CHESTER, Pa. – For the past 15 years, Way Thru Christ Community Fellowship has migrated from location to location – four different times. Now at last they have a home of their own.

On Sunday afternoon, May 29, the 100-member congregation marched from one of its old homes to the new building complex they’ve been able to purchase at 2305 Edgemont Avenue in Chester, Pa. Pastor Al Motley, complete with dread locks and African garb, led the exuberant throng as they burst into their new home with clapping and cheers that soared to the tops of the vaulted arches of the old formerly-Presbyterian church.

After a lively time of worship that included hip hop, rap, dance, and mime, Pastor Al said, “God is taking us somewhere. The church is not a club. God is the architect, Jesus Christ is the foundation, and the Holy Spirit holds it all together. If we’re going to reach the youth today – who are rebelling against parents, police, and all authority – we’ve got to take the gospel to where they are. That’s what this church is all about.”

Lawrence Chiles, EMM representative to the U.S. and Canada, congratulated Pastor Al and the congregation for their hard work in the community and for the purchase of this facility, which they plan will serve the neighborhood with its gym and space for clubs and tutoring services. EMM assisted the church plant in its beginning stages and has continued to walk alongside it in counsel and resourcing.

Leon Schnupp, overseer of the Koinonia Fellowship of Churches* was also present for the celebration and shared a scriptural meditation. Schnupp had commissioned Pastor Al and his wife Maxine for a church plant out of their district 15 years ago.

Freeman Miller, who serves as bishop of the Philadelphia District of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference (LMC), led a prayer of dedication for the new building.

Chiles, speaking for EMM, Schnupp for Koinonia, and Miller for LMC, all committed themselves to work together for the extension of the kingdom of God in Chester – and the support and encouragement of Way Thru Christ.

“This church is not about receiving, it’s about giving,” Chiles said. “Too many think of the urban context as needy – with its hand stretched out to receive. We’re breaking out of that mold.”

He explained that the church had raised $100,000 of its own money to purchase the new facility. When a new highway pushed them out of their old building, God miraculously opened the door for this timely purchase in an ideal location.

“Bishop Schnupp and his district first helped to raise up the church and pastor,” Chiles said. “Then along the way, Bishop Miller from the Philadelphia District of LMC and I from EMM have worked to resource and encourage the congregation as well as facilitate this purchase. It’s been a joy to come alongside such a vibrant group of people.”

*The Koinonia Fellowship of Churches, one of North America’s newest Anabaptist circles of churches, is a group of nine congregations from former districts of LMC that were based in Chester and New Jersey; they organized two years ago. This group has helped to plant seven churches in the Dominican Republic and vigorously supported EMM’s long-term work in Peru. Eight additional congregations are exploring membership in Koinonia as they continue their commitment to outreach in the eastern urban centers of the U.S.