Adventures in Church Planting
What Are You Waiting For — A Burning Bush?
It wasn’t that long ago that I sat in a meeting at one of our Open Bible national conventions and saw a graph displaying the decline of our movement — a movement I’ve grown up in and cherish. It was both difficult and saddening to watch that presentation. I appreciated the honesty of our leadership in not sugarcoating the statistics. But at the same time, I saw it as a challenge to rise up and take back what we’ve given up.
I’ve been an Open Bible pastor for many years and am currently doing part-time missions work in Africa via our Church Planters Training Academy.
As we prepare for another church planting academy in Liberia this summer, I find myself wanting to issue a challenge closer to home — to the men and women of Open Bible, USA. Specifically, I want to challenge you to seek God’s call on your life to plant a new church.
This isn’t a small ask. But it may be the most important one I can make.
Few tasks in ministry carry higher stakes — or greater promise — than planting a new church. As Tim Keller wrote in his article “Why Plant Churches?” “Virtually all of the great evangelistic challenges of the New Testament are basically calls to plant churches, not simply to share the faith.” That conviction is baked into our own denominational DNA. Our mission statement says it right out loud: make disciples, develop leaders, and multiply churches.
We currently have roughly a dozen active church plants across the United States: multicultural works, Hispanic congregations, urban plants, rural plants. My mother, Marcy Kopp, started what became the Church Planting Endowment Fund years ago to underwrite grants for exactly these kinds of works. That fund exists because she believed Open Bible should be planting churches. She was right. The question is whether we’re doing enough of it.
The most important factor in church planting isn’t what you think.
From years of researching church planting — research we use directly in guiding our efforts in Africa — I’ve learned something that surprises most people. The number one factor in a successful church plant isn’t the right location. It isn’t the budget. It isn’t even denominational support. Those things matter. But the single most important factor is the church planter.
John Maxwell has famously said of leadership, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” The same is true of church planting. Research consistently confirms that in the early life of a new church the readiness of the primary leader is the single most important factor in its success or failure. No other variable comes close.
So, the question worth asking is this: Are you that person?
Dr. Charles Ridley spent years studying effective church planters and identifying the characteristics that distinguish those most suited for the work. His research led to thirteen behavioral characteristics, including visioning capacity, the ability to relate to the unchurched, flexibility and adaptability under pressure, the capacity to build deep relationships, and the ability to recognize, develop, and release others into ministry according to their gifts. These aren’t personality preferences. They are field-tested predictors of whether a plant lives or dies.
Are you called?
Calling matters more than any characteristic on Ridley’s list. But calling rarely arrives in a vacuum. Someone usually names it first.
Years ago, a young evangelist named Butch Pluimer challenged me (and many others) to consider entering the ministry. We answered the call. I don’t know where I’d be without that challenge. The Apostle Paul did the same for Timothy. He pursued him, shaped him, and held him accountable. In his final letter, he charged Timothy directly: “Preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2 NKJV). And in 2 Timothy 2:2 he gave us the multiplication principle in a single sentence: “The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (NIV). Four generations of ministry transmission in one verse.
That’s the model: seasoned leaders who are passionate about church planting, deliberately seeking out the next generation of planters and issuing the challenge — not waiting for volunteers to raise their hands.
But let me say this plainly: every planter needs a coach. A mentor. Timothy needed Paul. A young person stepping into ministry needed someone older, wiser, steadier — someone who had already walked through the fire and could show him how to stand in it. Nothing has changed. A call to plant churches is vital, but so is having a mature believer to guide, correct, encourage, and steady the work. At the Academy, we insist that every planting team has a coach.
The single most important factor is the church planter.
Coaching is a gift and a calling, and it could be the perfect fit for retired pastors and missionaries. All that wisdom, all those miles, all those scars — someone starting their first church could draw from a seasoned minister’s lifetime of experience.
We need more Butch Pluimers. We need mature men and women in Open Bible who will look a younger leader in the eye and say: I think God has called you to plant a church. Have you prayed about it?
That challenge changed my life. It can change someone else’s. Is it your challenge to give? Don’t wait for a burning bush.
About the Author
Rich Kopp was born and raised in Rapid City, South Dakota, where he grew up attending Open Bible Church. After graduating from high school, he attended Open Bible College and went on to pastor Open Bible churches in Kansas, Iowa, Montana, and Colorado. Although retired from full-time ministry, Rich and his wife, Patti, now reside in Windsor, Colorado, where they continue serving part time as at-large missionaries with the Open Bible Missions Department. In 2016, Kopp and longtime friend and fellow alumnus Nicholm Mahabir founded the Church Planters Training Academy, which has since launched academies in Ghana, Liberia, and Kenya. Drawing from their own church planting experience, they have trained more than one hundred men and women, many of whom have gone on to plant churches across Africa. Their work is built on a simple conviction: churches should plant churches.
