
Bringing the Church into your Neighborhood
Revive is a new church supported by Stadia’s services aiming to reach Annapolis with the hope of Jesus. My name is Caleb, and I am planting with my wife, Melissa Kaye, and our five children. The vision of Revive is to be a safe place to develop authentic faith. We believe in collaboration and teamwork and that together we can do so much more! Our mission is for Revive to be known as good news in our community.
We were on the path to start a new church the way that many do. We planned to meet in a local school and use a trailer to bring in the things we need and set up and tear down each week. Then the pandemic began, and we pivoted for the moment, hoping this reality would soon pass. We began live-streaming to stay connected to the community and team that we had started to build. It soon became apparent that this new reality may be here to stay longer than we had hoped. So in the middle of a pandemic, when meeting in groups on a Sunday morning does not feel safe to those we are reaching out to, we decided to launch digitally. Revive has the vision to live life connected to God, people, and our community. And all of those things can be done outside of a church building on a Sunday morning.
But the question is… how? We are hosting digital gatherings throughout the week and creating a “Mobile Resource Center” that will be able to take wi-fi, tutoring, food, clothing, and more into the communities that need it. Instead of “saving” resources for when the church meets in person, we are using our resources to be the church right now to Annapolis. We are excited about our relationships and the impact that we can have as we all work together!
We see this digital/physical hybrid of church planting having the potential to be a catalyst to the restoration of the “neighborhood church.” We are striving to be a church that is listening to the distinct and detailed research about what individual neighborhoods need. Those needs may include tutoring, food/clothing delivery, or setting up a worship experience in the parking lot; our goal is to cooperate with what God is already doing and find creative ways to resource and equip. We are also looking for persons of peace that God has already placed in those neighborhoods so we can be training, equipping, and resourcing them to become their local neighborhood pastor leading a micro localized Revive campus.
We want to see every man, woman, and child, no matter what their background or faith experience, have a fulfilled and fruitful life with Jesus. We believe that this can happen with a well guided, localized strategy that is grass rooted and spirit-led. Our goal as we launch “Phygitally” (digital and physical) is that we never lose sight of what we are called to do, and that is to introduce people to the power of the gospel through Jesus and work with the spirit of God seeking restoration for the local community. Jeremiah 29:7 says, Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
The Revive Mobile Resource Vehicle is currently being built, and we are excited for it to be ready so that we can reach the local neighborhoods of Anne Arundel County, MD. The need is monumental, and we know that we will only be able to care for a small part of that need. That is why we are so excited about church planting!! We need more people and more churches to keep forming and willing to step out into the waters of the unknown until every child has a church!
Caleb and his wife, Melissa are planting Revive Faith Church in Anne Arundel County, MD along with their 5 awesome kids!