Becky and I were lifelong Midwesterners, but after attending church planting assessment in 2003, we were asked to consider some planting opportunities out west. Despite the blistering heat, we were drawn to this work and moved our young family out to the desert near Phoenix, a city where we knew no one. Now, over twenty years later, I can tell you what I’ve learned from planting and pastoring in the Valley of the Sun.
Hospitality in a Transient City
Phoenix has grown by over 1.6 million people since we moved here, so we weren’t the only ones who felt the desert draw. Phoenix is a city of transplants. Culturally, it’s like taking Southern California and the Midwest and slamming them together, making one new place.
Our primary demographic is transplanted Midwesterners, and the second largest people group is Californians. We have Midwestern sensibilities, but we were the ones who left. Phoenicians tend to be entrepreneurial and independent by nature. We have cinder block walls surrounding our backyards, allowing us to close our garage doors and live in seclusion.
In a city where most people are isolated and don’t have deep relational roots or extended family, Becky and I quickly saw that hospitality needed to be a focus of our ministry. We threw a Christmas party in our home that first year and invited everyone we knew. Much to our surprise, our house was filled with neighbors, new friends, and people who were part of our launch team. One of the unchurched neighbors who attended that first Christmas party later became a Christian and now is a leader in our church.
Authentic Community in an Unpretentious City
Like Southern California, our culture is contemporary and casual, with a marked lack of pretense. People are comfortable talking about issues of faith but don’t feel the need to pretend to be Christians or religious if they aren’t.
Authenticity can be a buzzword, but we saw that it was baked into our city’s ethos. We realized it would need to be an essential part of our culture to demonstrate the gospel’s beauty to our neighbors. Because Jesus is our righteousness and our peace, we don’t have to pretend to have it all together when we don’t. Our hope is in his perfect record so we can be honest with one another as we seek to follow Jesus in faithfulness.
Culture is Critical
Plans and strategies are necessary, but when planting a church, few things are more important than creating a healthy culture. Planters are under pressure to perform and often feel needy. It is tempting to be pulled by the opinions of others rather than leading by vision and conviction.
Planters create culture through hundreds of leadership decisions, but nothing is more critical than the health of the planter himself. The church will likely reflect the planter, so his spiritual health is vital. Planting a church exposes insecurities and fears, but the gospel speaks a better word to our insecurities.
We are sons and daughters, not orphans! Planters make unpopular decisions, but we have the approval of Jesus, so we don’t need the approval of others. We create healthy culture as we demonstrate our need for the gospel and show how the gospel is the solution to our heart’s greatest needs.
Patience is Required
Church planters are often driven, entrepreneurial, and results-oriented, but church plants require patience.
Here are some of the challenges of planting in Phoenix. With so many sunny days and outdoor activities, our city is distracted on weekends. It is a ghost town in summer for obvious reasons. Phoenix is mainly unchurched or de-churched, and those who are churched tend to prefer non-denominational settings.
Despite these challenges our church has steadily grown over the years. We have planted a daughter church and helped start a state-wide network. Our ministry to our people and the city has become more robust, but it has taken longer than I imagined and has required me to grow in patience.
Contentment is a Gift
Paul said he learned the secret of contentment (Philippians 4:11). By God’s grace, one of my worst idols (the envy of other pastors and churches) became one of my greatest joys. God taught me to be content with my church and celebrate what God is doing in and through others.
While the idol of covetousness robbed me of joy and took so much from me, the gift of contentment has only blessed me. Mainly, it has enabled me to stay and serve the church we planted twenty years ago, and I am eternally grateful that we have. I would be grieved to have missed the experience of knowing and seeing what this church has become. I have seen ordinary Christians do extraordinary things, living out their faith in tangible ways because of the gospel.
Friendship is Possible
Becky and I are blessed to have a community of friends outside of the church, but we are also blessed with profound friendships within the church. One of the main reasons we have stayed and cannot fathom leaving is the friends we have in our church. Many people caution against the pastor looking for friends at church, but I decided long ago that the rewards far outweighed the risks, and I have never regretted it.
We moved to a city unknown to us, where we were unknown, to plant a church that did not yet exist. What did we discover? God was there, waiting to show us he can use us in ways and places we could have never imagined.
Twenty years later, Phoenix is the home we hope never to leave. We are known and loved by more people than we ever could have imagined, and we are part of a church that is family to us. Above all, I have learned that God is faithful!
Scott Brown is the pastor of New Valley Church (PCA) in Chandler, Arizona.