the city church story
An Unlikely Beginning
Lots of bad ideas are born in college dorm rooms. But every now and then, a good one comes along. We’d like to think this church is one of them.
The seeds of City Church OTR were planted in Teter Hall in Bloomington, Indiana in 2010, when a group of college friends got together to dream about a new church.
Of course, they didn’t call it City Church OTR at the time. In fact, they didn’t call it anything. It was simply a fun idea that a few friends liked to talk about at regularly scheduled strategy meetings. (That's a totally normal college pastime, right?)
Looking back, it's still not entirely clear why any of them were interested in starting a church. None of them were pastors' kids. And they weren't majoring in ministry. They had other hopes, other dreams.
But they'd all experienced the love and presence of God. And they wondered if there was any way they could keep the excitement, community, and growth of this season going, even when meal plans and final exams were behind them.
College came to an end. Degrees were earned. Jobs accepted. Cross-country moves made. Yet conversation about a church plant continued.
Chris took a job and spent two years working in corporate finance, where he learned he was made for something else, and decided to pursue full-time ministry. As prayers and conversations about starting a church continued, Chris decided if he was going to help start a church, he should probably work for one. So Chris quit that job and he and his wife, Katherine, moved to Las Vegas to work at a brand new church in Sin City.
Chris and Katherine saw God do incredible things in Las Vegas. Their church was pursuing revival, and they loved serving there. After two years on staff, Chris became the Lead Pastor.
The seeds of City Church OTR were planted in Teter Hall in Bloomington, Indiana in 2010, when a group of college friends got together to dream about a new church.
Of course, they didn’t call it City Church OTR at the time. In fact, they didn’t call it anything. It was simply a fun idea that a few friends liked to talk about at regularly scheduled strategy meetings. (That's a totally normal college pastime, right?)
Looking back, it's still not entirely clear why any of them were interested in starting a church. None of them were pastors' kids. And they weren't majoring in ministry. They had other hopes, other dreams.
But they'd all experienced the love and presence of God. And they wondered if there was any way they could keep the excitement, community, and growth of this season going, even when meal plans and final exams were behind them.
College came to an end. Degrees were earned. Jobs accepted. Cross-country moves made. Yet conversation about a church plant continued.
Chris took a job and spent two years working in corporate finance, where he learned he was made for something else, and decided to pursue full-time ministry. As prayers and conversations about starting a church continued, Chris decided if he was going to help start a church, he should probably work for one. So Chris quit that job and he and his wife, Katherine, moved to Las Vegas to work at a brand new church in Sin City.
Chris and Katherine saw God do incredible things in Las Vegas. Their church was pursuing revival, and they loved serving there. After two years on staff, Chris became the Lead Pastor.
An Undying Dream
This prompted some real questions.
Why start a brand new church when there’s a church right there in Las Vegas that they could lead and grow?
So this group of friends who had been dreaming together gathered in Las Vegas to pray. They sought God earnestly. In some ways, it was just like college, except the dorm room had been replaced by a Vegas apartment and the teenagers were now in their twenties.
And God made it clear: Plant a church near “your people”. And they knew what that meant – that was God calling them to start something new in the Midwest, close to the places they all came from.
Why start a brand new church when there’s a church right there in Las Vegas that they could lead and grow?
So this group of friends who had been dreaming together gathered in Las Vegas to pray. They sought God earnestly. In some ways, it was just like college, except the dorm room had been replaced by a Vegas apartment and the teenagers were now in their twenties.
And God made it clear: Plant a church near “your people”. And they knew what that meant – that was God calling them to start something new in the Midwest, close to the places they all came from.
An Unexpected Location
So in 2017, the friends set out on a road trip to discover exactly what city the Lord was calling them to. With plans to visit places like Nashville, Louisville, and Chicago, the chance to stay for free in a friends’ basement added a pit stop in Cincinnati to their list, but nobody anticipated what would happen when they got there.
They discovered that Cincinnati checked every box that they were looking for - thriving arts AND business, the headquarters of influential corporations, a combination of both the new and the historic, and so much more. A city they felt they could give their lives to serving and loving.
They discovered that Cincinnati checked every box that they were looking for - thriving arts AND business, the headquarters of influential corporations, a combination of both the new and the historic, and so much more. A city they felt they could give their lives to serving and loving.
An Unprecedented Time
After moving to Cincinnati in 2019, the team began putting down roots and making plans for the birth of City Church OTR - for September of 2020. When the world shut down in spring of 2020, the team continued forward, trusting that God would make a way to start a church at what felt like the worst possible time.
The team gathered to talk and ask God where exactly this church should be in Cincinnati. The suburbs? Central, somewhere like Oakley? Or downtown in the urban core? There was energy for being in the urban core, where the need for more strong churches was clear, but they knew the challenges would be great and they felt the hesitation. Then someone spoke up, “If not us, then who?” And that’s when the team knew – God was calling them to plant a church in the heart of Cincinnati, in Over-the-Rhine.
After months of vision team meetings, happy hours to build connections, and much prayer and planning, City Church OTR held its first service on September 13, 2020.
God took the dream of a college dorm room and has grown it into a place and a people where his presence lives, where we are being formed into his image, living on mission, with friends who feel like family. And we’re just getting started. Will you join us?
The team gathered to talk and ask God where exactly this church should be in Cincinnati. The suburbs? Central, somewhere like Oakley? Or downtown in the urban core? There was energy for being in the urban core, where the need for more strong churches was clear, but they knew the challenges would be great and they felt the hesitation. Then someone spoke up, “If not us, then who?” And that’s when the team knew – God was calling them to plant a church in the heart of Cincinnati, in Over-the-Rhine.
After months of vision team meetings, happy hours to build connections, and much prayer and planning, City Church OTR held its first service on September 13, 2020.
God took the dream of a college dorm room and has grown it into a place and a people where his presence lives, where we are being formed into his image, living on mission, with friends who feel like family. And we’re just getting started. Will you join us?
