Ten years ago, when Grace Community Church in Newton, Kansas, followed God’s leading to become a church multiplication center, they committed to move forward wherever God opened the door. Within a few years, they had planted three churches in the Wichita area, and the churches formed the Kansas Synergy Group. Then, God opened the door for the Kansas Synergy Group to plant a church in Bolivia, South America.
What makes this church planting initiative unique is the partnership that the Grace Community Church Multiplication Center and the Kansas Synergy Group has formed with Compassion International, ensuring the success of the new church in Bolivia. Compassion International operates in 25 countries serving more than 1.8 million children through church partnerships and child sponsorships. In high poverty areas where no church exists, Compassion International has turned to local and international churches for additional support. Now, a community is building a church and receiving at least 200 additional child sponsors through their partnership with the Kansas Synergy Group. The church partnership with the Kansas Synergy Group won’t stop there. The group plans to send teams to further support the ongoing work with the church in Bolivia.
Dave Reimer, founding pastor at Grace Community Church and a part of the Kansas Synergy Group leadership, visited Bolivia in January to meet with Compassion International staff and visit families who have been impacted by child sponsorship. He recalls visiting a mother with five children who showed their visiting team what Compassion had provided for their family. Now, her family will also be folded into the new church, and she will receive more support to raise her children. That’s beautiful synergy.
