On a typical week at Golden Avenue Church, hundreds of people pass through its doors. Some gather for worship. Others come looking for practical help, hope, or community. By week’s end, the church has touched far more lives than those sitting in the sanctuary on Sunday morning.
But what’s happening at Golden Avenue isn’t contained to that street anymore.
Today, the church is doing something new—something that goes far beyond its walls. It’s reaching people, making disciples, and helping establish new churches.
A Turning Point
Every story of movement has a moment when the direction begins to change.
In 2020, Golden Avenue Church reached a crossroads. Attendance had declined, ministries had slowed, and the future felt uncertain.
Then, something unexpected happened.
A call from a trusted leader became a defining moment for Pastor Jeffrey Stoneking. The encouragement was simple, but it shifted everything: focus on what God has placed in front of you and trust Him to do what only He can do.
For Pastor Jeffrey, that meant leaning into a calling that had always been centered on reaching people beyond the walls of the church. For the congregation, it meant embracing a vision that would require both faith and action.
Renewed for the Mission
The church began looking closely at the needs surrounding them—families struggling to make ends meet, individuals facing addiction, and communities often overlooked. And they deliberately decided to go.
Each Friday, families gathered to receive groceries—often 100 to 120 at a time—while also hearing the gospel and connecting with people who were ready to walk alongside them.
Week after week, that outreach grew into a consistent rhythm of ministry—serving more families, building relationships, and creating ongoing opportunities to meet both physical and spiritual needs.
The fruit of that faithfulness extended beyond weekly outreach. New believers were coming to faith, and baptisms became a visible reminder that God was doing more than rebuilding a congregation—He was transforming lives. Last year alone, Golden Avenue celebrated 46 baptisms.
Developing and Sending Leaders
As the church continued to invest in discipleship, intentional pathways were created to help people grow—from a one-year discipleship process to an internship program focused on developing future leaders. New believers were welcomed, equipped, and challenged to take ownership of the church’s mission.
As Golden Avenue’s vision for sending grew, Pastor Jeffrey found practical help through Send Network’s Residency Builder and Sending Lab, adapting ideas and resources to fit the culture and needs of his own church.
As team leaders helped others grow, more people began stepping into ministry. Many served while balancing full-time jobs and family responsibilities, reinforcing a culture where ministry belonged to the whole church. As people were discipled and equipped, the next question naturally became where God might send them.
That vision is now taking shape a few hours away in the rural communities of Shannon County, near Eminence, Missouri. Pastor Harley Mottsenbocker and his team officially launched River Fellowship on Easter Sunday 2026. Fifty people gathered that first weekend, and the church celebrated a baptism shortly afterward—a fitting reminder that new life was already taking root.
Golden Avenue continues to partner with River Fellowship through practical support, encouragement, outreach events, and ongoing relationships. Its role didn’t end on launch day. Ministry leaders regularly encourage the planting team, while church members travel more than two hours to serve with the new congregation as it establishes a gospel presence in the community.
Pastor Harley believes that’s exactly how church planting is meant to happen.
“Churches plant churches. People don’t plant churches,” he said.
For Golden Avenue, River Fellowship represents something significant—not simply a new church, but a new chapter of developing leaders, sending them, and strengthening gospel work.
A Vision Beyond One Church
Sending doesn’t mean Golden Avenue has people to spare. It has meant releasing some of the church’s most capable and committed people—men and women who have been discipled, developed, and deeply connected to the congregation. They’re the very people any church would want to keep.
It means saying goodbye to friends and ministry partners while trusting God to provide the right people at the right time. And it means staying connected after they’re sent. For Golden Avenue, sending isn’t the end of a relationship. It’s the beginning of a partnership.
Pastor Jeffrey puts it simply, “It’s not for the faint of heart.”
But sacrifice is part of following Christ—a willingness to give for the sake of others.
For Pastor Jeffrey, that kind of sacrifice is rooted in a conviction he has returned to throughout the years: Matthew 6:33. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
For Golden Avenue, sending isn’t about having enough people or resources. It’s about seeking God’s kingdom first and trusting Him to provide what comes next.
Golden Avenue is already praying toward helping plant four churches over the next five years. But the vision reaches beyond a number. The goal is to become the kind of church that continually reaches people, makes disciples, equips them for ministry, strengthens new churches, and faithfully sends them wherever God leads.
For Golden Avenue, that outward focus isn’t simply another ministry. It’s becoming part of what it means to be a church renewed for the mission.
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