The Light at Joplin

The story of a new church in Joplin, Missouri, part of our United Methodist connection.


Rev. Andrew Moyer’s ideas about his church are a bit more ethereal than most pastors. First, he doesn’t really like calling it a church. He prefers to think of it as a movement. And he isn’t praying to build a church. He’s praying to transform a community. When Moyer was launching The Light at Joplin in the fall of 2016, he went around Joplin asking people to dream. What change would they like to see in the world? People said they would like to see an end to divorce, child abuse and racial division, to name a few things.
    
“We said that we believe God wants the same thing,” Moyer said. “Our vision is to have a small group or home church on every corner. A small group on every block could be aware of things like abuse or neglect, and be able to help. We think it’s the only way to tackle this God-sized dream.”
    
That’s not to say they are eschewing the traditional church practice of gathering together for worship on Sunday morning. They actually have that area covered quite well. Now just over a year into their launch, The Light at Joplin has close to 300 people in two services and is considering expanding to a third service.


The rest of the story …