cultivate engage restore

inside... What?

The vision and values of Aletheia College Park

Why?

Why plant a church in College Park, MD?



Who?

The Stephens’ call to College Park

How?

How are we going to do it, and how can you be involved?

When?

Timeline for the plant

Doctrine and Partnerships

Vision and Values of Aletheia College Park Vision Cultivate a Gospel-centered community. (Acts 2:42-47) Engage the world with the good news. (Romans 10:13-15) Restore our city. (Revelation 21:5)

Values Gospel-centered Teaching – We believe that the Bible tells a story of God’s redemption and renewal of His creation and that this story centers on Jesus. Therefore we strive to communicate how every page of Scripture points to the person and work of Jesus through every sermon, Bible study, and daily interaction in which we engage. Community - We believe that this Gospel message is most clearly proclaimed and embodied in the context of biblical community. Therefore, we will strive to create a culture in which our people “do life” together and will invite those who do not know Christ along on the journey. Students – We love students and believe that God has uniquely positioned them to mobilize the Gospel around the world. We

will strive to reach out to the local universities with the Gospel message and to equip students to be missionaries in their given contexts, both current & future. Families - The renewal of family is also a part of God’s grand redemptive plan. We believe ministry must begin and be focused within the family. We encourage and challenge fathers to be the pastors of their families. We view homes as centers for growth and mission. We desire for young men and women to be in ministry alongside Gospel-centered families. City Renewal – God’s redemptive story is about more than rescuing individual souls. God’s redemptive work is comprehensive and includes the renewal of culture. Our aim is to work toward the renewal of the university and our city. Our goal is to establish a church that combines both of these worlds in beautiful diversity. Together through the power of the Gospel, we will seek, both corporately and individually, to bring healing and redemption to the broken aspects of the University of Maryland and the City of College Park. Multiplication – The Gospel leads to transformation and transformation will lead to multiplication of both individuals and churches. We seek to create a culture of multiplication as seen in 2 Timothy 2:2. In addition to multiplying individual disciples, our aim is to plant churches consistently in the Mid-Atlantic region and across the country. We will not determine our metric for success solely by the numerical growth that we experience but also by how well we multiply for kingdom growth.

Why start a church in College Park, MD? Why start another church? Before we turn to the specifics of College Park, it’s worth noting the following statistics: • More than 80% of the churches in the U.S. have plateaued or are declining. Since 1991, the number of adults in the U.S. who do not attend church has nearly doubled. • The largest unreached people group in America are the twenty-somethings. • 51.9 million people in the U.S. between the ages of 20-38 are not connected with the existing churches. (Gallup Poll) • Eight million twenty-somethings alive today will no longer attend church by the time they turn 30. *(The above statistics were taken from New Church Initiatives, “Does the U.S. Need More Churches?” by Glenn Smith, http://nciglobal.org/morechurches/index.htm.) In light of these sobering statistics, it is clear that there is a great need to plant Gospel-centered churches in this nation, but why College Park? College Park is considered a suburb of Washington, D.C., and is home to many employees and students in the D.C. area. On top of that, College Park is home to the University of Maryland, which is the largest university in the state with roughly 40,000 graduate and undergraduate students. Needless to say, the “twenty-somethings” described in the statistics above are a

huge part of this demographic. Its proximity to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and the existence of a major university make College Park a place of great need for Gospel-centered churches who have a vision to plant other churches. Our efforts will hone in on the university and join together students and families in the beautiful diversity that only the Gospel can bring. Several campus organizations exist at the university and are doing great things on the campus, but there are very few churches reaching students. The region clearly needs a local church to reach out strategically to the campus with a heart to renew both the campus and the city around us. Apart from College Park,in MDCollege - Google Maps Page 1 of 1 the need Park, the transient nature of the students and young professionals makes College Park a prime place for mobilizing church planting efforts all around the globe. These Park, MD factors, and a clearAddress callCollege from God, have led the Stephens family to plant our lives in this city for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

