Engaging Communities: The Harvest is Plentiful
“We don’t plant churches. We plant the gospel.” This is a phrase that you will hear a lot when interacting with our Ohio Church Multiplication Network (OCMN) Team about the topic of Church Planting. Tom and Tamera Sherwood are living this out amongst their neighbors as they launch a micro-church movement from the living room of their house. Peoples Church House to House in Cincinnati is on a mission to become neighbors that reveal Jesus’ Kingdom by practicing radical hospitality where they live, work, and play. As they plant the gospel, they are seeing it snowball into a multiplication of new disciples and micro-churches. Here’s just one of the great testimonies that will inspire you:
Earlier this year, our neighbor, Noah, saw a woman sleeping on the sidewalk next to a gas station in our neighborhood. It was the Saturday before Palm Sunday and the forecast called for below-freezing temperatures and possible sleet. He reached down and tapped her on the shoulder, “Are you okay?” The woman, Karissa, said that she had been at a casino with a guy who left her stranded with only the clothes on her back.
Immediately, Noah insisted that she could not spend the night there. He offered her his sofa to sleep on and told her of the pastors who lived next door who might be able to find her a place to stay. He also invited her to church the next morning. She was hesitant, because not only did she not have the appropriate clothing, but she also didn’t think she was in any condition to enter a church. Noah quickly explained, “I don’t think you understand. The church meets in their house. They have great food and really good coffee.” Despite her reservations, she came!
As with every Sunday morning, we began by eating together. To be clear, our format isn’t eating and then church begins, the meal is part of the service; it is as essential to living like Jesus as discussing the Bible. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is going to, coming from, or eating, a meal. So much so, that religious leaders of the day called Jesus “a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” (Luke 7:34). It was at the table that people encountered Jesus. It was at our table where Karissa felt the presence of Jesus in a way she hadn’t experienced since her youth. It was at the table that she was welcomed into a family.
After a breakfast of egg bites, bagels, cream cheese, fruit, whipped cream, and delicious coffee, we discussed a passage from the Gospel of Matthew. Our discussions are always based on four simple questions: 1) What does this passage teach you about God? 2) What does this passage tell you about yourself? 3) If this is true, what’s one thing you are feeling led to do in the coming week? 4) Who is someone that would benefit from what we’ve learned today? As the third question was asked, tears began to flow from Karissa’s eyes. With her voice trembling, she said, “I’m feeling led to get into recovery.” The next morning, my wife Tamera, drove Karissa to the Living in Testimony Movement. After several weeks in detox, she moved into The Jordan House, a sober-living home.
Over the course of the next few weeks, we learned Karissa’s story. She is from a small town in Idaho and had been addicted to meth for 11 years. The last time she had seen or been in touch with her family was 7 years ago. As far as they knew, given her meth addiction, she was most likely dead. In addition to her parents, Karissa has an 11-year-old daughter who is being raised by her younger sister, a doctor. Within a few weeks of starting rehab, Karissa was reunited, via FaceTime, with her family! Those conversations were filled with tears of joy. It was truly a modern-day parable of the prodigal daughter! They longed for her return to Idaho and began dreaming almost immediately of how and when to make that happen.
Karissa at the Greyhound station in Cincinnati
Wanting to prove to herself that sobriety was the new normal, Karissa set the goal of being clean for at least 90 days before she would agree to return home. During those three months, she attended our gatherings and worship nights. She even brought new guests from The Jordan House. Claiming her as our own, we celebrated each new milestone of sobriety with her. After 3 months of living sober, we took her to the Greyhound station in Cincinnati and put her on a bus for what would be a nearly 48-hour journey home.
From that first day when she entered our home, Karissa shined brightly, her laugh was infectious, and her joy has filled every corner of our lives. We became better people because of her childlike love and wonder. She demonstrated to us that radical freedom is possible, no matter how tangled and messed up we are! Still, the greatest miracle of all is Karissa’s return to the loving, compassionate, and kind God of her youth.
Karissa still has a long road ahead of her. Science tells us that it can take a year to a year and a half for an addict’s brain to recover fully. As of the writing of this article, Karissa is over 100 days sober and counting! From laying on a sidewalk with nothing but a hoodie to keep her warm, to being reunited with her family in Idaho, we’ve witnessed firsthand what Jesus can do through a loving, Gospel-centered family. We feel privileged to be a part of her journey. We’ve learned that no one is beyond hope and that freedom is always possible.
Karissa’s story is still making an impact in our faith community. During the time Karissa was a part of our gatherings, she invited several women from her sober-living home to join our community. This led to an invitation to bring breakfast to The Jordan House on Saturday mornings. On September 4, 2022, four of these women, and one of these women’s boyfriends were baptized! We believe this is just the beginning of a vision to establish micro-churches amid recovery centers. Instead of people graduating from a program and then having to find a church, they will have a holistic faith community to support them from the beginning and help them through each stage toward health.
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Tom and Tamera Sherwood
Peoples Church House to House, Cincinnati
