The Aurora Initiative: Church planting in Denver’s largest suburb
A quiet crisis
Dr. Irwyn Ince, Director of the PCA’s Mission to North America has said, “Across North America we are witnessing a quiet crisis — the decline of church presence and vitality. It's a troubling trend that reduces our capacity for community support, spiritual growth, and societal impact.”
Paul and Meaghan May have been called to plant a church in Aurora
Mission to North America (MNA) has responded with a 10-year vision of fostering church vitality and furthering church planting. They set a goal to plant more than 1,000 churches in 10 years. The main obstacle to reaching this goal is a shortage of church planters willing and ready to go.
The elders of Deer Creek Church in Littleton, Colorado have issued a call to Paul to plant a new congregation in southern Aurora. Paul and Meaghan were wed in 2002, and soon after attended Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. Paul was ordained as a teaching elder in the PCA in 2008, and since then he and Meaghan have planted churches in South Dakota and in the DC suburbs. Paul is a certified church planting gospel coach with CMM, and Meaghan is a certified trainer with Parakaleo, a ministry to church planting wives. Paul and Meaghan both serve as Assessors at the MNA Church Planting Assessment Center. Meaghan also serves the PCA as the Wives of Elders liaison, creating and building a ministry to the wives of teaching and ruling elders in our denomination. They have five very excited and sweet children, ages 5 to 15.
A strategic mission for a growing need
Jesus commanded every generation of believers to make disciples of all nations. People from many nations are moving to Aurora, Colorado. “Nearly one in five Aurora residents is foreign born, with immigrants from more than 40 countries.” With a population of nearly 400,000, Aurora is the third-largest city in Colorado, on a land area surpassing that of Denver itself.
The 400,000 residents don’t actually need another church—they need many new churches! The West has long been a region of our country where the PCA has had a relatively low presence. Our goal and mission is to plant a PCA church in Aurora that will plant other churches throughout Aurora and the surrounding region. We plan to do this through raising, recruiting, and sending leaders internally, and through actively partnering with the Western Church Planting Network.
Aurora is growing in popularity among singles and families
Nicknamed the “Gateway to the Rockies” since 1891, Aurora has long been regarded as a more affordable place to live in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood Metro Area, while remaining within minutes of downtown Denver and the Front Range of the Rockies. It continues to serve as an ideal place for growing families to move to find housing that matches their needs.
Aurora needs a new dawn
The word aurora means dawn, but many of Aurora’s residents live in spiritual darkness.
20% of Aurora residents believe that everything and everyone is god.
30% believe god is just a higher state of consciousness,
31% believe god is the sum total of the forces of nature and the spirits within
36% believe god is the full realization of human potential.
Each of these numbers have gone up since the previous poll in 2017. Polls also indicate that many are very skeptical of organized religion, and need relationships with Jesus-dependent believers in the Gospel for them to be open to Christianity.
Business and development are coming to Aurora
The growing population and development are also bringing new business to Aurora, only increasing the need for the PCA and Rocky Mountain Presbytery to establish and multiply its witness here.
Engaging the military community
Thousands of Active Duty, Reservist, National Guardsmen, or Retired service members, and their families call Aurora home, as Aurora is home to Buckley Space Force Base and is near several other military bases and installations. Buckley SFB alone is estimated to have a $1B impact annually on the region’s economy. Paul has recently commissioned as a reserve chaplain in the U.S. Air Force, and we pray God might use this new part-time ministry opportunity in the Air Force and in the homes of our military in Aurora and the surrounding area.
Intentionally making disciples
Aurora needs a church planting effort that aims to make disciples through befriending and evangelizing those outside the Christian faith, training and equipping our church plant members to do the work of evangelism and discipleship, and partnering together to save and sanctify hearts and homes along the Front Range and beyond, to the ends of the earth.
We Need Your Support
First, we would be so grateful if you would join our prayer team. We need dedicated partners in prayer because we know this kind of ministry is nothing less than waging spiritual war. You can sign up for our prayer and update emails by filling out the form below or by clicking here.
We also need financial partners. We need churches and individuals to join our team! Our budget was developed in consultation with Geneva Benefits (a ministry of the PCA) and our partners, the Western Church Planting Network and the session of Deer Creek Church.
Your one-time or monthly gift makes a difference!
EXAMPLE GIVING OPTIONS FOR PARTNERING CHURCHES AND INDIVIDUALS
1 Church or individual giving $6,000 / month
2 Churches or individuals giving $3,000 / month
2 Churches or individuals giving $2,000 / month
2 Churches or individuals giving $1,000 / month
5 Churches or individuals giving $500 / month
5 Churches or individuals giving $250 / month
5 Churches or individuals giving $100 / month
5 Churches or individuals giving $50 / month
Your support may be given as a pledge over a one-to-six-year period
*Deer Creek Church (our mother church) and the Western Church Planting Network have pledged financial, strategic, and overall wellbeing support. You can read more about those ministries below.
Would you take 2 minutes to fill out a pledge form? Then learn about the 3 ways to give below:
If you have time to click the button below and fill this pledge form out, to let us know what kind of support you feel led by God to pledge at this time, it will help us better understand our progress to our fundraising goal and help us get the green light to move to Colorado! It will also help us know how we can pray for you.
Three Ways to Give:
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Give Online:
You can give directly through Mission to North America to an account set up specifically for Paul and Meaghan and the Aurora Initiative. MNA will send you giving statements each January and does not charge us any processing fees!
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Text-to-Give:
Text-to-Give is way to give to our account with Mission to North America you might find convenient. To give, text "MNA 1386" to the phone number 76959 and follow the prompts.
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Give by Mail:
Send a check or money order payable to MNA to our PO Box.
Mission to North America PO Box 890233 Charlotte, NC 28289-0233
Designate the recipient and church plant with an accompanying note, indicating Paul May-#1386 and Aurora, Colorado.
