Quirings will move to Utah this summer
Mission USA news story
A new church plant in Utah County, Utah, is on schedule to become the second USMB church plant to be initiated during 2013. Church planters Jason and Nicole Quiring, of Henderson (Neb.) MB Church, plan to move to the Lehi/Saratoga Springs area this summer.
Mission USA, the USMB church planting and church renewal ministry, has set the goal of planting six new churches in 2013 in partnership with districts and local churches. This is a partnership plant of the Pacific District Conference (PDC), Henderson (Neb.) MB Church, the Quiring’s home church, and Mission USA.
“The Utah County communities of Lehi and Saratoga Springs (encompass) an area of spiritual need that matches any area on the foreign mission field,” writes Jason in the couple’s church plant proposal. “Almost 90 percent of the population adheres to the Mormon faith, and almost an additional 10 percent consider themselves nonreligious. The need for the gospel of Jesus is great.”
Mission USA Director Don Morris says, “What feels really good about this church plant is the crossover of commitment among districts. Henderson MB Church in the Central District and possibly a church in the Southern District are committing to make this project happen alongside the PDC Board of Home Missions and Mission USA. This ‘leveling of the playing field,’ so to speak, is encouraging to me. We’re in this together—to plant Mennonite Brethren churches across America.”
The Quirings spent three years in Utah, during which Jason served on the staff of South Mountain Community Church (SMCC) in Draper, Utah. SMCC, led by Paul Robie, is the first and largest USMB congregation in the Salt Lake City area. The Quirings moved back to Nebraska over three years ago, but continued to feel a strong pull back to Utah.
“It was there (in Utah) over three and a half years ago, that (God) started to ignite a desire in us to be a part of planting a church there,” writes Quiring. “We found ourselves living out God?s mission right in our own neighborhood. We see those years as groundwork for what he has planned for the future.”
Quiring says that God has been teaching the couple patience, perseverance and reconciliation.
“We've discerned not only a desire to connect with ‘lost’ people (people who have not yet surrendered their lives to Jesus), but to connect with ‘unreached’ people as well—areas where less than 2 percent of the population are Christian,” says Quiring.
“The affinity we have with this area, the personal growth and convictions we?ve experienced while living, ministering and studying away from this context and the affirmation of godly people kept pointing us back to planting a church in northern Utah County.”
Gary Wall, PDC district minister says, “This is huge for us. We have a great story in Utah and to see God continue to develop churches in this area is very encouraging. We think we’ll see even more churches planted in the future.”
The project team for the Saratoga Springs church plant held their first meeting in March. The project team includes representatives from Henderson MB Church, the PDC, Mission USA as well as other key individuals. The project team will supply leadership for the church as long as financial subsidy is provided.
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