{"id":27275,"date":"2025-03-11T10:48:24","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T14:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/?post_type=resource&p=27275"},"modified":"2025-05-01T10:23:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T14:23:26","slug":"church-planting-southern-california","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/church-planting-southern-california\/","title":{"rendered":"Partnership fuels Gospel multiplication in Southern California"},"content":{"rendered":"

REDLANDS, Calif.\u00a0\u2014 <\/strong>As Nancy prepared to be baptized at Portrait Church in Redlands, she couldn\u2019t get rid of a nagging fear. A young single mom in her 30s battling cancer, one side of her body had recently lost all feeling.<\/p>\n

Nancy didn\u2019t want to fall. \u201cShe literally told me that falling would be her worst nightmare,\u201d said the church\u2019s pastor, Jay Stovall.<\/p>\n

Following the baptism of the first two of the six women to be baptized that day, Stovall watched Nancy unexpectedly collapse as she awaited her turn.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look over there and see a nurse and some other people I trust helping her,\u201d Stovall said. \u201cIt looks like she\u2019s stable, so we baptize the next three people. I look over at my wife, and she\u2019s sobbing. I figured Nancy wouldn\u2019t be getting baptized.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Portrait Church in Redlands, Calif., baptized 50 people in less than two years of ministry as a recent Send Network church plant. One of their recent baptisms was a woman, Nancy, who had been battling cancer and could not move. Others helped her into the baptistry.<\/em> (Photo submitted by Portraits Church)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What happened next would take away the collective breath of the 200 people gathered for worship.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuddenly, four guys pick Nancy up and carry her,\u201d Stovall said. \u201cIt was like the story of the lowering of the paralytic (Mark 2:1-12). We had about 200 people \u2014 silent \u2014 as this woman is being carried \u2014 weeping \u2014 to the baptismal. There wasn\u2019t a dry eye in the crowd. What she was modeling right then was better than any sermon I\u2019ve preached. She gets there, and they lower her into the baptismal. It was powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

In less than two years of ministry in Redlands, Portrait Church \u2014 a Send Network church plant \u2014 has already baptized nearly 50 people.<\/p>\n

Nancy\u2019s baptism was just one of many powerful moments that has defined Portrait Church. But for Stovall, the idea of starting a church had once seemed far from his mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never really had, honestly, any concept of church planting,\u201d Stovall said. \u201cI never thought that church planting would be something I\u2019d do, to be honest with you. I didn\u2019t know about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then Jay and Tiffany started a young adult small group at their church, VantagePoint Church in Eastvale, Calif., and it blossomed quickly. Through this experience, the Stovalls sensed a strong call to ministry. Though reluctant to step out at first, God used the events of 2020 to point Stovall toward church planting.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many of the young adults and college students I had been discipling were just asking me questions like, \u2018How do we navigate this?\u201d Stovall said. \u201cI saw a lot of them walk away from the Church during that time because they felt like there was a lack of holistic discipleship they just hadn\u2019t experienced in their lives. What God made clear to me during that time was, \u2018I want you to commit to being part of the future of the church.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Nancy was recently baptized by pastor Jay Stovall during a baptism service at Portraits Church in Redlands, Calif. Nancy is one of 50 people the church has baptized since the Send Network church plant launched just under two years ago.<\/em> (Photo submitted by Portraits Church)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stovall didn\u2019t hesitate for a second. His response was simple: \u201cHere I am, Lord, send me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The power of a good partner<\/strong><\/p>\n

A few years back, helping plant a church wasn\u2019t even on the mind of Mark Lee, who planted VantagePoint Church in 2008. Launching a new church in the challenging, high-cost mission field of Southern California was tough enough on its own. When Lee planted VantagePoint, his sending church had pitched in a significant amount of money to help with the purchase of a future property.<\/p>\n

But the church never had consistent financial partners. It relied solely on the generosity of the congregation. The budget was always tight. Lee wanted to support another church plant the way his sending church had backed him, but he just didn\u2019t see how he could afford it.<\/p>\n

Lee\u2019s mindset shifted as other ministry leaders opened his eyes to the impact his church could make \u2014 regardless of its budget \u2014 in church plants through small, consistent contributions.<\/p>\n

Then God turned up the heat further, challenging Lee to transition VantagePoint from a church focused on addition \u2014 to one driven by multiplication. That meant finding and investing in leaders within the church who would start new churches. Lee believed God was leading VantagePoint to be \u201copen-handed\u201d with its leaders.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Lee made a startling statement to those leaders: \u201cI hope you don\u2019t stay here. It\u2019s not that I don\u2019t want a relationship with you. It\u2019s not that I don\u2019t want to do ministry with you long-term. It\u2019s that I hope this church wouldn\u2019t be the finish line \u2014 but the starting line.\u201d<\/p>\n

