Since its inception, City Central Church has been passionate about reaching our community with the transforming power of the gospel. Like the mustard seed in Jesus’ parable, God has taken something small and grown it into a life-giving tree—deeply rooted in His Word and bearing fruit in Tacoma and beyond.
For more than two decades, we’ve linked arms with local partners, deployed missionaries, served sacrificially, and built a strong foundation of worship, biblical teaching, and freedom ministry. Today, the Lord is inviting us into a new season of growth—to build beyond what has been, for the sake of what He is doing next.
“Before I met Jesus I was battling with a ton of anxiety and confusion in life. So I turned to drugs, alcohol, and girls. The reason I am no longer chained down to my sin is actually by going to Jesus club and being open minded to who Jesus is and receiving Him as Lord of my life.”
Trenton, Sr. at Silas High School
City Central is called to reach both near and far—students, families, and the nations—with the life-changing hope of Jesus. We are witnessing a powerful move of God among the next generation through Jesus Clubs in our local schools. Hundreds of students are hearing the gospel each year—many for the very first time.
• We currently have 5 active Jesus Clubs and are believing to double that number to 10 by 2026.
• Each year, an estimated 200 students make decisions for Christ through these clubs.
Our heart to reach extends to families in our neighborhood through our partnership with Jennie Reed Elementary—providing resources for teachers, meals for staff, playground equipment, and gifts for families in need. We’ve already seen families baptized and becoming regular attenders through this relationship.
The need is urgent:
• 1 in 5 children in Tacoma lives below the poverty level.
• Over 70% of Jennie Reed students are considered low-income.
• 27% of Pierce County students reported considering suicide in the past year.
Beyond our city, God is using City Central to reach people globally through missions and partnerships.
• We currently support 18 local and global missionaries and mission organizations, and our goal is to double that number in the next two years.
• Our partnerships equip leaders and ministries around the world to reach those who have never heard the gospel.
The regional spiritual landscape underscores the urgency:
• 1.98 million adults in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties never attend church.
• Tacoma/Seattle has one of the highest numbers of “de-churched” believers in the nation.
City Central’s call to REACH is clear: to expand the gospel’s impact in schools, families, our region, and the nations. As we Build Beyond, we are preparing to bring tangible love and eternal hope to people where they’re at.
We believe God has called us to be a hospital for the hurting—a place where the broken find healing, freedom, and renewal in Christ. Our Freedom Ministry continues to grow and impact churches and nations worldwide.
• Knowing Freedom manuals are now available in English, French, Korean, Spanish, and Khmer.
• Our Freedom video series and E-book are equipping believers to live in the truth of God’s Word.
• The Knowing Freedom Podcast is now heard in over 53 countries, and our manuals are being ordered from around the world.
Through Building Beyond, we will expand the reach of Freedom Ministry by funding new translations, digital tools, and training resources to equip leaders worldwide to bring healing and restoration.
We also see God restoring lives through our young adult discipleship training and housing ministry, helping emerging leaders find freedom and purpose in Christ. Our goal is to increase housing by 35% in the next two years, allowing more young adults to grow in community, be discipled, and live on mission.
Each story of restoration reflects the heart of God’s Kingdom work—bringing beauty from ashes, hope from despair, and freedom where there once was bondage.
Locally, the need for restoration is profound:
• Nearly 3,000 families in Pierce County are torn apart by divorce each year.
• Countless others are wrestling with emotional pain, addiction, and spiritual disconnection.
• God is calling us to continue being a place of refuge—a people who proclaim freedom and restoration to those in need.
Our building is more than a structure—it’s the heart of our ministry for worship, equipping, and community. Built in 1971, it has served faithfully for over 50 years. But to keep equipping effectively, we must address critical updates and steward it well for future generations.
Key facility priorities include:
• Replacing outdated wiring and upgrading lighting for safety and energy efficiency.
• Installing new HVAC units (ours are 54 years old).
• Updating flooring, bathrooms, coffee shop, and kitchen to create an inviting environment.
• Reducing debt to free resources for ministry and future expansion.
