City Church first launched in November 2016 in the heart of Fort Wayne, Indiana. They’ve had a heart for serving the city ever since. Now, after seven and a half years of setting up their mobile church every Sunday in a shared multipurpose campus, City Church has stepped into its permanent home, a newly renovated building on the southeast side of Fort Wayne.
This 60,000-square-foot former grocery store sat vacant for decades before undergoing the transformation to become City Church. Chris Freeman, Lead Pastor, saw God’s faithfulness in abundance as God provided this new space. In April of 2020, amidst a global pandemic when the future seemed uncertain, City Church received a phone call about the building for sale. Stepping out in faith, they put down an offer, navigated through the pandemic, and launched construction in 2023. This April, City Church welcomed over 2,000 people for their first services. A few weeks later, 51 people went public with their faith through believer’s baptism.
Pastor Chris is encouraged and moved by how God is impacting so many lives for his Kingdom. “To think about all he has done, all the lives that have been touched through this church. He’s taught me that he can do immeasurably more than I could imagine” (Ephesians 3:20).
One couple demonstrated this by joining City Church on day one and serving faithfully ever since. They opened their home to a young adults group for seven years, served on Sunday mornings, and gave generously. After receiving a terminal diagnosis, the wife passed away this spring, but Pastor Chris saw her legacy on display that first Sunday in the new building. “It’s an example of incredible sacrifice,” he says as he recalls looking out at the familiar faces in the congregation. “Even though she never stepped foot in this facility, hundreds of lives have been touched by her.”
With a new building come new ways to serve the community. They now have 6 and a half more days of the week for City Church to conduct ministry. Already, they’re teaming up with Healthier Moms and Babies (HM&B), a local non-profit that provides support and resources for families. This includes giving out half a million diapers a year. Since City Church has 7,000 square feet of loading space, they’ll host HM&B and become a diaper distribution center for those families.
“To see his faithfulness to us in this season is pretty incredible,” says Chris. City Church plans to connect with other organizations in the community, as well as launch weekly programs and small groups down the road.
