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A Time to Plant

July 24, 2019

Shamshadeen Mayers felt God call him to be a church planter 10 years ago—he just wasn’t sure when, where, or how to plant a church.

But God lined up the perfect opportunity to partner with Resonate Global Mission and plant City on a Hill Church in Bloomfield, New Jersey, his hometown, which is not far from New York City.

Starting Something New

“I was always starting things as a little kid,” said Shamshadeen. “When I was in middle school, I wanted to play football but they had a weight limit for football and I couldn’t play. So I started my own street football league … a lot of kids who couldn’t play in our city got to play in our league.”

Shamshadeen felt God call him to use his innovative spirit and passion for starting things to plant a church. He asked for advice, and his pastor at the time encouraged him to get more experience.
Shamshadeen became a high school teacher, but also went to seminary. In addition to working at Bloomfield High School, he served as a youth pastor in another city. Eventually, teachers and students started asking why he didn’t have a ministry in Bloomfield.

“That was an interesting question that kind of sparked in my heart,” said Shamshadeen. When he and his wife started looking for houses, God directed his path.

Settling in Bloomfield

“We were looking all throughout different parts of New Jersey to find a house, and we were getting all these rejected offers,” said Shamshadeen.

But then they bid on a house in Bloomfield. “We met the owner, and he said he believed God wanted us to have the house … we just knew God wanted us to be here.”

And then, about a year ago, Shamshadeen met Jeremy Mulder, a CRC pastor from Restore Church in North Haledon, New Jersey. Jeremy shared Shamshadeen’s passion for church planting and invited Shamshadeen to train and work with Restore Church in preparation for planting a church in Bloomfield.

“Now, I had the support I had been praying for,” said Shamshadeen.

Incorporating Church Planting into a Congregation

With training from Restore Church and financial support from Resonate Global Mission to fund training, a meeting place, equipment and more, Shamshadeen and his core team are launching City on a Hill’s first worship service this fall.

“I’m very passionate about Bloomfield,” said Shamshadeen. “This is my hometown. I’ve lived here for about 20 years. I know the community very well.”

Located just outside of bustling New York City, Bloomfield has become a popular city for people to buy or rent homes.

“There are so many people from all over the world living here,” said Shamshadeen. “We’re going to need more churches … many people probably won’t be reached by the same kind of churches.”

That’s why Shamshadeen’s vision for church planting extends beyond City on a Hill. He wants his church to plant more churches. “Our vision is to incorporate church planting into the DNA of our congregation,” he said.