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Meet Matt and Cindy Payne
“The city is filled with darkness and there is violence in the countryside, God used to live here among His people, He needs to return.” --Psalm 74:20, a paraphrase
Most of the people in the Northwest live in spiritual darkness. Millions of people are ignorant of Christian truth and have no relationship with a church. Each year, Oregon and Washington share three dubious distinctions in the United States of America, which are 1) the lowest Christian population; 2) the fewest people involved in any church; and 3) the most people—23% and 25% of the state’s population—who claim they have no religion nor belief in any god.
The Northwest Christian Evangelistic Association is advancing God’s Kingdom against the spiritual darkness by multiplying new churches in the Pacific Northwest. Its primary area of ministry is to the 2.2 million people living in the Portland-Vancouver area. The NWCEA has planted nineteen of the forty-one Christian Churches that exist in this metropolis, nine since 1998 and three in 2004 alone. Each new church started since 1998 has been planted to become a church-planting church, meaning they intend to multiply themselves by reproducing “daughter churches.” Multiplication occurs by reproduction.
The Bethany Project is the product of this multiplication process. The Bethany Project is a partnership established between Our Place Christian Church (planted by NWCEA 2001), Somerset Christian Church (planted in 1971) and the NWCEA to plant a new church in the Bethany area of Washington County. The church in Bethany will be the fourth daughter of Our Place since it was planted in Orenco Station, and it will be the first “planned” birth of Somerset Christian.
Matt and Cindy Payne are the lead church planting couple for the Bethany Project. Matt and Cindy have been preparing for this ministry assignment in a variety of ways during the seven years they have lived in the Portland Metro. The equipping process has focused chiefly upon their personal and spiritual growth, as well as developing their leadership and ministry skills while serving on the staff of Our Place. Matt replaced one of the church’s staff in 2004 when the associate was sent out to lead the first daughter church from Our Place. Matt’s ministry position with Our Place included the plans to send him out as the lead planter for the next daughter church.
Matt and Cindy have already moved into the Bethany community and their two children, Kyle and Allison, are in school there. The Paynes are forming new relationships with their neighbors and are developing a sense of the culture reflected by the people living in Bethany. Matt is finalizing the Strategic Plan for this church plant and has begun to assemble a list of people who will comprise the Launch Team to serve as the core of the new church.
The partners and the planters of the Bethany Project are praying, planning and believing that this new church will be one way that God can return to the city to replace the darkness with His light and violence with His peace. We invite you to join us in this partnership with God, too—through your prayers and financial generosity—to help this church begin and grow and mature into a church planting church under the leadership of Matt and Cindy Payne.
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Thanks to those who donated cash or items for Church! at Bethany. Your generosity is appreciated. This new church is currently raising funds for a Macintosh computer to edit and run its visual presentations on Sundays. The Sunday Morning Live! kid's service takes an advanced graphics computer. Please give! Contact Matt Payne through the Bethany website to make the arrangements.
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