Patrick Franklin never thought he would be planting a church in Wetumpka. Honestly, he expected it to be in Phoenix, Arizona.
But God had other plans, and Franklin saw the “convergence” of those plans happen when Wetumpka’s Village Church, a church plant now averaging around 150 in worship, met June 7 in a fully stocked facility gifted to them by another local congregation.
“We’re just so excited about how we’re going to reach the community now that we have our own space,” Franklin said. “One thing I’m trying to press into our people is that this isn’t the finish line — this is a starting point.”
‘Amazing journey’
In 2020, Franklin and his wife, Brooke, had toured Phoenix, “the hotbed of church planting,” with the intention of moving there, he said. But when they prayed separately, they came back together with a “no” from the Lord.
“We knew we weren’t supposed to plant there; we were supposed to plant where we came from,” he said.
So they did, and in August 2023, Village Church was born, with Coosada Baptist Church serving as its sending congregation.
“It’s just been this amazing journey of watching God do unbelievable things,” Franklin said.
They’ve seen their men’s, women’s and young adult ministries grow. They’ve held baptisms. They’ve held conferences. And recently they’ve been averaging about 150 people in worship.
Up until now, they’ve been meeting at a local school for Sunday worship and in a rented building in downtown Wetumpka for midweek activities. It worked, but they saw God start to move to give them even more opportunities for ministry.
“The man we were renting the building from contacted us in January and said, ‘Hey, I’ve been seeing what the Lord is doing through your social media,’ and he gifted us that building,” Franklin said, noting that it gave them about 2,500 square feet of space to use.
‘Another opportunity for growth’
Then in April, another local church reached out to offer them a 25,000-square-foot facility sitting on 12 acres of property. It came fully stocked with chairs, tables and equipment.
“This is going to be just another opportunity for growth, another opportunity to reach deeper into this community,” he said.
Kevin Garrett, director of missions for Elmore Baptist Association, said the tremendous growth at the church has been exciting.
“God has been gracious throughout the story of Village Church,” he said. “It has been a joy to observe and a blessing to see Him provide this building for their next chapter. I look for the Kingdom to be advanced in even greater ways as they remain faithful and God provides.”
For more information, visit villagechurchfamily.org.
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