Our community is probably very different from yours. Our church is in Newberg, Oregon, about forty minutes from downtown Portland. It is a blend of agricultural wine country and Portland-style creativity and quirks. Honestly, we love it.
We held our first church service on September 21, 2025, but long before that first gathering, we were already trying to listen well. We met people, asked questions, paid attention to the needs around us, and looked for ways to partner with other churches and organizations in the community.
Two things from that early season have especially shaped our newborn church.
First, we gathered local leaders and community members and asked some simple questions: Why don’t people come to church? What needs in our community are not being met? Their answers were eye-opening. We learned there were no evening church services in town, and many people in Oregon spend weekends outdoors, hiking, or attending their kids’ games. We also heard recurring comments about a lack of community, connection, and joy.
Second, we met with Christian nonprofits in the area and asked what needs they were seeing that were still going unmet. Through those conversations, we discovered there was a need for a small furniture ministry to help local families move from transitional housing into more stable housing.
Over the last year as we’ve continued to get to know our community, we have tried some things. A few attempts have failed embarrassingly badly, and a few have felt like moments when God was opening a door a little wider. As a baby church that still feels like it is learning to crawl, I am sure there will be further adjustments as we continue discovering how we fit into God’s work here.
One thing that has worked well is starting Sunday evening services and serving a meal beforehand to help people connect intentionally. Some of our best moments of community have happened around those tables as we have literally shared food and life together. Of course, not every meal has been a success. One memorable failure was when I served my “famous” nachos with curdled, congealed queso sauce. People were gracious, but when the kids won’t even eat it, you know it is bad.
The furniture ministry has also become a meaningful part of our church’s new life. We rented a small, and I mean tiny, storage unit and filled it with enough furniture for one household. Once a month, Love INC. Newberg (an organization that mobilizes local churches to provide holistic support to individuals in need) sends us a referral for a family, and we get to deliver furniture, connect personally, and pray over them in their new home. It has been a beautiful way to bless families while also giving our church people a practical opportunity to serve and grow as disciples.
Recently, our leadership team worked through Carey Nieuwhof’s article, “Seven Disruptive Church Trends That Will Rule 2026.” As a church with only six months under our belt, the article gave us helpful things to discuss and pray through. Some of the trends felt encouraging; others felt sobering.
Sharing a meal before service has opened space for conversation, testimony, and response to what God is saying.
One point that especially stood out to us was “Preaching is shifting from presentation to encounter. Content is everywhere. People can listen to almost any sermon from almost anywhere in the world for free. What has become scarce is community, connection, and the experience of being present with God and with one another.”
That idea resonated deeply with what we are learning in Newberg. We have tried to make room for presence and encounter in the life of our church. Sharing a meal before service has opened space for conversation, testimony, and response to what God is saying. At times, we have even opened the microphone for people, including kids, to share what the Lord is doing in them. We have also held a consistent monthly worship and prayer night where we gather simply to seek God together and rest in His peace.
What works in our context may not work in yours. In fact, it probably will not. But that is part of the beauty of ministry.
Ministry is not about putting on a show or hosting an event. It is about encounter. It is about presence. We are trying to practice the gift of being present with God and with one another. And in an age of distraction, that is no small thing. We are all tempted to split our attention a hundred different ways — watching a show while scrolling on our phones at the same time. (Why do we do that? Pick one, people.)
What works in our context may not work in yours. In fact, it probably will not. But that is part of the beauty of ministry. Each of us gets to seek the Holy Spirit as we engage the unique people and needs in our own communities. So, try some different things; maybe some of them will stick. But the essential thing remains the same: the presence of the Holy Spirit.
And what always works, in every context, is the love of Jesus.
About the Author
Jordan Bemis earned his Bachelor’s in Pastoral Studies from Eugene Bible College (now New Hope Christian College) in 2006. During that time, God called Jordan to the mission field, and he earned his master’s degree in Cross-Cultural Communications from Fuller Seminary. In 2012, the family moved to Spokane, WA, where Jordan worked with World Relief for twelve years resettling refugees and equipping the church to serve immigrants. Throughout his time in ministry, Jordan has worked in youth, worship, and small group ministries. Now, God has called Jordan and Hannah on this new adventure of pastoring in Newberg, OR. Jordan and Hannah have three amazing kids: Asher and twins Elynora and Abel.
