In the late summer of 2014, God called us to plant a Gospel driven church in the Kansas City area.  At the time, I lived in the Wichita, KS area. I had lived and pastored in the KC area for many years prior to that.  Some friends in this area also sensed God leading them to serve with a new church plant.  We noticed and were gripped by the recent population growth of the Raymore-Peculiar area, which is among the fastest growing in the state.  As we prayed about this, God broke our heart for the lostness in the area.  I began making inquiries and praying with Dr. Hammer, area pastors, and MBC/SBC church planting leaders concerning the need for a new church in the area.  God opened the door for us to pioneer the plant of Pathway Church in Raymore.

I moved to Raymore on January 31, 2015 along with my wife Lynda and our two  daughters.  Our son is a student at Wichita State University.  Our sponsoring church, Antioch Southern Baptist in Harrisonville, has been tremendously helpful.  From March through July of 2015, our launch team met regularly to pray and plan for the launch.  In addition to efforts to witness for Christ each day, we prayer-walked, canvassed, and served free refreshments at two large community events.  We also conducted a VBS in a local park.  I have conducted a weekly evangelistic Bible study in the break room of a large business in our community.

In July of 2015, a local Baptist Church of a different denomination, which was on the brink of closing, contacted us and eventually gave us their building and property.  We launched Sunday Morning services in September of 2015.

Pathway Church seeks to make the real Jesus non-ignorable through worship, Life Groups, and service to our community in Christ’s name.  We are amazed at how God has brought some people to trust Christ as their Savior and provided godly servants and leaders.  We see this as a missionary endeavor as we seek to enter the everyday world of lost people and lovingly point them to Jesus.  We are targeting unreached people here.  God has called us to start other new church plants in the KC area as well.  Please pray that God draws the lost here to Himself through our efforts to make Jesus nonignorable in our lives and words among them.  Many young families live here.  Please pray for resources to give the building a make-over, especially in an area for children.

 

This article, written by Pastor Mike Roy, was originally published in the May 2016 edition of our Missions & Ministry Newsletter.