Eden Church opened its doors to the Fort Wayne community with its first service on Sunday, October 8th. Joyous congregants gathered to worship in a former Methodist church near downtown Fort Wayne. Pastor Phil Borjas led with a message about the new church being named after the Garden of Eden and how God strategically placed it there “to be a life source to the community.”
Phil’s journey into church planting began after 22 years of youth ministry in places like Chicago, Dallas, and Fort Wayne. God led Phil into a season of rest and “a time of really listening.” As he and his family sought God’s direction by visiting various churches, Phil connected with Nathan DeVaux at Kingdom Collective and Chris Freeman at City Church, both FEC church planters. God then led him to Pine Hills Church where he trained for two years to become a church planting pastor.
Eden Church began with a TAP (Target Analysis Process) team of very supportive people who were instrumental in the launch’s success. One family jumped on board to run sound and checked in regularly with supportive text messages to Phil like, “We have your back,” and “Pastor, what do you need?” One man felt God’s call for him to get back into serving at church by directing him to Eden Church. Phil says he has been a proactive supporter every week, encouraging and affirming Phil often.
Phil knows God has big plans for Eden Church serving its community, namely starting with the Lifehouse ministries already active within the building where Eden meets. Neighborhoods surrounding Eden Church are in a “food desert,” so there are no local grocery stores or accessible sources of food. Phil plans to partner with Lifehouse and its food pantry, clothing, and homeless ministries. A Spanish ministry is also being discussed and steps are being taken to connect with Spanish-speaking families.
