{"id":22876,"date":"2024-03-14T11:33:35","date_gmt":"2024-03-14T15:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/?post_type=resource&p=22876"},"modified":"2024-03-14T13:17:20","modified_gmt":"2024-03-14T17:17:20","slug":"revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/","title":{"rendered":"Revitalized New York church transforms into a church-planting powerhouse"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Michael (Mike) Rubino started attending Calvary Baptist Christian School on Long Island as a fourth-grade student, he never imagined God would one day call him to pastor the church that housed the school and then share with them a vision for church multiplication.<\/p>\n

Today, however, that\u2019s exactly what has happened.<\/p>\n

In 2016, Mike became the lead pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, now Cornerstone Bible Church. Since then, he\u2019s led the church through a revitalization process that has resulted in two new church plants being sent into the city.<\/p>\n

Not only that, but through opening a Multiplication Center complete with a large classroom that Mike calls \u201ca church plant incubator,\u201d Cornerstone Bible Church has now helped dozens of local pastors and lay leaders foster revitalization in their churches while also connecting them with church planters who are looking for sending churches.<\/p>\n

But the journey hasn\u2019t always been glamorous.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a process,\u201d shares Mike, \u201cThe first two years, it was a lot of blood, sweat and tears and trying to mend broken hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing I told the church,\u201d Mike says, \u201cwas if I\u2019m going to be the pastor of this church, then I believe in multiplication: we\u2019re going to multiply disciples, leaders and churches. I also believe that other like-minded churches are not the competition \u2013 they\u2019re collaborators \u2014 so I want to live open-handed with other churches. I want us to get back in the community and I want our church to reflect the demographic of our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

At its lowest point, Cornerstone ran about 40 people, but by 2020, 400 were regularly attending the church.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery system we had broke. Every piece of deferred maintenance that was barely holding on, fell apart. We ran out of parking, but the building was full of life,\u201d recalls Mike. \u201cIt was beautiful chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n

But with 3.6 million people packed onto Long Island, however, Mike knew his church never had a chance of reaching their community alone, no matter how large they grew.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was literally no way of reaching our Jerusalem by becoming a megachurch. It would not have expanded the kingdom of God, and we didn\u2019t want to grow our church at the expense of His kingdom,\u201d Mike says. \u201cSo, we started asking, \u2018What would it look like not to be a megachurch, but to be a multiplying church?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Cornerstone Bible Church had no idea where to start. At the time, they had no ties with other churches who were pursuing a similar vision. Mike admits, \u201cWe kind of started making it up as we were going along until I got connected to the SBC through the North American Mission Board (NAMB).\u201d<\/p>\n

Soon after connecting with NAMB\u2019s Replant team, Cornerstone started offering trainings for their congregation and other pastors and lay leaders in their area whose churches needed revitalization and a vision for multiplication.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like leaders sprouted up overnight,\u201d Mike shares.<\/p>\n

Eventually, what became the Multiplication Center also attracted those interested in church planting, generating organic relationships between new church plants and older churches.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started creating this hybrid model of planting and replanting,\u201d Mike says, \u201cand planting new churches in old buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Welborn, director of Send New York, says that Mike is a strategic leader in an important part of the city, and described multiplying churches like Cornerstone as crucial for the expansion of God\u2019s kingdom.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t come in with this belief that we\u2019re bringing the kingdom of God to our communities,\u201d John shares, \u201cWe come in with the mindset that we want to partner with what God has already been doing in a city.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are churches that are struggling, but have a heart to be a part of something new and fresh,\u201d John adds, \u201cSo bringing in the energy and creativity of a church planter, the vigor for evangelism, and partnering that with a group of people who are struggling with finding a vision can be a monumental opportunity for kingdom growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike\u2019s church embraced this opportunity. \u201cWe had the revitalization piece, and we got the training piece going, and then God made it very clear that revitalization should always lead to multiplication,\u201d says Mike.<\/p>\n

Cornerstone Bible Church then started making God-ordained connections with individuals who were interested in church planting, and that opened the door for them to send out planting teams from their congregation. Cornerstone has now planted two churches on Long Island, Joy Church in Shirley and Retro Church in Centereach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been sending 20 people to this church, 10 people to that church, and now our church knows we don\u2019t come to just gather; we come to be sent out,\u201d Mike says.<\/p>\n

