Six years ago, Pastor Wade Rininger and his family moved from Florida to Canada to help us plant churches. Wade was integral in the formation of Renew Church, and spearheaded the launch of Renew Mayfield West where he has served as Campus Pastor ever since. We are excited to announce that the Rininger Family will be returning to their roots this summer to plant a new church in the Tampa Bay / St. Petersburg area of Florida. Although they will be greatly missed by our staff and entire church community, we are looking forward to what God will do as they step out in faith.
We will post updates here as the transition progresses. For more information about the Tampa Bay church plant in partnership with Assist Church Expansion, including how you can support the project, please visit the following link and read more below:
Prayer and info meeting
We will be hosting a Zoom meeting on May 16 at 6pm to share updates, information and to pray together. If you are not already on the Renew Church email list and would like to participate, please contact us
Reasons the Riningers have a call and desire to plant a church in the Tampa Bay area:
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We have always dreamed of starting another Charis Fellowship church in our hometown
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We have a heart for Florida in general, and have several relationships with people and churches in the Florida district who we would love to partner with.
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The Tampa Bay area and specifically St. Pete has only a 35% religious affiliation while the national average is 50%. Because it’s the south there are a lot of churches, but there are also a lot of empty church buildings.
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The Tampa Bay Metropolitan area has around 4 million people, Pinellas County has 1 million, and the City of St. Petersburg has over 250 thousand. There are a lot of people who need Jesus and growth in the region is only expected to keep increasing.
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There is a great need for a church that is conservative in theology, progressive in form, community based, multicultural, and missionally-focused.
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Tampa Bay is a strategic area to plant in regards to the future of the Charis Fellowship and the evangelical church at large. It is primed for a church that is committed to a movement of multiplication.
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We have been in Canada for roughly 6 years and have come to terms (peacefully!) that our time is coming to an end. We believe Renew Mayfield West will benefit from God working through a new leader and a new season of ministry.
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We have several family matters that require our presence for this season of life and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to live across an international border.
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We have several family members in the area and have always dreamed about being on mission with family.
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If we are crazy enough to try this again, there is no better time than now!