Church plant

We believe church planting is one of the most effective ways to make disciples and expand the reach of the gospel. Rather than simply growing one church larger by addition, our desire is to multiply healthy, gospel-centered churches that reach new communities. Church planting has been part of our DNA since our own beginning, and we see it as a natural expression of the Great Commission. Our prayer is to become a sending church that regularly raises up and releases pastors, leaders, and members to establish thriving churches. For more detail, check out our Church Planting Vision and Philosophy document.

As we sought to discern where God was calling us to plant, we studied numerous communities throughout our area- including Noblesville, Pendleton, Anderson, and others. We were looking for a community that met four key criteria: a rapidly growing population, a strong presence of Pennington Park people, real and tangible needs that a local church could help meet, and a need for more churches within our theological stream. When we evaluated communities through that lens, the Lawrence/McCordsville area quickly emerged as our primary target. 

This area is one of the fastest-growing communities in Indiana, experiencing a significant influx of new families and development over the past several years- and that growth shows no signs of slowing down. It is also already home to hundreds of Pennington Park people, giving us a strong relational foundation to build on.  

The Lawrence/McCordsville is also a remarkably unique area. Within a relatively small geographic footprint, it brings together people from different socioeconomic, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. That diversity creates a community of tremendous beauty and opportunity, while also presenting real and tangible needs that we believe a healthy local church can help address. At the same time, we see a genuine need for more faithful, Bible-preaching, gospel-centered churches committed to making disciples in this growing community. 

When we considered all these factors together, and compared them with the other communities we studied, we became increasingly and unanimously convinced that God had placed a unique opportunity before us to plant a church in this community.  

Our vision for Garden City Fellowship is to see the gospel take root in Lawrence/McCordsville and produce a flourishing community of people who glorify God and make disciples. In short, we want to see things “Here, as in Heaven.”  

Practically, that means we want Garden City Fellowship to be a church where people are rooted in God's Word, dependent upon Christ, devoted to one another, and sent into the world with the gospel. Where faithful Christians are growing into maturity, new believers are learning to follow Jesus, and unbelievers come face to face with the beauty of the gospel. We want to be a church that doesn’t just talk about the love of Christ- but tangibly reflects that love to its neighbors through word and deed.  

Our goal is to be a church that reflects the community where God has placed us- a church where people of different ages, backgrounds, cultures, and circumstances are united by our common identity in Christ. We want to be known not simply as a place where people gather on Sundays, but for being a gospel presence throughout our community: sharing the gospel, caring for our neighbors, meeting tangible needs, developing leaders, and seeing the gospel transform our lives, neighbors, and city.  

Ultimately, our vision is bigger than building one healthy church. We want to make disciples who make disciples, develop leaders who develop leaders, and plant churches that plant churches. 

We want to put down deep roots, bear lasting fruit, and become the kind of church whose presence causes the community around it to flourish because of the gospel.  

Sam’s transition to lead Garden City Fellowship creates an important opportunity for the next season of Student Ministry at PPC. We are incredibly grateful for the way God has used Sam to build a healthy, thriving ministry to middle and high school students, and our commitment to discipling the next generation remains as strong as ever. As Sam prepares for his new role, over the next 12 months, he will work closely with PPC leadership to ensure a thoughtful and healthy transition for our Students Ministry.

 As part of that transition, we plan to hire a Family Pastor who will provide leadership and oversight across both Children’s and Student Ministries, helping us create greater alignment from birth through high school and strengthen the discipleship pathway for the next generation. In addition, we plan to hire a High School Students Director to specifically lead the High School ministry. Both hires, along with the stability that Maggie Chadwick brings, will enable us not simply to replace Sam’s role, but to build on the strong foundation already in place and strengthen our ministry to families for years to come.