Eventually, Mike proposed using one of Cornerstone\u2019s large classrooms that could fit 50 people as that \u201cchurch plant incubator.\u201d New churches meet in the space in the early days of their ministry.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of our biggest challenges was waiting to find buildings for church planters,\u201d says Mike. \u201cWe needed these guys to start preaching and learning what it means to find people, but they needed to do it in a safe environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Planting churches inside their building sounded outside-the-box, but Cornerstone agreed that allowing new churches to use the space as an on-ramp met a pressing need.<\/p>\n

Mike says that partnering with Send Network has been life-changing for his church.<\/p>\n

\u201cSend Network has provided us with the structure, the resources and the support necessary to do this work in a way that\u2019s decently and in order,\u201d he says, quoting 1 Corinthians 14:40.<\/p>\n

From running what Mike calls \u201ctop-of-the-line\u201d assessments for church planters to caring for each other like family, Send Network helps his church shine an even brighter light for Christ in their city.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel really blessed to be a part of this,\u201d says Mike.<\/p>\n

Church Planting Emphasis Day is Sunday, March 17. Churches plant new churches, and Send Network aims to come alongside churches of all sizes and help them become a church planting church like Cornerstone. Visit SendNetwork.com\/Mobilize<\/a> to learn more.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Michael (Mike) Rubino started attending Calvary Baptist Christian School on Long Island as a fourth-grade …<\/p>\n

Revitalized New York church transforms into a church-planting powerhouse<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":22877,"template":"","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"content-type":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"channels":[],"topics":[],"languages":[],"class_list":["post-22876","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_type-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRevitalized New York church transforms into a church-planting powerhouse - Send Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Revitalized New York church transforms into a church-planting powerhouse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When Michael (Mike) Rubino started attending Calvary Baptist Christian School on Long Island as a fourth-grade … Revitalized New York church transforms into a church-planting powerhouse Read More »\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Send Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SendNetwork\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-03-14T17:17:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/Profile-Smile-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@sendnetwork\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/\",\"name\":\"Revitalized New York church transforms into a church-planting powerhouse - Send Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/Profile-Smile-scaled.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-14T15:33:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-14T17:17:20+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/Profile-Smile-scaled.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/Profile-Smile-scaled.jpeg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Revitalized New York church transforms into a church-planting powerhouse\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/\",\"name\":\"Send Network\",\"description\":\"Church Planting Network\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Send Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/07\/SN-Logo_Linear_Brandmark-Solid_BlueNavy_RGB.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/07\/SN-Logo_Linear_Brandmark-Solid_BlueNavy_RGB.png\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":393,\"caption\":\"Send Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SendNetwork\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/sendnetwork\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/wearesendnetwork\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Revitalized New York church transforms into a church-planting powerhouse - Send Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Revitalized New York church transforms into a church-planting powerhouse","og_description":"When Michael (Mike) Rubino started attending Calvary Baptist Christian School on Long Island as a fourth-grade … Revitalized New York church transforms into a church-planting powerhouse Read More »","og_url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/","og_site_name":"Send Network","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SendNetwork\/","article_modified_time":"2024-03-14T17:17:20+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/Profile-Smile-scaled.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@sendnetwork","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/","name":"Revitalized New York church transforms into a church-planting powerhouse - Send Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/Profile-Smile-scaled.jpeg","datePublished":"2024-03-14T15:33:35+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-14T17:17:20+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/Profile-Smile-scaled.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/Profile-Smile-scaled.jpeg","width":2560,"height":1707},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/revitalized-new-york-church-transforms-into-a-church-planting-powerhouse\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Revitalized New York church transforms into a church-planting powerhouse"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/","name":"Send Network","description":"Church Planting Network","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#organization","name":"Send Network","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/07\/SN-Logo_Linear_Brandmark-Solid_BlueNavy_RGB.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/07\/SN-Logo_Linear_Brandmark-Solid_BlueNavy_RGB.png","width":2560,"height":393,"caption":"Send Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SendNetwork\/","https:\/\/x.com\/sendnetwork","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/wearesendnetwork"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/22876"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resource"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22876"},{"taxonomy":"channels","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/channels?post=22876"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=22876"},{"taxonomy":"languages","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/languages?post=22876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}