Getting to know the Movement Church

AdvanceNews

We caught up with Corey Sanders who leads the Movement Church with his wife Robin. The Movement Church is located in South Florida (USA) and has recently partnered with Advance. We wanted to share the background story of this inspiring community of Christ followers.

Tell us a bit about your neighborhood and the Movement Church?

Homestead is a growing suburban community that sits about thirty miles south of Miami, Florida; one of the country’s most vibrant and culturally rich cities. It’s the kind of place that offers a small-town feel but still includes areas offering big city amenities. West Homestead, which is also called Old Homestead, has struggled greatly because of issues of property, poor education and crime.

Tell us about your journey to planting in West Homestead?

I was born in Memphis, Tennessee so I am not native to the city of Homestead. I visited for the first time in 2012 to lead a performing arts camp for urban kids in the community. It would be there, during a time of worship that God told me that He wasn’t coming back for cool arts programs or para-church ministries but that He was coming back for His church and He wanted me to prepare these people for His return.

Corey, Robin and the Sanders crew

Our goal in moving to this community was to invest into it. To be apart of revitalizing the urban context through planting a gospel centered church. We are serious in our conviction about the great commission and our passion for reaching unreached and underserved people.

We passionately seek to engage our community and the world around us with the message of hope, love and transformation that’s found in Christ Jesus. We understand that it is those who have been transformed by the gospel that God places into broken and dark situations. They become His hands and feet to repair that which is broken.

You are a couple of years into your planting journey, what advice do you have for church planters out there who are just starting out?

Luke 10:2 tell us, “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Our prayers have resulted in a growing relationship with a number of other church planters in our area. Having a connection to other church planters in our city that have faced similar challenges, but are heading in a direction we desire to go, is encouraging!

Why did you choose to partner with Advance?

To be honest, my choice to partner with Advance was because of relationship. I met Donnie Griggs in 2016 and we hit it off! He was beyond encouraging and came along side of me just to be a friend and a resource. It was prefect timing for me, and for our church. When he told me about this movement he was apart of, I was all in for hearing about it!

Before Advance I had explored other networks and just didn’t feel like I fit in, it was like I wasn’t a match for them. I was drawn to the diversity, passion and great balance of Word and Spirit that I witnessed in the Advance Movement. Advance works, it fits me! I stop looking for reasons why it shouldn’t work, why I shouldn’t fit and have embraced the fact that I’ve  found a family, a community to serve, to love, and to storm the gates of hell with! It’s clear; I Am Advance!

Corey, Donnie and Jon