Rev. Dan Rose has been released from his role as Assistant Pastor at Grace Chapel-Farmington Hills, MI to launch a movement in Ypsilanti, MI, the home of Eastern Michigan University.

Sharing his dream at the September meeting of Midwest Presbytery, Dan said, “I’ve had a life-long passion for the college community and for those who are “overlooked and ignored.” Ypsilanti, which is “right next door to Ann Arbor is a college town that is certainly ‘overlooked and ignored.’” He and his wife, Amy, spent ten years on staff with Cru in Illinois and Detroit, MI. Therefore, part of his dream is to take the best of Cru and the best of the local church to launch a movement.

Dan’s vision for the plant is based on the church of Antioch of Acts 13. That church preached the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles and was the first group known by the name “Christians.” It was a diverse group united around the Gospel, and it was a sending church in that it commissioned Paul and Barnabas as missionaries. Dan, Amy and their children, Ethan (11) and Libby (9) (photo right), believe God has called them to start an “Antioch Movement” in Ypsilanti that will spread throughout Midwest Presbytery and beyond.

The Antioch Movement is being built on the core principles of hospitality, saturation, sending, sustainability, and reproducibility. This means they are starting by launching mission groups all over the city. Dan says, “We are seeking to build the kingdom of God through welcoming tables and good conversations.”

Their initial mission group is comprised of two other families and two college students. The Antioch Movement has set a high bar for involvement from people at Grace Chapel; they are requiring them to move to Ypsilanti! This is because the desire is for the people of Antioch to live in the neighborhoods of Ypsilanti, launch mission groups, and to send the people of those groups to do the same.

The Antioch Movement is not just looking to reach Ypsilanti. From the outset they have determined to launch a new movement in a new town every 2-3 years. They dream of building what they are calling the Acts 13 Network. A network of movements within the EPC that contextualized, sustainable, and reproducible (the cost to launch the Antioch Movement is about $120,000, roughly ⅓ of the average church plant).

In sum, the Antioch Movement is not looking to launch another worship service, there are plenty of those. The Antioch Movement hopes to transform the world by being a sending community that is seeking those far from God.