The Stephens’ Call to College Park I was born in the hills of North Carolina in 1977, and as a young child, I came to a very basic understanding of my need for a Savior. I asked Jesus into my life and was baptized. In college God began to redirect my life totally in two ways. First, I met my lovely wife there, and I was blessed to marry Denise in 2001. Here God also placed a call on my life to full-time ministry. I graduated from Western Carolina University in 2000 and enrolled in Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where for the next 4 years God cultivated my walk with Him and began to clarify His call on my life. I graduated from SEBTS in 2004 and accepted a call to be the youth pastor/ associate pastor of Gethsemane Baptist Church in Glenwood, MD. I ministered there for over 7 years, and my first two boys, Wyatt and Ty, were born there. In Maryland God began to place a clear pull on my family’s heart for church planting. Through 3 years of ministering to college students, God clarified that His call was for us to plant a church in a collegiate context. In June 2011 we relocated to Harrisonburg, VA to be a church planting apprentice in the Aletheia Network. Since then God has grown my family spiritually, and numerically, as our third son, Levi, was born in November 2012. During our time in Harrisonburg, God clearly communicated to us that He was indeed drawing us back to Maryland. As we meditated and prayed over the statistics in the previous section, we realized that we had an undeniable heart for the area. We have submitted to this leading and will relocate in June of 2013 to start this work.

How is this going to happen? How we will prepare? Training/Networking - We have intentionally put ourselves through a training apprenticeship with Aletheia Church in Harrisonburg and have gone through several different assessment processes. Our desire is to foresee any ministry “blindspots” that we may overlook ourselves and to be trained and equipped through these processes. We also believe that it is crucial to network with other churches for this work and other future planting efforts. Fund the work - We will work diligently to raise support for this plant as laid out in the budget following this section. Team Building - We are committed to thoroughly assess and equip people to join this work. Obviously some of our initial team may be built in our context within the first year, but our desire is to take a team with us for this work.

How you can partner? Give - Funds are a needed component of this work and are a great way for multiple people to be involved. Our goal is to be a fully self-sustaining body by year five. Because a huge part of our target will be students, this will inevitably take a bit longer than other plants. Our year one budget will be $165,000. We plan to raise funds to make up 65% of our second year budget, 35% of our third year budget, and 10% of our fourth year budget. This means we will need to raise $150,000 for the first year and roughly $385,000 for the succeeding four years. These funds will go towards staffing costs, administrative needs, promotional projects, evangelistic efforts, and facility rental.

Pray - Church planting is not a business venture. It is spiritual warfare as we advance the Kingdom of God in a broken world. In light of this fact, it is absolutely imperative that we engage this battle on our knees. Pray for the Stephens family as we prepare for these battles. Pray for the team that goes with us as we sacrifice much for this work. Pray for the University of Maryland and for the city of College Park, that God would rescue lives and renew the city. Pray that we are able to multiply disciples, community groups, and churches. Join the team - God will call some of you to the front-lines in this effort. Maybe God is calling you to relocate and root yourself in this city for the glory of God and His mission. We are committed to building a team of people to go with us and be the church in College Park… maybe you are being led to join. If so, please contact Rob and start the assessment process with him.

Timeline of the Plant Winter of 2013 - Training and equipping - Fundraising - Team development Spring of 2013 - Solidify planting team - Prepare for move to College Park - Fundraising Summer of 2013 - Relocate to College Park, MD - Increased networking - Develop relationships in the city and on campus - Community group(s) development Fall of 2013 - Further team training - Prepare needed organization systems for launch - City renewal projects - Develop campus connections Spring 2014 - Multiply community groups - Purchase needed materials for launch Fall 2014 - Launch weekly worship services

Doctrine and Partnerships We affirm the Bible as the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. In addition, we partner with and affirm the doctrinal statements of: Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware. Learn more about the BCMD at www.bcmd.org Mid-Maryland Baptist Association. You can find more information about MMBA at www.wecare.org Acts 29 Network See http://www.acts29network.org/about/doctrine/ Aletheia Network You can read more about the Aletheia Network and find more information on our churches at www.aletheianetwork.com

I am delighted to offer my unqualified endorsement of Rob Stephens to be the lead church planter and pastor of Aletheia College Park. For two years, I have experienced firsthand the many ways he has been a gift to Aletheia Harrisonburg and to the Kingdom of God, and I know he will do a great job planting at the University of Maryland. I have watched Rob build relationships with college students and families in his neighborhood and have seen God use Rob in these relationships to draw broken people to Himself and bring them to spiritual maturity. His heart is broken for the lost in Maryland, and I am not surprised that God has called him to the ministry of reconciliation in that place. Rob gathers, shepherds, loves, learns, teaches, and leads. He will be a phenomenal asset to the Kingdom in that place and is worthy of whatever support you can provide. I hope to be ministering alongside him in the Aletheia Network for many years to come. -- Matthew W. Light, Assistant Pastor, Aletheia Church Harrisonburg