Andre and Andrea Ashford partnered with Mission Alive this year to launch a new faith community in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Below Andre shares his insights on the early months of their ministry.
In this early season of planting our IFC, I’ve watched God work in ways that have humbled me, stretched me, and confirmed that He truly goes before us. The very first time I walked through the Robert Smalls neighborhood, I felt the weight of what people were living through – the low trust, the low hope, and the low sense of value created by years of mismanagement and neglect. This distrust has added to the level of difficulty in truly building relationships. Yet, at the same time, God has whispered, “This is why you’re here.” It’s become clearer to me that the church was never meant to be just a gathering place, but a Kingdom presence – a people who meet the community, engage the broken, enrich the overlooked, equip the willing, and empower the discouraged through the love of Jesus.
We can’t accomplish a God sized mission without God’s power. So we’ve been seeking Him every step of the way. He’s opened doors I couldn’t have forced open and allowed me to have conversations with Scott Neely, one of the leaders of a large non-profit, who helped me understand the landscape of our city and connected me to leaders carrying similar burdens. Weekly prayer walks led to residents opening up, despite having every reason not to trust another outsider. And then there was Kidada Tate, a United Way case worker contracted with the city, who has been in this community daily for three years. Our conversation brought clarity that I had been praying for. When she told me my presence felt like a “spiritual case worker” for the neighborhood, something shifted. It was a God moment and a divine reminder that I am exactly where He wants me.”
