On the eve of the first anniversary of the Chosen Lutheran Mission church plant in Gastonia, N.C., Keith Clements reflected on what he’d learned while establishing one of the newest outposts in the Kingdom.
“God provides,” Clements said. “He just keeps directing and supporting, and he just provides. And we don’t take it for granted.”
The name “Chosen” was a nod to the book of Esther (“for such a time as this”), and was intended to be more of a rallying cry than permanent branding. In fact, just after its first anniversary the church plant changed its name to “Life in Christ Lutheran Ministry.”
The first to feel chosen for this new ministry were Clements and his wife, Koni. In 2023, they were asked by Circuit 15 pastors to consider spearheading a church plant, which would be supported in part by the C15 congregations. Clements and his wife prayed about it and decided to take the leap.
Following the kickoff celebration at the local YMCA where the church plant initially met, the Clementses began a barnstorming tour of C15 congregations, sharing the Chosen/Life in Christ mission (“Seek the lost. Share the love. All through Jesus Christ.”) and inviting others to participate. Clements said that initially, he and his wife found themselves having to explain the “ask” they were making of the congregations they visited.
“When we went around speaking to the congregations about it they were like, ‘Well, we don’t live out there, and we will financially support you, but we are happy here.’ And we had to say, ‘No, we aren’t here to extract you out of your church. This is an opportunity to help stand this church up and strengthen your faith.’”
While meeting at the YMCA worked for a time, Clements was on the hunt for a place that would accommodate the groups’ bi-monthly meeting schedule. A consummate networker, Clements told anybody and everybody about the church plant – including his neighbors, whom he would often invite to their gatherings.
One day a neighbor of Clements’ mentioned to a friend that Chosen/Life in Christ needed a place to meet. That friend happened to be on the church council of Lutheran Chapel Church, a member congregation of the ELCA. Lutheran Chapel wanted to offer the fledgling plant a space to meet.
“It would have been very easy to say, ‘Nah, Nah we aren’t in (synodical) fellowship, so it’s not going to work for us to meet there.’ But it just shows you, there’s one Church, one body of believers. I don’t think when we go to heaven there is going to be an ELCA gate and an LCMS gate.”
There were 45 people at the inaugural worship service held at Lutheran Chapel.
Clements says the core group now stands at about 20 people, three-fourths of whom were previously
affiliated with an LCMS church. He says he can’t wait to see what the second year brings. He also offers this last bit of advice to anyone thinking about starting a church plant.
“It’s a lot of fun, but it’s hard work. Don’t get down. To get it off the ground and stand it up you have to pray and then, lastly, network, network, network. There are so many people out there who want to help you, but you’ve got to ask.”
These outreach spotlights are designed to encourage congregations to serve and love those God has placed in their community. Got a story to share about what God is doing through your congregation? Please email Robin Domeier
