As told by Brian Kannel, Lead Pastor at York Alliance Church
Back in 2020, we planted a church—a great year to plant a church.
There is a joy that comes from planting but also challenges as you send out key leaders. To help launch our urban church on the east side of York City, we sent out Executive Pastor, Mike Carletti. As Mosaic City Church began to take shape, it became clear that Pastor Mike needed to spend more time in the city.
With that realization, we began to reconfigure our staffing and started praying for a new part-time executive administrator. It was at this time I felt the Lord tell me that I should reach out to Nate Conklin, a long-time pastor at Spring Grove Alliance Church.
New Team Member
At first, I was skeptical. “How could this work?” I wondered. “Can you even serve on two church staffs at once? Is that even legal?”
I brought the idea to my committee, half-expecting them to think it was crazy and wouldn’t work. To my surprise, they encouraged the idea. So, I texted Nate and asked if we could meet for breakfast. The very next day, I sat down with him and began to present my idea, assuming he would think it was crazy. Instead, Nate wanted to explore the idea.
It's worth noting that a year before, Nate had brought a group of us together to pray quarterly for those who had a vision to plant churches in the Adams County and Hanover area.
As Nate stepped into his new part-time role, God gave me a sentence that I couldn’t shake. I heard Him tell me, “Spring Grove is the bridge to Hanover.”
New Building and Possibilities
A few months later, I received a weird text. The CEO of the YMCA of the Roses wanted to meet with me at a building in Spring Grove. I had never met the guy and knew nothing about the building, but I agreed to the meeting at what was the former Spring Grove Middle School.
As we toured the space, he painted a vision where the YMCA would occupy half of the building, while the other half would be transformed into a community center offering food, clothing, financial training, childcare, and a senior center.
At the end of this tour, this man who I had never met said: “And we’d like to have a church at the center. Would York Alliance be willing to plant a church here?”
“What?” I immediately asked. “There are other churches in Spring Grove. Why would you want York Alliance to plant a church here?”
“Two reasons,” he explained. “First, you’ve been around for 100 years. I don’t think you’re going to disappear. Second, many churches like to say they partner with the community, but few do. You guys do.”
He then began to present a wild proposal: the free use of a 500-seat auditorium and the entire building on Sunday mornings, including the daycare center. The only cost would be office and meeting space at $2.5 per square foot annually for the next 25 years—less than $10,000 a year.
New Church Plant
As I drove away, I knew God was up to something, but I also knew this building was about a mile away from Spring Grove Alliance Church, where Nate was the pastor.
“How are we going to do this?” I wondered.
Both churches began to pray, and God led us into a unique collaboration. We began to form a core team from York Alliance to join Spring Grove to plant a new church in the YMCA building.
Today, around 100 people are part of the core team, ready to launch the new Spring Grove Alliance Church. It will have the vision and values of York Alliance but building on the faithfulness and prayers of the former Spring Grove Alliance Church.
This unfolding story is a testament to Nate Conklin’s Christ-like leadership and the humility of Spring Grove. Nate has led his congregation to celebrate and mourn and hold those emotions together. Nate has chosen joy over and over as he chooses to follow Jesus for increasing gospel impact.
New Communities
Although the YMCA’s building project has been delayed until 2025, we are currently searching for a temporary location for our core team. We recently were led to an empty car dealership in Hanover, where the owner has a heart for church planting! He is offering the space to us free of charge until the YMCA building is ready.
We’re still evaluating if this is the best fit, but one of my elders reminded me of the word God gave me: “Spring Grove will be the bridge to Hanover.”
Right now, this “bridge” location in Hanover allows us to prepare for ministry in Spring Grove while beginning to reach the community in Hanover, where we hope to plant another church. Even before this all started, Nate was leading us in prayer for church planting in the Hanover region. God is up to something.
There are lost people in Spring Grove and Hanover that need the gospel embodied in front of them. We have a team that's pumped and ready to step into that. And we recognize the best way to reach these communities is not by asking them to travel to York, but by bringing the gifts, passions, and resources God has given us directly to them.