I knew in college that God was calling me to give my life to ministry in the Church as well as to teaching students. With determination and the excitement that only a 20-year-old, new Christian girl can have, I said yes and got truckin.’
A few years later, I met my husband at a church plant in Northeast Texas. We continued volunteering there for two years, got married in 2012, and within three months were hired as youth pastors in Beaumont. While we pastored, I also taught at a local middle school. My students began inviting classmates to youth group, and soon we were busing kids to church.
Despite the success, something in us was stirring. Texas was flat, Southeast Texas was humid, and we didn’t sense a long-term call to the Bible Belt. We’d always wanted to visit the Pacific Northwest, so one summer we took a two-week trip, visiting cities from Seattle to San Francisco. One thing stood out immediately: the lack of churches.
As we continued driving, something radical happened. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was home—even though I didn’t know a soul in the entire state. We felt a pull to be somewhere that desperately needed Jesus. We wanted sun and mountains, and for me, it had to be Oregon. When we returned home, the dreams began.
After research, prayer, more trips, and a vivid nighttime dream from God, we knew Bend, Oregon, was our destination. There are no “cultural” Christians here. Most of the population wants nothing to do with Jesus. We felt called to live as faithful followers of Jesus in this place and eventually to help plant a church.
I was determined not to be another example of an angry, condemning Christian, but instead a listener and a questioner.
Within three and a half years of moving to Bend, we took a youth ministry position with an Open Bible church in Redmond, about twenty-five minutes away. It was a meaningful season, but God continued to remind us why He had brought us west. Six months into that role, COVID shut everything down. During that time, our lead pastor, Chuck Gustafson, invited us to attend a church-planting conference and asked whether we had ever considered planting a church. Many conversations later, we found ourselves flying to an “assessment center” to determine whether we were fit to be church planters. Joke’s on us—they said yes.
That confirmation aligned with what we already sensed. We knew the specific area of southeast Bend where we felt God calling us, and we began taking “dream drives.” The moment we entered one particular new-build community, I knew: this was our neighborhood.
On September 10, 2023, Pine Hills Church held its first gathering at Silver Rail Elementary. That same year, I began teaching at a middle school on the affluent side of Bend. The school was progressive and open to nearly everything except Christianity. Though nervous, I chose to be honest about who I was. I put our church sticker on my water bottles and added to our “Tell Your Story” bulletin board that I was a co-pastor of a new church. My openness led to questions that I had to tiptoe around or answer privately.
I quickly felt more observed by both students and staff. Students shared fears that I would judge them or that I would stop caring for them if they were honest. They had all heard stories about “Christians.” I became even more intentional about being a nonjudgmental, nonanxious presence. I was determined not to be another example of an angry, condemning Christian, but instead a listener and a questioner. For some of my students, I was the first Christian they had ever truly known. By simply being honest about my faith, walls built by misinformation and fear began to fall.
God had called me not only to ministry in the Church, but also in the classroom.
Over that first year, I built trust with fellow staff members, my students, and their parents. Near the end of the year, I received an email from Ashley, the mother of my student Carter. Ashley had been deeply involved in New Age spirituality. She intentionally introduced her son to many belief systems, everything except Christianity. But Carter had begun asking questions and had mentioned “Mrs. Contreras’s church.” I hadn’t realized how closely he’d been listening, but he had. That June, Ashley asked if they could visit our church.
The very next Sunday, they walked in, observed quietly, and listened. After the service, Carter approached me, eyes gleaming. He loved it! Then weeks passed with no return. A month later, they were back.
Ashley told me she had felt compelled to begin reading the Bible. Within months, she was on a quest to discover everything within it; she was hungry, and she was finding answers. Carter gave his life to Jesus, and so did Ashley. On Sunday, July 27, 2025, we got to baptize them both in the Deschutes River. That moment was a powerful reminder that God had called me not only to ministry in the Church, but also in the classroom. His Spirit empowers us to live boldly and wisely wherever He places us.
All of us are called to ministry. Jesus’ command in Matthew 28 to go into all the world wasn’t just for pastors or church planters; it was for everyone. Teachers, lawyers, parents, janitors, coaches—anyone with breath in their lungs is called to make much of Jesus. The calling is simple: listen well, build trust, and love faithfully. When we do, we become the hands and feet of Jesus, right where we are.
