. Those were beautiful weeks for the members who had a chance to worship at Trillium Woods with this fellow member before the Lord called him home in late October. While there, this member even had the opportunity to give testimony of the gospel to a Buddhist intern—and so his prayer that God would use his cancer for good was answered in marvelous ways.
One of the more recent stories is that of a young man in his twenties. He’s homeless and was found by a Zeeland police officer in the local splash pad one evening. That officer and I graduated from high school together. When the man shared with the officer that he’s longing for community, the officer recommended that he reach out to me. He’s been worshipping with us for the past few months, and a couple in our church has offered him a place to stay. His eyes are starting to come alive. He is attending two men’s Bible studies, and an older gentleman in our church is taking him for lunch every Friday.
These are just some of the people who’ve been impacted because of the power of the gospel and because our mother church, Harvest OPC, had the vision and took the risk to plant a church. Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us, supported us, and ministered to us in these first five years. It is wonderful to be part of the OPC. We are humbled and full of gratitude. To God be the glory.