God’s hand in the ordinary: New church connects with yearning hearts

Still, all those believers were making the same request: Lord, give us a church for the towns along the Weber River in mountainous, northern Utah. And God put all the pieces in place in the last few months.

“The Lord paved the way for us,” Brent Peterson said. “Our hearts have always been for Utah and the lack of Christian churches out here,” he said.

Several wards of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are within a short drive for the thousands of people along the river. But the nearest Christian church is about 30 minutes away by interstate.

Now, the Petersens are planting Summit 419 Church with help from Converge Rocky Mountain and The Bridge Community Church in Centerville, Utah.

That’s why a lady, crying tears of gratitude, brought them a watermelon this year. When believers joined the Petersens to clean up a community cemetery this summer, the woman’s thankful tears flowed. Inspired by faith, their service answered years of prayer the woman had made for someone to help at the cemetery.

The Lord paved the way for us,” Brent Peterson said. “Our hearts have always been for Utah and the lack of Christian churches out here.

Brent Petersen

Then, there was Julie. She motivated 10 believers to meet with the Petersens on July 4 about their desire for a new church in Coalville, Utah. 

Word spread around town as the Petersens settled into their new home and looked for ways to serve. Women at a salon asked Rose if they were the family who helped clean up the cemetery. Another day, Brent was applying to be a substitute teacher at a local school when someone recognized him and thanked him for taking care of the cemetery.

“The burden kept coming on us that there’s no church,” he said. “What can we do to be a part of helping?”

The Lord started making the difficult look easy

The Petersens came to Utah in 2012 to help Loren Pankratz plant Bridge Community Church. They were helping in kids ministry first, working as bivocational teammates until Brent became full-time at the church. 

This spring, the Petersens embraced the opportunity to start a new church on the other side of the Wasatch Mountains in Coalville, population 1500. Bridge Community Church had built relationships and organized a mission trip to the Coalville area. 

This year, the hospital where Rose works as an ultrasound sonographer for high-risk babies announced they were opening a clinic near Park City, not far from Coalville. Then, they and their four kids found a home — owned by a Christian who runs a ministry. After that, their Centerville, Utah, home sold in 12 hours for more than the asking price.

“God’s hand was just on all the things,” Petersen added.

Prayers, even in tragedy, demonstrate the church’s value in Coalville

The Lord’s active work in ordinary affairs has also been happening as a result of all those people praying. Julie, who initially stirred up a crowd to a barbecue with the Petersons, has been a believer for 30 years. She’s been praying for a long time that God would bring a church to town.

Related: Converge churches and believers again devoted 24 hours to prayer.

Women in a strong, growing Bible study started praying this summer for Christ to provide someone who would support and organize them. Days after they began praying, one of the women met Brent Petersen.

That group has increased in number since the Petersens arrived. They’ve since formed a second Bible study for the community, including men, to come to.

Brent recently prayed with the sons and husband of a woman in the group. Tragically, the woman had a heart attack and required life support, which was soon stopped.

But, while she was still alive, her husband and sons called Brent. He met them at the hospital, shared verses from Proverbs and Psalms and prayed. Almost immediately after their prayer ended, one of the sons told Brent how good it felt to pray.

“They hadn’t had anybody pray with them or read the Bible with them because they hadn’t had a church,” Petersen added.

God wasn’t done yet

There was nowhere to have her funeral, so the service was scheduled at a Latter-Day Saints facility. Even so, bishops of the other faith honored the family’s request for Petersen to speak at her funeral.

He told more than 200-300 people how this woman, who knew just about everybody in the small town, loved the Lord and the Scriptures. Everyone in attendance at the funeral heard Petersen share the gospel that had saved the woman’s soul — many for the first time.

But it won’t be the last time Summit 419 church — named after Matthew 4:19 and the county around Coalville — makes the Lord’s grace and truth known.

“They are seeking because people in that area have a high level of interest in religious things,” he said. “People are lost because they aren’t following the Jesus of the Bible.”

Converge's 10 districts have committed to deploying 312 church planters before 2026. Read more inspiring church planting stories and learn about the goal to send out 312 church planters in five years.