OUR HISTORY

 

In 1970 Wayman and Nelda Mitchell moved to Prescott, AZ to take over a small, struggling church. Shortly after arriving, God saved a number of young hippies who were very different from everyone else in the congregation. But as they were welcomed, God began to pour out His Spirit on them. From then on as Pastor Mitchell sought to reach young people, the church began to see the potential of a “coffee-house” concert ministry. On the first night, more than two hundred young people attended, many being saved. Out of this initial event a regular concert ministry was birthed. Two nights a week bands played, testimonies of salvation were given, and the Gospel was preached. Many more were saved each night.

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“From then on as Pastor Mitchell sought to reach young people, the church began to see the potential of a “coffee-house” concert ministry.”

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​Pastor Mitchell discerned that a concert scene could also be an effective training ground for further ministry. The events were overseen by young people who were committed to Jesus Christ and His church.

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Individuals who oversaw the concert scene as well as others in the congregation who had been radically converted sought to share what God had done in and for them with those outside the church. Personal evangelism came to be one of the church’s basic foundations. Impact teams were also formed in which groups of individuals from the congregation traveled to other nearby cities to help people there experience what God was doing in Prescott.

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“Individuals who oversaw the concert scene as well as others in the congregation who had been radically converted sought to share what God had done in and for them with those outside the church.”

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Over time, God revealed His plan of discipleship: To train young couples in a local church setting for ministry. In 1973 the first couple had been prepared and was launched directly into Tucson, AZ, to begin another church. Churches then began to be planted throughout the Southwestern United States and then further across America as converts prayed for the Gospel to be preached in their hometowns.

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​In 1978 the spreading of churches became international when a couple was launched into Australia; we discovered that the Gospel worked there, just like it did in the US! After that, churches were planted in Mexico, Holland, and Germany. As we came to understand God’s global mission more and more, churches were planted throughout the world. To date, there are over 2,400 churches in 46 US states and 126 nations globally.