Christians often perceive that a true missionary calling must be to the other side of the world. For some, this is a reality. For others, their own backyard is their mission field.
Situated 30 miles north of Seattle, Washington, Whidbey Island isn’t exactly top of the list for church planters. Yet for Matthew and Stephanie Erikson, this small town is precisely where they were called to be.
Matthew, a fourth-generation Whidbey Islander, was raised on the south end of the island, and Stephanie grew up in the Seattle and Mt. Vernon area of Washington. In 2012, following a church planting assessment through Northwest Church Planting, they answered Jesus’ call to plant a church on the north end of the island in Oak Harbor in partnership with South Sound Network, Northwest Church Planting, and the Alliance Northwest District.
While the Eriksons were locals to the island, they knew no one in this new community nearly an hour away. So when they moved to Oak Harbor in August 2014 with their three school-aged children, they faced the same questions church planters moving a world away might ask: What is our mission? How do we best reach people for Jesus? How can we partner with our community? How will we raise leaders?
Getting Started
God quickly opened doors for the Eriksons to be missional, bringing to them families with special-needs kids. Before long, Stephanie had landed a job with the Oak Harbor School District, working with more children with special needs. With prayer, it seemed evident that God was shaping the Eriksons’ calling: plant a church and start by being a Christ-like presence to these families with special-needs children.
“That’s not who we thought we’d be reaching,” says Stephanie, who had anticipated their mission field to be Navy families because of the nearby Naval Air Station. Yet, she says, “It seems He keeps bringing people that have special needs.”
Meanwhile, Matthew and Stephanie connected with a local Foursquare church that took them under its wings as planters. Recognizing that Kingdom work transcends denomination and network, the adopted “mother church” after a year sent out the Eriksons with several families and financial support.
Their first gathering as an Alliance missional community took place February 2, 2015, six months after the Eriksons arrived in Oak Harbor. Today 15–30 people gather in their home for dinner and fellowship every Sunday afternoon, with one of those Sundays being a community service day. The group is a mix of seekers, new believers, and older believers.
Sensitivity and Servanthood
Both Matthew and Stephanie are bi-vocational. Stephanie’s job, in particular, has allowed the Eriksons to meet and engage with many families they wouldn’t have otherwise. “We’ve seen that sometimes families feel that it’s hard to connect in a church because of their special-needs kids,” Matthew says, “and congregations don’t always know how to react.”
Matthew and Stephanie quickly realized in their church plant they wanted to not only be sensitive to these families but wanted to also serve them. Here’s a bit of how they’re doing that:
- One of the first families that came along was a single dad with two boys, one of whom has Down’s syndrome. The Eriksons embraced the family, and they continue to be part of their community.
- Another family with a 23-year-old special needs son started an organization to raise funds specifically for special-needs kids in the community. Resonating with the Eriksons’ mission and vision, they are also an active part of their missional community.
- Matthew performed a wedding for an autistic couple, both of whom have given their lives to Jesus and will soon be baptized.
- Two discipling small groups are under way, with Stephanie leading the women and Matthew leading the men.
- The Oak Harbor community continually asks the Eriksons for help, recognizing that they are a family on mission together.
Matthew and Stephanie admit that church planting isn’t easy. They are in desperate need of mature believers and leaders. Weekly hosting and communal dinners get tedious and messy. Attendance is often spotty. But Matthew and Stephanie hold fast to their calling.
In every story, every life touched, God shows up and confirms their need to be a light in Oak Harbor. Their budding missional community is rife with broken people willing to go deep and recognizing their need for Jesus.
God is building His Church, recognizes Matthew, “through family. As we discover what it means to be family, people are attracted to Jesus. We didn’t know what to expect—but we are happy with what God is doing.”