ST. LOUIS – Storyline Southwest in St. Louis had a lot to celebrate for Christmas this year. It was the first Christmas since the September merger of Storyline and Southwest Baptist Church.
“I was called here in 2020 to plant a church in the city of St. Louis,” Lead Pastor Josh Wilson said. “We started meeting in the Fellowship Hall of Southwest Baptist, and we had our services at 4:30 pm. Because of the pandemic it was difficult to get a core group, but we grew from six families to 120 people.”
Southwest Church started in 1921 and at one time more than 1,000 people attended on a Sunday, but it had dwindled to 50 regular attenders. “They prayed for two decades for God to use them as He had done in the past,” Wilson continued. “We were two congregations, one in need of young people and the other in need of a permanent location.”
“We want to build off of that legacy,” he said, “the church has a heart for missions and discipleship. We want to tell the story in new ways and pray for their response.”
God is already growing the church. The first baptism was on Dec. 7 with five people baptized. Growth is in all ages. The children’s division has doubled from 20 to 40, the 6th grade through 12th has grown by 10 and the college age has added 50 students.
“God has strategically placed us in a position to reach the next generation,” Wilson said. ”God has brought four staff to work with college students, and we have ministry on the Washington University and St. Louis University campuses.”
This emphasis on college work has led the congregation to start a two-year residency program with one minister. The church hopes to duplicate this work in other college towns.
Telling the story of Jesus in new ways has led the congregation to hold movie nights in the park. “We want to initiate relationships with all people,” Wilson said. “So, we started having these movie nights where people already were gathering. We’ve coached our people to connect with others.”
Working with a local senior ministry, the church has reached out to 120 homes in the community to do jobs like leaf raking and minor repairs. “When we are in the homes of others,” Wilson said, “we always pray with them and make connection. One 80-year-old lady sent us a thank you and said, ‘This is the most fun that I’ve had in twenty years.’”
Relationship building is done with Community Groups and Discipleship Groups. The Community Groups gather people in the neighborhood once a month for food and fun. “My wife and I lead a Tuesday group,” Wilson said. “Last week, we had forty people for dinner.”
The Discipleship Groups are weekly groups of 3-5 people of the same gender who grow in maturity together. They gather to read, discuss and pray the Bible together.
For Advent, Wilson preached on the book of Ruth. “We wanted to anticipate the Davidic King for our celebration of the risen King at Christmas.” The church will celebrate Christmas with a service highlighting a performance by the children’s choir, followed by a hot chocolate bar.
“Our shared conviction to build off of what God did at Southwest has fueled our desire for missions,” Wilson said. “It has led us to pray large and ambitious requests. We want to look not just to work for next year, but in the decades to come. We are praying to plant five new churches in next ten years.”