Contrast Church
Launched - Dec 2021 | Location - Grandview, Ohio | Planter - Trey Gilmore | Website - www.contrast.church
Residency
I (Trey) took the wild leap to move my wife and I to Columbus, OH (from Arizona!) to be a church planting resident with Movement Church & Three Creeks Church. We started in Sept. 2019 and that entire year was so special to me, my spiritual growth, leadership development and passion for reaching the lost.
At first I was skeptical that what was promised would actually be delivered. I was shocked that I would not only receive $100,000 to start the church, but another 3 years of support on top of that to make sure we would have a great runway towards being self-sustaining. If that wasn’t enough, they gave me free liberty to ask and pursue anyone at their church to join our launch team and church plant.
They didn’t just deliver, but exceeded my expectations. As a church we recieved over $300,000 over the three years, they sent 40 people with us, and have spent hours with us in training, advice, resources, and more. This residency gave me the tools and space to learn, to craft a solid start for a church plant, and they also stayed with me the entire way.
The residency balanced a perfect level of accountability and training, but also freedom and creativity needed to cultivate a context-focused church plant. There are few church planters I encounter who had more education, resources, funding, training and open handedness that I experienced with MCN. If there was one-year where I was felt poured into and loved well, but also pushed to grow and step up as a leader, this was it.
Current Church Status
God has been too good to us. Now in 2024, we have grown from our launch team of 50 (in 2021) to over 230 people who call Contrast home. We are self-sustaining, and have exceeded every forecast and numerical number we’ve planned, and got to do it all with our own unique philsophy for the context of the Grandview area. We have 23 CORE groups active and going which model deep levels of discipleship. We have 9 missional communities which seek to be a space for all people to be in a healthy environment through a serving opportunity, affinity, or network of people. We have seen several people come to follow Jesus for their first time, baptized over a dozen people, several people find freedom from addiction, and more.
We also had a three-year lease in a tiny space we rented which we have quickly grew out of, which brings us to today. We raised $360,000 for our capital campaign to purchase a building across the street. We are currently renovating and moving into it in the coming weeks.
Lastly, we are excited about now being a bigger player in the MCN to host a resident and send a campus/plant to other need areas in Columbus.
