Owings Mills Project
Jen, Sydney and I are so excited to have the opportunity to see God do something NEW and incredible in Owings Mills, MD. Owings Mills is a diverse suburb of the NW side of Baltimore. This is the home of the Baltimore Ravens training complex, major corporations and young families looking to move ahead in life.
There are many great things about Owings Mills. There is also a glaring need. People are searching for hope. They are searching for the next thing. Really, they are searching for Jesus; they just do not know that….yet.
We have been on location since February 1st and in this short time we have had the honor of developing relationships with numbers of people. There is a great curiosity about what we are doing. There is a growing sense of God working in people’s hearts and preparing them for what he is going to launch here.
I was having a conversation recently with five pre-Christians. They asked me why I moved to Owings Mills and I told them. This quickly turned to chatter about what they don’t like about church and preachers. It was invaluable information and also a platform that God provided. I shared the heart and mission and values of The Mill Church. Responses ranged from “we need that”, to “you can’t be serious, I have never seen a church do that”, to “if you do that, I will come and help.” I plan on taking Maurice up on his offer and giving him the opportunity to help us.
We just finished living nine weeks in a hotel. We came here before we bought a home and then we ran into snags with the mortgage. Finally, we are moved into a home. Nine weeks in the hotel was not easy. Why did we have the delays in getting a home? We are not sure. We have our suspicions though. This time allowed us opportunities to develop great relationships with the hotel staff.
Only God’s hand could produce a scenario where Brandy and Jason, from the front desk, are sad we are leaving. The group sales manager, Terri, is having lunch with Jen. The manager, Joe, says to keep stopping in. The maintenance man, Sarra, wants to do lunch. Jamal, who works breakfast, wishes he was not leaving for college because he would help us out. How many of these people will be a part of the launch team of The Mill Church? We will see.
These conversations are occurring on a weekly basis with numbers of people. We know that we came to the right place. We know that God is working this thing in a much bigger way then we ever expected.
The Mill Church will launch on 10-10-10. Our mission is to “Transform Lives With The Hope Of Jesus.”
A mill takes a raw product, transforms it and sends it out to fulfill its purpose. At The Mill Church, we want people to come as they are, be transformed by the hope of Jesus and then send them out to fulfill their purpose from God.
At this point we are continuing to assess the needs of the community and to develop service opportunities to meet those needs. We want to love and to serve the community, no strings attached. Through serving people in the community, we will let them know that we care and it will open doors for life-changing conversations.
We are so thankful to have The Orchard Group as a leading partner in this plant. Brent Storms serves on our Management Team and is providing incredible leadership alongside the rest of the team.
It has been said many times that church planting is the most effective form of evangelism in the world today. We are praying that The Mill Church is used by God to change the lives of hundreds and thousands for eternity.
We would appreciate your prayers as this church prepares to launch. It is so powerful to think of the number of churches launching on 10-10-10. Will history look back at 10-10-10 and say on that day America took a step toward Jesus? Your prayers and support will make it happen.
Feel free to visit our website: www.themillchurch.com.
God Bless,
Sean Olson, Lead Planter