Drop from the Sky, Land and Roll

Fasten your seatbelts. A fighter pilot trainer-turned-priest is planting a new parish in west Plano with an eye toward reaching the large un-churched population and resurrecting Episcopal presence in the area.

The Rev. Leslie Stewart has already begun the hard work of creating a church out of thin air by gathering a cadre of talented lay leaders to grow small groups before they formally come together as Church of the Resurrection.

Stewart said she has longed to see an Episcopal church in western Plano particularly since the former Episcopal parish, Christ Church, left the diocese in 2008 to join the Anglican Church of North America. Diocesan leadership agreed. It’s great to come full-circle, said Canon to the Ordinary, the Rev. Michael Gilton. “Resurrection will again give the diocese a mission in western Plano, a mission field in which we’ve not had a presence in a long time.”

The city’s changing demographics make the area a smart choice with 65 percent un-churched, a growing Asian presence and one of the largest populations of retired veterans in the nation. “The greatest factor is the tremendous amount of growth and turnover due to new jobs,” Stewart said. Four major companies have moved their headquarters to Plano, bringing with them young families. Plano also plans to build a veteran clinic to address the growing number of that demographic in the city. “As a veteran, I can form partnerships to minister to that segment and draw them to my church,” said Stewart who some days wears combat boots with her collar. “My background in Air Force special operations and as an aerospace physiologist, serve as good hooks to begin those conversations.” Plans are already underway to host a “Vet-Together” on Veteran’s Day, which will plant the seeds for transformation.

Parachuting into unchartered territory is not new for Stewart, who during her military career trained jet pilots how to safely drop from the sky, land and roll. Stewart expects to do the same as a church planter and has had some success with such an effort on a smaller scale. While executing an Explore God program in Lewisville, she was able to quickly assemble a group of 15 people to explore questions about their faith, five of which had no affiliation with a church. By the seventh week, no one wanted the group to end, so they continued with a four-week follow-up discussion: Knowing God. By the end the group was performing mission tasks and had formed a solid community in a matter of a few weeks.

Resurrection will be a hybrid model of a church-without-walls and have a nurturing connection to the congregation from St. Philip’s in Frisco. “My model engages them in service and fellowship first, which will be more successful in catching them, than it would if we started with worship,” Stewart said. The first few months will include starting five small groups around various interests with the purpose of building community. “The groups will become sticky and start to share life together before moving to the next phase where they will mobilize in mission around service projects.”

Interestingly, St. Philip’s, which now has more than 600 for average-Sunday-attendance, was planted out of Christ Church before it left the diocese. The Rev. Greg Methvin, rector of St. Philip’s said his parish is excited about helping with the start of a church plant. “St. Philip’s exists because a priest responded bravely to God’s call, and lay people stepped beyond their normal Sunday routine to build a church for others,” Methvin said. “We were born out of courageous faith and want to cultivate that kind of faith and faith-fueled leaders for the future.”

Initially, Resurrection small groups will meet in public places such as restaurants, and in the homes of lay leaders. The church plant does not have a building or property yet, but Stewart envisions a sustainable, “green” church that will include, solar panels, geo-thermal heating and cooling, and a spiritual garden for reflection and prayer. “Green initiatives are a big movement in Plano and I hope to have a strategic partnership with government entities in the design of our church and grounds. We want to hold out a theology of God as Creator and Sustainer, because we are called to be good stewards of our world.”

Gilton, who successfully planted St. Paul’s in Prosper in 2008, said that new church plants have accounted for a big chunk of diocesan growth in the last decade, and are exciting because they grow the kingdom of God. “New church plants are highly evangelistic for the simple reason that they have to be to survive and grow. Before Gilton left St. Paul’s to work at the diocese, the church completed construction of a new worship space and school, with 140 in average Sunday attendance. “I fully expect that we’ll look back on planting Resurrection and see a bastion of evangelism, mission, and discipleship that will, in collaboration with the other churches surrounding it, be transforming the people of Collin County by the Gospel.”

Methvin agreed saying that bringing new people to Christ also energizes the faith of those already in the Church. “New churches uniquely activate the faith of its members while drawing new people to connect with God. Church plants embody evangelistic fervor merely by their existence.”

To get that fervor started, parish leaders will weave service-to-others into the fabric of Resurrection because mission is a core value of the church. “We initially will gather around service in our community to demonstrate Jesus’ model of servant leadership, proclaiming in word and deed the love of God in Christ (John 13:1-17),” Stewart said. One of the service projects planned is installing Little Free Libraries at Salvation Army locations throughout Dallas. Little Free Libraries are small weather-proofed and decorated boxes filled with books so that people will borrow and donate them in an effort to promote literacy, build community and share ideas.

In addition to mission, other core principals include being a storied church, an inviting church, and a church of good stewards. “We are a storied people,” Stewart said. People hunger and thirst to find God in their own story. Part of making disciples is giving them the eyes to see and teaching them to tell their story so they can reach those who have not yet walked with God.” Stewart, who has a strong background as a spiritual director, plans to lead spiritual practices that will lead parishioners into a deeper connection with their faith.

Because Resurrection is a church plant with material needs, its core value of stewardship is important. “Our most central value is from Romans 12:1-8. Most people don’t think about stewardship when they read that passage about offering your bodies as a living sacrifice. But I believe stewardship is all that I do, with all that I am and all that I have, after I say, ‘I believe.’ To grow up in Christ we want to be good stewards of all the gifts God has given. We want people to make themselves and their lives an offering,” Stewart said.

To be successful, Resurrection will also need to be an “inviting” church, not just “welcoming.” Church planting is by nature an evangelical endeavor. Parishioners must continually invite their family, friends and neighbors. Stewart gives them this charge: “give, grow and go. Offer who you are, grow in discipleship, and like the first witnesses to the resurrection, tell people ‘I have seen the Lord’ and invite them to come and see too.”