At that point, Stovall shared with Lee what he felt the Lord was putting on his heart: starting a new church in Redlands, Calif. Lee saw the fit immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of our staff values is contagious enthusiasm,\u201d said Lee, who today serves as both the lead pastor of VantagePoint Church and the West Region Director for Send Network, the church planting arm of the North American Mission Board (NAMB). \u201cThe byline of that is, \u2018more moths want to fly around a 100-watt light bulb than a 25-watt light bulb.\u2019 I just knew that because of Jay\u2019s wattage, there were always people who wanted to be around him. That\u2019s probably the purest definition of leadership \u2013 that people actually want to follow you.\u201d<\/p>\n

VantagePoint has been a critical partner for Stovall and Portrait Church. Lee not only aims to help fund the church planters it sends out, but to be a source of wisdom and encouragement when needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it weren\u2019t for Mark Lee and his generosity with his connections and network, Portrait Church, in many ways, would not exist. We wouldn\u2019t have the financial or relational connections we\u2019ve needed. Don\u2019t get me wrong, it\u2019s still a challenge,\u201d Stovall said. \u201cBut his support has made a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

A vision to plant churches<\/strong><\/p>\n

From the start, Stovall\u2019s vision has been to plant a church that multiplies by raising up new church leaders and sending them out to start Gospel-centered communities. His goal is to see Portrait Church become a launching pad for future leaders who will carry the Gospel into other neighborhoods and cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t just want to grow Portrait Church; we want to grow the Kingdom,\u201d Stovall said. \u201cOur prayer is to raise up leaders who will go out and plant churches that are deeply rooted in their communities, just like we are here in Redlands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Portrait Church is preparing to send out its first church planter by 2026, with plans to continue fostering a culture of multiplication in the years to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

REDLANDS, Calif.\u00a0\u2014 As Nancy prepared to be baptized at Portrait Church in Redlands, she couldn\u2019t get …<\/p>\n

Partnership fuels Gospel multiplication in Southern California<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":27278,"template":"","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"content-type":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","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-27275","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPartnership fuels Gospel multiplication in Southern California - Send Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover how partnerships fuel church planting in Southern California, leading to gospel multiplication and community transformation.\u200b\" \/>\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\/church-planting-southern-california\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Partnership fuels Gospel multiplication in Southern California\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover how partnerships fuel church planting in Southern California, leading to gospel multiplication and community transformation.\u200b\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/church-planting-southern-california\/\" \/>\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=\"2025-05-01T14:23:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/03\/Baptism-Dec-8-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"825\" \/>\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=\"6 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\/church-planting-southern-california\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/church-planting-southern-california\/\",\"name\":\"Partnership fuels Gospel multiplication in Southern California - Send Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/church-planting-southern-california\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/church-planting-southern-california\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/03\/Baptism-Dec-8-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-11T14:48:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-01T14:23:26+00:00\",\"description\":\"Discover how partnerships fuel church planting in Southern California, leading to gospel multiplication and community transformation.\u200b\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/church-planting-southern-california\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/church-planting-southern-california\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/church-planting-southern-california\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/03\/Baptism-Dec-8-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/03\/Baptism-Dec-8-2.jpg\",\"width\":1100,\"height\":825,\"caption\":\"Portrait Church in Redlands, Calif., baptized 50 people in less than two years of ministry as a recent Send Network church plant. One of their recent baptisms was a woman, Nancy, who had been battling cancer and could not move. Others helped her into the baptistry. (Photo submitted by Portraits Church)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/church-planting-southern-california\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Partnership fuels Gospel multiplication in Southern California\"}]},{\"@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":"Partnership fuels Gospel multiplication in Southern California - Send Network","description":"Discover how partnerships fuel church planting in Southern California, leading to gospel multiplication and community transformation.\u200b","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\/church-planting-southern-california\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Partnership fuels Gospel multiplication in Southern California","og_description":"Discover how partnerships fuel church planting in Southern California, leading to gospel multiplication and community transformation.\u200b","og_url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/church-planting-southern-california\/","og_site_name":"Send Network","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SendNetwork\/","article_modified_time":"2025-05-01T14:23:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1100,"height":825,"url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/03\/Baptism-Dec-8-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@sendnetwork","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/church-planting-southern-california\/","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/church-planting-southern-california\/","name":"Partnership fuels Gospel multiplication in Southern California - Send Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/church-planting-southern-california\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/church-planting-southern-california\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/03\/Baptism-Dec-8-2.jpg","datePublished":"2025-03-11T14:48:24+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-01T14:23:26+00:00","description":"Discover how partnerships fuel church planting in Southern California, leading to gospel multiplication and community transformation.\u200b","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/church-planting-southern-california\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/church-planting-southern-california\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/church-planting-southern-california\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/03\/Baptism-Dec-8-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/03\/Baptism-Dec-8-2.jpg","width":1100,"height":825,"caption":"Portrait Church in Redlands, Calif., baptized 50 people in less than two years of ministry as a recent Send Network church plant. One of their recent baptisms was a woman, Nancy, who had been battling cancer and could not move. Others helped her into the baptistry. (Photo submitted by Portraits Church)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/church-planting-southern-california\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Partnership fuels Gospel multiplication in Southern California"}]},{"@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\/27275"}],"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\/27278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27275"},{"taxonomy":"channels","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/channels?post=27275"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=27275"},{"taxonomy":"languages","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/languages?post=27275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}