Dan Coleman says he and his wife, Amanda, are “New Englanders who know New England.” As missionaries to their native culture, they intuitively created an outreach strategy contextualized to their community. From city officials to families with kids, members of Kennebec Community Church are constantly building relationships with the people around them.
Running sports camps for children has been a natural fit for what is known as one of the least-religious places in the country. “We have outreach to hundreds of kids, and we get to receive their families into church the Sunday after camp,” Dan says. When families experience the worshipful and biblical community of Kennebec Community Church, it causes them to take a fresh look at Jesus. Several have already joined the church and been baptized.
Kennebec Community Church also places a strong emphasis on Christ community—church members eating meals together, gathering regularly for Bible study and prayer and meeting one another’s practical needs. “In a cold, often depressed area,” Dan says,” Jesus is bringing new life to the people of Maine.” Dan now has the opportunity, while continuing to serve Kennebec, to come alongside future planters in the area in his role as a Church Planting Catalyst with the North American Mission Board.