Sunset is a Church Planting Church
We are a church planting church. Having been blessed with much growth over the past decade, a decision was made not to become a mega-church. Instead, with God’s help our goal has been to plant as many new congregations in the greater Springfield area as we can.
We’re passionate about church planting!
In November of 2000, our church planting minister, Steve Martin, and 75 of our members, including three of our elders, began meeting in a warehouse in Nixa, MO. During those early years they dealt with the cold of winter and the heat of summer with only one bathroom facility. They pioneered through these difficulties and began a new building on an 18 acre site, doing most of the work with volunteer labor. They moved into the first phase of that new facility in 2004, and in early fall of 2009, the over 400 believers of Union Hill Church of Christ moved in to their new completed auditorium (pictured above).
In January of 2005, having seen the success of the first plant, an even larger group wanted to be part of the second plant. Our youth minister, Tony Gentry, transitioned to become the preaching minister and again, three of our elders went out with this group of 150. Due to the generosity and sacrifice of many of those, both sending and going, the Brookline Church of Christ was able to meet from the first day in a completed facility on 18 acres of land. Within the first year, the growing number of young families required the addition of a new education wing on this facility.
Sunset has worked with several area congregations to establish a Hispanic congregation of the Church of Christ in the Springfield area. Presently the Iglesia de Cristo en Sunset consists of about 25 members.