ABOUT OUR CHURCH
Murfreesboro is just 30 miles SE of Nashville and home to Middle Tennessee State University, the largest undergraduate university in the state. With over 25,000 students at MTSU, and with 20,000+ public and private school students within 4 miles of our two campuses, our church is primed for growth for years to come. We view the local schools and the MTSU campus as a prime venue for reaching the lost and developing dozens of future ministry leaders to serve around our state and the world.
The Boro is also one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. Ranked by Money magazine as one of the top 20 “Best places to live in the US”, our city has grown from just under 60,000 residents to over 150,000 residents in the last twenty years. Over that same time period, more than two thousand housing units have been built within four miles of our two campuses and Murfreesboro is expected to continue that type of growth over the next decade. By 2026, Murfreesboro is projected to grow past Knoxville and Chattanooga as the 3rd largest city in TN. During that same time period, the number of churches in our area has not increased commensurate with the rapidly growing populaiton. Simply stated, we need to plant several more congregations around our county in the upcoming years.
ABOUT OUR ONE CHURCH FAMILY
One Church (OC) was planted as Calvary Baptist Church just 24 years ago. Since calling our senior pastor in 2020, we have experienced significant growth in attendance and giving during his tenure. According to Thom Rainer’s national research, OC is one of the <2% of US churches who have grown significantly after the pandemic. In fact, we have more than quadrupled in attendance (from approximately 260 to over 1300 on an average Sunday morning) and increased from 4 small groups to 74 in the last 4 years. One Church is blessed to be one of the fastest growing congregations in the state of Tennessee.
Our growth has also necessitated several building and parking upgrades/expansions. Part of that expansion is a student center that opened last fall and can host over 150 students for our weekly meetings. Additionally, we have just launched a second campus on the southern side of town and we are currently looking for another LEAD PASTOR to launch our third campus in the fall of 2025.
In spite of our growth, we are INTENTIONAL about "keeping it small" when it comes to discipleship. Our relationship-first, multi-generational emphasis is reflective of our overall philosophy of keeping a family feel, with no desire to become a "mega" church of over 2000 people at a singular campus. This is why when our first campus started approaching 1000 members, we began forming a team to launch another campus on the opposite side of the city. By planting more and more like-minded campuses around our burgeouning area, we enjoy most of the benefits of a large church, while keeping each congregation small enough so that those who attend each campus can have a connection to the preaching pastor at their location. The long-term plan is for each congregation to remain a part of the ONE CHURCH network under the leadership of our senior pastor, but each also having a local LEAD/TEACHING PASTOR at each campus.
OUR PHILOSOPHY OF PLANTING HEALTHY CONGREGATIONS
The early church model for church growth within a city centered around the preaching/teaching of the Word and the planting of new congregations in several congregations around town. These congregations worked in cooperation with one another, under the shared authority of the apostles and multiple elders/pastors who provided oversight of the flock that was entrusted to their care (Acts 20:28-31). Though there were several diverse congregations consisting of hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of believers in each city, the founders of our faith viewed themselves as ONE singular church. Local congregations did not view themselves as independent of one another. Instead, they worked cooperatively (and not competitively) to build the body of Christ in their city.
Though the New Testament clearly differentiated between the various autonomous churches that existed from city to city (e.g. the multiple churchES (plural) in the regions of Galatia and Asia and that were part of the universal Church (Gal. 1:2; Rev. 1 & 2)), the grammar of the New Testament is clear that within each city, while there were multiple congregations that by necessity were meeting in different locations, these congregations chose to function as ONE singular CHURCH (Acts 2:41-47; 4:32-37; 5:11; 5:42; 6:2; 8:1; 11:22; 11:26; 12:5; 13:1; 15:1-4; 15:22; 15:41; 16:5; 20:17; 20:28-31; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 2:1; 1 Thes. 1:1; 2 Thes. 1:1; Rev. 1; Rev. 2).
Not only was this the early Church's philosophy of planting new congregations, multiple studies have shown this method of congregational planting to be the most effective when establishing sustainable and effective congregations over the long term. Healthy congregations plant healthy congregations by sending out a team of believers across town to start a new work of God in that location. These "sent" teams include pastors/elders, children's workers, small group leaders, administrators, skilled musicians and worship leaders, etc. Once these new teams establish a new congregation and begin reaching more followers of Christ, they can team up with the other congregations of the city to begin new congregations in areas of population growth where the gospel is needed both locally and around the world.
