A new Mennonite Brethren church campus launched in Springfield, Nebraska, on Christmas Eve.
Stony Brook Church in Omaha, Nebraska, and the Central District Conference are leading the effort with USMB support. Stony Brook pastors Jon Annin and Jason Starinieri believe the campus model will be a fruitful and cost-effective way to help more people meet Jesus.
“Research shows that the best way currently to reach the unchurched and nonbelievers is through church planting,” says Starinieri, associate pastor and Springfield campus pastor. “Most church growth in existing churches comes through transfer growth, whereas with church planting, 75-80% of the growth comes from the unchurched and the lost getting saved.”
A counterintuitive proposition
Annin has had a heart for church planting ever since an internship during his Fresno Pacific University days turned into an opportunity to serve as a campus planter for a nearby congregation.
He brought that same heart for multiplication to Stony Brook in September 2021, where, as pastor, he’s led a renewal effort that’s seen the congregation increase in size from 35 to 155.
Although he’d call Stony Brook a mid-size church, Annin wanted to expand the church’s reach through church multiplication. A USMB LEAD Pods episode struck a chord.
“The (episode) mentioned how you’re never going to have enough money or enough people to church plant, but you still should because when you do, you actually find you gain those things,” Annin says. “It’s counterintuitive.”
Annin chose Springfield—a growing community of 2,000 people just 7 miles south of Stony Brook—where he says most people leave town to attend church. Annin wanted the people of Springfield to experience what the congregation has at Stony Brook.
“I have a passion for people having a good church experience, experiencing the gospel and experiencing community because of that,” Annin says. “We have that here at Stony Brook.”
Although Annin’s first planting proposition was met with a “not yet” from the church Faith and Life team, he later received a call from District Minister Daniel Rodriguez asking if he’d revisit his vision for church multiplication. Rodriguez had been in communication with an interested campus pastor in Starinieri, setting the wheels in motion once more.
“Jason had a very impressive resumé, and when doing the first interview via Zoom, his love for God’s word and the church was very clear,” Rodriguez says via email. “He has been working in different projects, and the excitement for him to move to Omaha and work with Stony Brook felt like God was in the move, directing all the steps. It is a blessing to have Jason in our Central District family.”
Planning and dreaming
Starinieri had spent the past 11 years pastoring two small, rural churches in Colorado. His desire to be part of a team prompted a search for other job opportunities, eventually leading to a connection with Rodriguez and Annin. Starinieri visited Omaha in February 2025 and was offered the associate pastor job with the intent of launching a new campus.
Starinieri and Annin started planning, believing a campus model to be the smartest option. The average cost of a church plant is more than $500,000 they say, but launching a campus requires only $40,000 and comes with the benefit of having ties to an existing church with established culture, finances and staffing.
“You have staff support, you have financial support, you have accountability,” Starinieri says. “It’s not the parachute model of church planting.”
Stony Brook requested funding—Annin says the Central District has been generous, and USMB, supportive. USMB has committed funding of $27,000 over three years.
Stony Brook has rented the Springfield community center for its campus gatherings, intending to transform a basketball court into a worship center and the basement into a Kid Life space.
Rodriguez is excited about the potential in Springfield.
“I think the community is ready for a church that is passionate about the gospel, and there is a lot of potential in that community to reach it for Christ,” he says. “I believe that God is guiding this process because we have seen God working in providing and opening doors for this church plant to work and be present in the community.”
One church in multiple locations
Starinieri and a core team from Stony Brook met for months of training and together participated in Springfield community events. They began practice services in December with an official launch on Christmas Eve.
Springfield services will meet on Wednesday evenings, allowing Stony Brook staff and volunteers to serve in both locations each week.
Annin’s Sunday sermons will be recorded and broadcast in Springfield, while Starinieri—who has a background in sound and video—will lead worship. In addition to leading community life growth groups and occasionally preaching at Stony Brook, Starinieri’s primary role will be to meet people in Springfield.
“Sitting down and getting a cup of coffee with somebody is so life-giving to me,” Starinieri says. “It’s not
just that I enjoy it. I know how beneficial it is for both sides—for me and hopefully the other person—to build those deep relationships. When you’re stuck doing everything, you don’t always have time for those things.”
Annin envisions Stony Brook to be one church with multiple services in multiple locations. Both campuses will share leadership, administrative support, Faith and Life team members and a Kid Life director. Volunteers will be needed to help with setup and teardown and in kids’ ministry.
A heart to serve
Because Springfield will be served by a video sermon, a project in the new year is to improve video quality. Those interested in giving toward this project may visit stonybrookchurch.churchcenter.com/giving/to/general-fund-springfield and designate a gift for Springfield. Annin says he is willing to share sermon videos as a resource for other churches in need, meaning the videos may be used well beyond Springfield.
Annin’s biggest prayer request is for people to be receptive.
“I would just love (for) people to have a real openness to new things and (be) supportive in their stance,” Annin says. “We would love to do more of this for really good reasons. We want to see people get saved and baptized.”
Annin and Starinieri see Springfield as an experiment with hopes of reproducing the campus model in other cities or even states. They are seeking young men and women interested in serving for a season, as well as for a campus pastor for their next project. Those interested in these opportunities may contact Annin for more information at jon@stonybrookchurch.com.
“Ultimately, we want to see people coming to know Jesus,” Starinieri says. “A big thing is getting out of the mentality that you have to be a certain size church or have a certain budget to make an impact for the kingdom of God beyond the four walls of your building.
“You’re never going to have enough people or enough money. What you’ve got to have is what Jon started with—a heart, support from your current church and your district and somebody crazy enough to move to Omaha to do it.”
Janae Rempel Shafer is the Christian Leader associate editor and joined the CL staff in 2017. Shafer is an award-winning writer, receiving multiple awards from the Kansas Press Association and Evangelical Press Association. A Tabor graduate with a degree in communications and religious studies, she and her husband, Austin, attend Ridgepoint Church in Wichita, Kansas.
