Church Plant Trusts God in the Heart of Milwaukee
Members of City Reformed Church practice for worship
Pastor Chris Ganski will be the first to tell you that planting City Reformed Church was far from a one-man effort.
This Christian Reformed Church congregation was started through the combined efforts of more than a dozen people.
Living in the heart of Milwaukee, Wisc., this core group desperately sought renewal for the broken place they inhabited.
“We were a group of 12–15 people who were commuting from downtown Milwaukee to Brookfield CRC, our parent church, every week.
“We loved attending Brookfield CRC, but we yearned to invest in our city,” recalls Ganski.
In February of 2012, this group started meeting weekly in a local church building. During this time, says Ganski, God blessed City Reformed Church, enabling its members to build momentum.
For two years the congregation worshiped there, and in November of 2014 they were finally able to launch worship services in their own facility, a recently renovated retail building.
Funding for this new building came from Christian Reformed Home Missions and congregational savings from the previous two years of ministry.
Ganski is excited about the location of the new building. “It is right in the heart of downtown Milwaukee in a very populated area where thousands of people walk by every day. It has massive visibility.”
Aside from the weekly Sunday services, many of their activities are informal and form spontaneously. If the members see a need in the community, they develop a service project to meet that need.
At one point, Ganski noticed a need for discipleship in men’s lives, so over breakfast on Thursday mornings at 6 a.m. he began mentoring a group of men.
Gathering over a meal is a common practice for members of this congregation. “It sounds funny, but eating and drinking are core values for us here at City Reformed Church,” Ganski admits.
“We are constantly hosting meals and inviting friends because people love to eat. We see these meals as evangelistic in nature.”
Besides this food-driven philosophy, another aspect that makes this church plant special is the dynamic between faith and work. The members’ entrepreneurial spirit has carried over
into the life of the church and has created large amounts of creative energy to do big things for the common good of the city.
Ganski says, “City Reformed Church has an unwavering passion to see a change in this city.”
The journey to get to this level of commitment has not been easy, but Ganski has given all of City Reformed Church’s challenges over to God.
“The whole process of planting a church has deepened my faith immensely. I have had to learn to trust God in all things.”
