Celebrating the 500th Matching Fund Church

The 500th church plant begun with the help of Matching Funds, Overflow City Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, launched on Sept. 9, 2018. Silver Spring, which is part of the greater Washington, D.C., area, is the fourth most diversely populated area in the United States, with nationalities represented from all over the world.

On launch day, Pastors Paul Hanfere, wife Christina, and their team of 60 dynamic and gifted individuals welcomed 346 adults and youth, plus 25 children, to their new church.

“Thank you, AGTrust friends, for making Overflow City Church possible. You are funding life change through your generous giving,” Paul Hanfere states. “We church planters can have the greatest vision, but if we don’t have the provision, it can’t happen.”

The Matching Funds, made possible by AGTrust partners, helped Overflow to secure a place of worship at the Regal Movie Theater, in the heavily populated heart of downtown Silver Spring, located one-half mile from the metro. The funds also helped Overflow start outreach programs and purchase equipment.

God first planted the desire in Hanfere’s heart for a church plant in the Washington, D.C., area while he was still in ministry school: “At a small worship gathering, God spoke to my heart: ‘I want you to gather my lost sons and daughters in this city.’ At that moment I realized God’s passionate desire for people, and it was up to me to respond.

“Christina and I and our team have a vision to pursue people from every nationality and walk of life in the greater Washington, D.C., area and help them encounter God,” he adds.

Since the September launch, 18 people have made decisions for Christ at Overflow.

“With a metro population of 6 million people, D.C. is ranked as the most educated and affluent city in the nation,” says Hanfere. “Yet, it also currently has the highest drug addiction and divorce rates. The number of homeless and poverty-stricken people is staggering. This indicates that something is deeply broken in our nation's capital that money, prestige or education can't fix. We believe the answer is the message of Jesus Christ that will change and transform lives.”

This young church is already actively creating partnerships with city organizations to help with homelessness, poverty and drug addiction issues, and with community outreach programs to help meet other needs in the city.

In addition to weekly services, Overflow will host monthly worship gatherings where people can come to them for prayer for healing and other needs, and they will have opportunity to give the gospel to those who typically would not come to church.

Overflow City Church seeks to be a safe place where people from every station in life can have a genuine encounter with God and discover their purpose.

AGTrust has now helped plant more than 500 churches through the Matching Funds, in cooperation with Church Multiplication Network, since its formation a decade ago (2008-2018).