- Church planting & multiplication
Nathan Law has lived near Houston since his family moved there in his teenage years. Since then, the community has multiplied in people and diversified in cultures and lifestyles.
The identity of Pearland, where 125,000 people live south of Houston, retains its Texas roots while adding many thousands from elsewhere. Law’s neighbors include Iraqis and Costa Ricans, alongside families that have always lived there.
“It’s almost like two different cities,” he said. “The world is at your doorstep.”
Law and the core team of Renovation City Church launched in January 2024 so the world at their doorstep could know the king of all creation.
Related: Bowling Green has many refugees, so a multicultural church was a natural choice.
“We’re trying to always stay focused on those unchurched people,” he said.
That focus reflects Pearland's spiritual landscape. There are churched people and people who are new to town or from another country and don’t have a connection to Jesus followers.
Renovation City knows traditional Texas-style congregations exist throughout the area, so it embraced a ministry for those not already gathering with Christ’s people.
Law said the church is multiplying small groups first so that people deepen their relationships, in addition to worshiping together on Sunday.
Law said the population is spreading to the south, but there aren’t enough churches. So, he said the church hopes to plant more churches in the next three to five years, especially in neighborhoods south of Pearland.
New churches can help people follow Jesus because entire families are looking for hope. For example, Steven (not his real name) first connected with Renovation City while he was addicted to drugs. The Texan encountered Christ two years ago, similar to the Apostle Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus.
Because Steven’s heart is full of faith and his life is changed, several people in his family have started to find transformation. As a result, he and Law have discussed starting a small group in the family’s home for people who may not attend church.
Gospel opportunities exist in Pearland because the church can evangelize people by proclaiming the gospel so people believe in God and form close friendships in the church. Law said there’s also the St. Patrick method, where people have tight relationships with Christians and then believe.
“How do we be faithful in both those arenas?” Law asked.
Renovation City has repeatedly found God helping them with all the crossroads for a Texas transition. He even led Renovation City and another congregation to merge so that the church could continue to worship and fellowship while also advancing the kingdom.
That merger helped Renovation City gain a building and more ministry opportunities. Post-COVID realities included challenges of finding space for worship, nursery and children’s ministries.
Now, though, the gospel remains the message for a city that’s almost two cities with two cultures throughout a community in transition.
Therefore, Renovation City is ready to use God’s message and method to make disciples of the churched and unchurched, the Texans and the transplants.
“We’re converging with two different cultures,” Law said. “The gospel can connect both of them.”
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.
