Church Planting
Why It Matters To Us
In 1853, ten men and women gathered at the Fletcher home to plant First Baptist Church in the small, mud-street village of Minneapolis. By 1901, these entrepreneurs, empowered by the Holy Spirit, had planted 14 churches throughout the Twin Cities. Their gospel-centered ambition and pioneering spirit followed the railway west through an innovative railcar ministry, resulting in 70 more churches.
It has been over 125 years since the last church plant, but like our forerunners, we are committed to seeing the gospel advance in our city. We rejoice in what God has done in the past, but we also eagerly anticipate that God is going to do abundantly more—beyond what we can even imagine. The same Spirit that led the Fletchers to establish roots along the banks of the Mississippi is calling us to develop pastors anchored in the gospel, and catalytically send them to renew our city with the hope of Jesus.
Through an intentional Pastoral Residency, we are raising up the next generation of pastors equipped to understand their cultural context, faithfully communicate the hope of Jesus, and strategically plant churches centered in the gospel.
Get to Know Our Church Planting Resident
Andy joined the River City Church Family in the summer of 2025 as our Church Planting Resident. He and his wife Emily have spent significant time praying, preparing, and gathering a core team. They are planting Renew Church in partnership with River City Church, Sojourn Church Midtown, and Harbor Network. Renew Church is joining Jesus daily in the renewal of all things, and you can learn more about how to prayerfully partner with them through their website.
Want to learn more about church planting?
We believe church planting is an essential strategy for deep and lasting gospel renewal within a city and region. In his article called “Why Plant Churches?” Timothy Keller argues that dynamic, extensive church planting will have the most consistent gospel impact of any strategy the church employs, and it is not even close.
To be clear, when we speak about church planting, we are not simply talking about starting a new church service. We have a vision for church planting to emerge out of faithful evangelism and discipleship that leads to a local church.
If you want to learn more about how you can be involved in church planting as a core team member, financial partner, church planter, or any other number of ways, let us know, and we would love to help you join the movement of church planting that God is birthing here in the Twin Cities.
