These churches come from a diverse number of denominational backgrounds and church planting models. Some came about by a “mother church” model, others have satellite campuses, and others were started from scratch. Most of these churches use non-traditional spaces: theaters, recreation centers, and libraries.

The staff of IRD prays together each morning, and over the past month we have prayed for a different new congregation (a church “plant”) asking that God would bless their ministry. One month later, we have compiled quite a list!

First, the size of this list illustrates the sheer number of new churches in the Washington metropolitan area – all of these churches have been planted in the past 10 years, and most have been planted in the past five. We have just scratched the surface: God is doing a remarkable thing. Second, these churches come from a diverse number of denominational backgrounds and church planting models. Some came about by a “mother church” model, others have satellite campuses, and others were started from scratch. Third, most of these churches use non-traditional spaces: theaters, recreation centers, and libraries. In Arlington, it has been fascinating to see older, often stagnant churches lease out their spaces to schools, while some of the most vibrant congregations are meeting in schools themselves. Of this entire list, only a single congregation owns the structure it meets in.

A word on who is on this list: it is heavily weighted with the churches that we cross paths with. There are many Anglican and Reformed churches and most are in Northwest DC or Virginia. Since many immigrant churches are less likely to have an online presence, we have not yet encountered them. That being said, there are extremely successful church planting efforts among these communities, and we want to pray for them to. If you know of one, please send me an e-mail and we’ll add it to our prayer list. (Note: this report from 2010 indicates that fully a third of new church plants in the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan areas are non-English language).

All Nations Anglican Church, Tenleytown http://allnationsdc.org/
Christ Church Anglican, Vienna http://www.christchurchvienna.com/
Christ the King Anglican, Alexandria http://www.ctkalexandria.org/
Christ Community Church, Germantown http://www.cccgermantown.com/
Christ Reformed Church, Logan Circle http://www.christreformeddc.org/
Church of the Advent, Columbia Heights http://www.adventdc.org/
Church of the Ascension, Arlington http://www.theascension.org/
Church of the Resurrection, Capitol Hill http://rezchurch.org/
Emmanuel Presbyterian Church, Arlington http://www.emmanuelarlington.org/
Frontline Arlington http://frontlinearlington.com/
Frontline Silver Spring http://frontlinesilverspring.com/
Grace DC Downtown DC http://www.gracedc.net/
Grace DC Meridian Hill, Columbia Heights/Adams Morgan http://www.gracemeridianhill.org/
Great Commission Community Church, Arlington http://greatcommissioncc.org/
McLean Bible Church Loudon Campus, Lansdowne http://mbcloudoun.org/
McLean Bible Church Prince William Campus, Manassas http://mbcprincewilliam.org/
National Community Church, Georgetown http://theaterchurch.com/location/georgetown/
National Community Church, Kingstowne http://theaterchurch.com/location/kingstowne/
National Community Church, Potomac Yard http://theaterchurch.com/location/potomacyard/
Portico Church, Arlington http://www.porticoarlington.org/
St. Brendan’s-in-the-City, Logan Circle http://stbrendansdc.org/
Redeemer, Arlington http://redeemerarlington.com/
Restoration Anglican Church, Arlington http://restorationarlington.org/
Restoration Church, Tenleytown http://www.restorationchurchdc.com/
Winchester Anglican Church, Winchester http://www.winchesteranglican.com/
Winchester Baptist Church, Winchester http://www.winchesterbaptist.com/

Jeff Walton is Communications Manager for the Institute on Religion & Democracy and also serves as a staffer on the Anglican Action program. Jeff holds a degree in Political Science and Communications from Seattle Pacific University. He worships at Restoration Anglican Church in Arlington, Virginia, a daughter congregation of the Falls Church in Falls Church, VA.  This article appeared on the IRD blog and is used with permission. 

[Editor’s note: Original URLs (links) referenced in this article are no longer valid, so the links have been removed.]