Warren and Leah Mainard and their two children are preparing for the mission field in a land with a beautiful city nestled between two mountain ranges, where more than 90 percent of the population claims no religious affiliation of any kind.
Warren Mainard, a Florence-area youth pastor who grew up in Washington state, is moving back there with his family in June to plant Essential Church.Where is this distant land? Seattle, Wash., considered to the most highly educated city in America – and also the most unchurched major city. Only four people out of a hundred attend any type of evangelical church.
These are more than impersonal statistics to Mainard. He grew up in Washington state, and God has given him a burden to reach a lost generation of young people there.
Mainard grew up in a Christian home, and his family moved to Florida when he was a teen. He felt the call into ministry, specifically student ministry. He attended Wingate University, where he met his wife, Leah. His preparation continued when he got his master’s degree at Southwestern Seminary.
Later, traveling with a church-planting team to Pennsylvania, Mainard felt an instant connection with the process and a conviction that God was pulling him into church planting.
In 2004, he joined the staff of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Florence. It was a new church with only 10 young people involved. The Mainards invested their lives in the students there, careful to include opportunities to be part of church-planting teams from New York to Myrtle Beach. His fledgling youth group grew to a robust 120 students.
Mainard’s conviction that God was calling him to plant a church grew, and the picture of what that would look like began to take form. He was certain he was not just to plant a church, but to plant one in an area of great need. His knowledge of his home state of Washington made the need there undeniable. Mainard recognizes that the Seattle area is even more unchurched than it was during his childhood.
The task is daunting. The move is a step of faith for the Mainard family. As wife and ministry partner, Leah is uniquely equipped to make a tremendous contribution, Mainard said. “She has a great gift and ability in music, and she will be a great connection in the community in building relationships.” Both Warren and Leah are overwhelmed by the size of the task and what it will take to make it happen. Initially, it will take a lot of money to move and establish a living.
The Mainards know they are going with the assurance that God is sending them, but Cornerstone Church is sending them, too. The church is supporting them through prayer, sending ministry partners, and helping financially.
Cornerstone’s pastor, Bill Curtis, is no stranger to church planting. It has been an integral part of the church since it was founded in 2002. His confidence in Mainard is obvious. “God has given him all the tools he needs to be a successful church planter in Seattle,” said Curtis. “We continue to pray that God will connect him with other churches in South Carolina who have a heart for church planting in North America.”
Cornerstone’s support covers only about 15 percent of the need. Until his family’s scheduled departure in June, Mainard is praying for the opportunity to share with other South Carolina churches the need and vision for the soon-to-be-planted Essential Church (a name chosen by Mainard after reading Thom Rainer’s book, “Essential Church? Reclaiming a Generation of Dropouts”). The Mainards are praying for several more families to commit to move to the area, for partnerships to develop with churches and individuals, and to secure their support structures, including a prayer team and a financial-support team.
Essential Church will make its home in Bellevue, Wash., a satellite city to Seattle. The beauty of the mountain ranges and pristine lakes disguise the glaring need for a vibrant, relevant church, but the need is essential, Mainard says. – SCBC