About the Author
Nicole Contreras is a full-time wife, mom, pastor, and teacher living in Bend, Oregon. Her hobbies include reading, writing, shopping, snuggling with her daughters and her dogs, and being with family! Originally from Texas, Nicole and her husband, Aaron, moved to Oregon in August 2016, then planted Pine Hills Church with their two daughters, Aubree and Ellee, in September 2023. Nicole and Aaron are typical Bendites who love coffee, hikes, camping, mountains, snow, and being outside.
At thirteen, I encountered God, and His love transformed me. Since then, I have seen His hand throughout my life, and church planting has played a central role in my story. In 2001, my parents were given the opportunity to plant an Open Bible Hispanic Church in Burbank, California. It would require a move from our current home in Bell Gardens, which is about 22 miles away from Burbank. At fifteen, I wasn’t very happy about the thought of changing churches, let alone high schools. However, my parents felt the need to explore the opportunity. Despite my initial hesitancy, the day we went to see the church was the day my heart changed. I remember entering through the front doors and sensing something special as I looked around. God was opening my eyes to all the church could become. My parents prayed and ultimately made the decision to plant the church and move our family to Burbank.
Soon after the move, they began having Sunday services. The church consisted of my parents, my little brother, and me. My mom would play the piano and lead worship while I attempted to play the drums on the “vintage” drum set that was there. My dad would preach to the three of us week after week. It wasn’t until the sixth month that we would welcome our first church member. Over time others came, and others also left, but there were always those that stayed. Looking back, I can recall so many different stories that showed me the good, the bad, and the ugly of planting and pastoring. I didn’t know it yet, but God was preparing me for what was ahead, not only through my parents’ experience but through what He was doing in my heart. He was maturing me through every team I led, every gap I filled, and every tear I shed. Maybe my parents didn’t realize it at the time, but in their instruction, correction, and creation of space for me to grow, they were investing in the future: the future of our church and the future of God’s Kingdom.
…my parents didn’t realize it at the time, but in their instruction, correction, and creation of space for me to grow, they were investing in the future…
As the years passed, visitors would walk into the church during worship and leave because they didn’t understand Spanish. It was in 2016 that God began to stir in my heart a desire to start a ministry in English, and in February of 2017 God opened the door for me to start an English Bible study at my parents’ church. By this time, I was married to my husband Victor, and we had our daughter Olivia. On the week of our first Bible study, I found out I was pregnant. After a year of trying to conceive, my son Lucas was on the way. However, after giving birth to our healthy baby boy, I became very ill due to complications from the delivery. We had no choice but to put a hold on the Bible study. Little did I know the next five years would bring some of the most difficult seasons in my life. But as Psalm 30:5 says, “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (NIV). I came out of those years stronger and with more fire than ever.
By the spring of 2023, due to my mom’s declining health, I began helping my Dad with preaching at our Friday night services. As time passed, God began to fiercely tug at my heart about what I had left unfinished in 2017. Our church still had a desperate need for an English ministry. I shared this burden with my husband, and we realized this time the stakes were higher and the need had become personal. Our own kids were missing out on certain aspects of church because of the language barrier. This ministry would not only bless our city, but the generations behind us as well. I began to pray for God’s will and knew it wouldn’t be an English Bible study but a new English church. I was filled with urgency and passion for this call. That is when I returned to my INSTE Level Two courses to prepare further, and as my mom’s health stabilized, I shared the vision with my parents. Soon after this, I applied for my pastoral credentials and received my license in August 2024. By October, my parents were on board as our “mother” or “sending” church, and we began to prepare for Salt and Light Church.
… I tell you, never lose heart because God never changes His mind on who He made you to be.
We are now working with the Church Multiplication Collective and our mother church to prepare for a launch in March of 2026. I’m happy to share that we have had a successful Vision Night as well as three Revival Nights this past summer. God has been showing up, and we continue moving forward with weekly Bible studies and team meetings. The road of church planting isn’t easy. It takes patience, faith, and a lot of courage. I’ve learned that things don’t always fall the way you envision they will, and the people you expect to join aren’t always the ones God has for the journey. There will be times your calling will be tested and tried. But I tell you, never lose heart because God never changes His mind on who He made you to be. Whether you are called to church planting, missions, or something else, ministry always starts with a yes to the call. God will give you what you need and who you need to build His Kingdom. Our God is the God who provides, and He will never fail. He is and forever will be.
Melissa Alvarez has her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from California State University Northridge and has gone through the INSTE program. She is a second-generation Mexican American who grew up in the Open Bible Hispanic Ministries. She is bilingual and has used her gifts to minister in Spanish and in English. Her parents planted a Hispanic church in Burbank, California, in 2001, and she is now in the process of planting an English church in the same building. She is passionate about her family and about revival. She is married to her husband, Victor, and they have two children.