From Pancakes to New Life: Our Church Planting Journey

I want to share a bit of our church planting journey—how we got from point A to point B, and how God showed up in the most unexpected place.

My wife Adele and I have been in pastoral ministry for about nine years. We’ve loved every church we’ve served, but over time, we began to feel a growing unrest. It wasn’t that anything was wrong—it’s just that we weren’t seeing many unchurched or lost people walking through the doors. That tug on our hearts led us to pray about something new.

Eventually, through Indiana Yearly Meeting, the Lord began to stir in us a clear calling: church planting. We didn’t know where or how at first, but we said yes. And that yes opened the door to a path we never could’ve planned.

We discovered that in Muncie, Indiana—right near where we live—87% of the population is unchurched. That statistic hit us hard. Could this be the place? As we kept praying, the answer became clear.

Now, most people expect a church plant to begin in a school or a rented facility—but God had something different in mind. We had a connection at a local International House of Pancakes. Yep, IHOP. So we said yes again.

We began meeting on Wednesday nights at 6:30. To our surprise, about 50 people started coming regularly. At the end of each service, we’d see a line of waiters and waitresses asking for prayer. God was showing up, right there among the coffee pots and syrup bottles.

One night, a woman named Tia reached out after seeing us on social media. She told us she felt seen—like maybe her baggage wouldn’t be too much for us. We invited her to a service, and that night she encountered the Holy Spirit in a powerful way. Later she told us she had been planning to end her life that evening—but instead, she found hope, healing, and new life in Christ. Today, she’s walking as a brand-new creation.

Church planting isn’t easy. It’s messy and exhausting. But if you’re feeling that tug, like we did, let me encourage you: you don’t have to have it all figured out. Just give Jesus your “yes.” He’ll meet you in the ordinary. He’ll show up in ways you can’t imagine. He’s doing it here, and He can do it through you too.

Thanks for letting me share a piece of our story. Blessings to you as you follow where He leads.