My Church Planting Story…

I planted a church in the late 1990s in the north metro of the Twin Cities, called Northbridge Station. After a year in an elementary school gymnasium, we settled into a rented space we could access 24/7.

We leaned hard into the “station” theme. Our logo and branding — which in the late ’90s mostly meant letterhead and business cards — carried a retro gas station vibe. In the corner of the old gymnasium, we built a stage framed to look like a vintage service station facade. Behind the drummer was an open garage door. One side of the stage was lined with an old picket fence draped with retro license plates and a few weathered tires. The other side was the front of an old filling station, complete with a frosted glass “Office” door and display shelves stocked with old oil cans and garage memorabilia. The worship band was our “garage band.” Small groups were “service bays” where people could find preventative maintenance, a tune-up, or sometimes a complete overhaul. We talked about life maps, pit stops and refueling. Hey, it was the ’90s.

My journey into planting Northbridge Station didn’t happen overnight. It was years in the making.

If I had to summarize the journey, there were three experiences that became my pillar of cloud and pillar of fire.

The first was conversations. These didn’t begin with formal interviews or deep church planting strategies. Those came later.

At first, I simply spent time with friends from seminary and other associate pastors from Converge churches who had begun exploring church planting. I listened to their stories. I watched them wrestle with curiosity, calling, and discernment. Looking back, their curiosity and discernment was slowly becoming mine. Eventually, I contacted our regional church planting director to explore whether church planting might be part of my future.

Next came a closed door.

I was serving as an associate pastor at a church that had been an incredible place for a young seminary graduate to begin ministry. A few years into my time there, the senior pastor began facing significant health issues. Eventually retiring, he passed less than a year later.

After losing a beloved longtime pastor, the church leadership wisely chose a season of healing and self-assessment before launching a pastoral search. During what became a two-year transition, I sensed my church planting journey being put on hold. Maybe permanently. There was too much happening at the church to continue pursuing planting seriously.

I was still the associate, but I was also the only full-time staff member. The board encouraged me to enter the pastoral search process, and honestly, my focus needed to be there. What if God used those earlier years to prepare me to become the next senior pastor? What if learning the church’s culture, strengths, quirks, and challenges had all been part of preparing me to lead it?

So I called the church planting director and told him I needed to discern what God wanted in my current season.

Finally, there was an open door.

During those two years, I tried to learn everything I could and become the best leader and pastor possible. Eventually the search team formed, and I entered the process. I made it to the final two candidates.

One afternoon, the search chair and board chair took me out to lunch at a nice restaurant. I probably should have seen it coming. They had decided to pursue the other candidate.

I think they expected me to be crushed. And yes, I was disappointed. But I also felt excited and relieved. Their decision clarified something for me instantly. The church planting curiosity I had set aside for two years suddenly came rushing back.

When I returned to the office after lunch, my first phone call was to my wife. My second was to the church planting director to restart the conversations we had paused.

The church hired the other candidate, and he became an important part of my discernment process as well. For about a year, I served under his leadership while he encouraged and supported what God was stirring in me. He led the church in supporting our church planting journey through prayer, resources, and encouragement.

Almost thirty years later, he remains a dear friend whom I still speak with often. I continue to have many close friendships at that church.

I think my church planting story is pretty typical. Yes, God can speak in dramatic moments. But more often, my experience has been that He speaks through quieter whispers — through conversations, wise counsel, prayer, Scripture, and patient discernment over time.

For me, the journey included both headwinds and tailwinds. Not every question was answered. Not every doubt disappeared. But God gave enough vision to capture my attention. My responsibility was to trust Him enough to walk through the door He opened.

This fall, Ryan and Christina Widdel will launch Anchor Church in Lakeville, Minnesota. Listen here to Ryan’s story of curiosity, exploration, and discernment that shaped his own church planting journey.

If you’d like to begin a church planting conversation, our FAQ Video is a great beginning. Contact me at jnelson@convergenorthcentral.org for the link, or if you’d simply like to ask a question or two about church planting, discernment, or your own journey.

No pressure. Just clarity.

Joel