Awaken Church: Columbus, Ohio by Chris Old
In September of 2010, the long-awaited day came for Awaken Church in downtown Columbus, Ohio to open its doors to the community for the first time.
This church plant, which came from Linworth Road Church (LRC) in Columbus, Ohio, has been in the works for the last decade, and we are so blessed to see where the Lord has brought us in that time. The relationships within Awaken began to form about 10 years ago with a group of teenagers in the youth ministry at Linworth. Many of these teens remained serving at LRC during their high school and college years, and later, as young adults, began meeting as the core group for the church plant in the fall of 2009.
The church is located in an area just north of downtown called the Short North. This area is very socio-economically, racially, and spiritually diverse. It is a central hub for Columbus' hip art scene and night life, and yet is so very spiritually void.
Our calling comes from Isaiah 61:1&4. This area of Columbus has been neglected by the church and we want to rebuild those ancient ruins. We pray that we can impact not only those who are spiritually poor, but physically poor as well.
We have been amazed and humbled to see God's financial provision for us. He has provided homes for team members, along with friendships with neighbors, schools, and other local churches. We are excited to be a part of reaching an area that the church has lost influence in, and we pray that we can establish more branch campuses in surrounding areas in the future through our collaborative vision to reach the city.