Our children’s ministry, Kingdom Kids, now welcomes around 200 children each Sunday—an incredible sign of growth and life. Paying down our mortgage will position us for future building expansion and property development, including a feasibility study to explore adding a youth center, training rooms, and additional gathering spaces.
City Central’s weekly attendance has grown 176% in four years, and over 200,000 vehicles pass our building daily on I-5—a visible reminder that our church is literally and spiritually a light in the center of the city.
We believe this is a Kairos moment—a God-ordained season of spiritual awakening in our city and nation. There is a fresh hunger for truth and the presence of Jesus. To steward this moment, we must be ready:
• Spiritually, by advancing the gospel message, as well as investing in discipleship and freedom ministries that restore and prepare future leaders.
• Structurally, by developing facilities and resources that can sustain revival and growth.
• Financially, by reducing debt and expanding our capacity to send workers and support ministries at home and abroad.
Big moves of God require preparation. When He pours out His Spirit, we don’t want to be unprepared or limited by resources or space. We want to have the table set—the facilities, finances, and ministries ready to embrace what God is doing and the souls He is drawing.
One attender recently said, “The next sign you put outside should say, ‘The People’s Hospital.’ This church is a place of refuge, healing, and authentic community.”
We believe God is doing something significant and unique in this hour —something that could result in thousands finding freedom and life in Christ. We invite you to join with us in this movement over the next two years—first in prayer and then, as the Lord leads, through your support.
Expand outreach through Jesus Clubs, strengthen our partnership with Jennie Reed Elementary, and advance local and global missions to reach more people with the gospel.
Increase the impact of Freedom Ministry through new translations, enhanced digital resources, and leadership development. Invest in expanded young adult housing to raise up and restore the next generation of world changers.
Mortgage reduction, building upgrades (rewiring, lighting, HVAC, flooring, kitchen and bath updates, AV equipment) as well as feasibility studies for future campus expansion.
We invite every City Central family to join this movement through prayer, generosity, and partnership.
• Pray for revival in our schools, neighborhoods, and city.
• Pray for wisdom to grow our partnerships and expand Freedom Ministry’s impact.
• Ask God how He’s calling your family to invest—through prayer, serving, and sacrificial giving.
• Share the vision and invite others to join this move of God.
As God moves in our city, this is our moment to respond together…
Fulfilling this vision depends on every City Central family reflecting on God’s blessing in our lives and prayerfully deciding how He wants us to invest in the future ministry of our church.
It is not about equal gifts, but equal sacrifice—laying down our lives for Jesus and examining how He wants to use each one of us to reach more people with the hope of the gospel. As you pray about how God would have you participate through giving, please consider one of the levels shown here.
“I see a church where the Lord is pleased to make His home. A place where His Spirit inhabits the praises of His people. I see a church that is a house of worship and prayer for the nations. A place that always looks first to Him for guidance and answers.
I see a church that desires to be like Jesus making Him our ultimate model for life. A house that makes Him Lord and desires to be conformed into His image. I see a church that makes Jesus the hero of every past, present, and future story.
I see a church that lives in the world but is not of the world. A place where the eternal Kingdom of God is made known through the simple and profound areas of our lives. I see a church that desires for HIS Kingdom to come, and HIS will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
I see a church that loves each other authentically and reaches into our local and global communities with this same love. It’s a place that reaches into schools with the gospel and where the lost and disenfranchised feel safe to encounter God’s love. I see a church that is the light of the world and shines bright from the highest point in the city.
I see a church God placed in the center of the city to be a hospital for the hurting and broken. It’s a place where people come to get healed and restored from pain. I see a church that functions like an Emergency Room for those in need. It’s a church where future spiritual doctors and nurses…administrators and
security guards… parking personnel and facilities managers are all equipped under the same vision to reach the lost, restore the broken, and provide rest to the weary soul. It’s a school of leadership that equips and deploys to advance the Kingdom of God on earth. It’s a family and an army.
I see a church that increases in humility and invites more of God’s presence in its corporate and Life Group settings. It’s a place that ministers together as a diverse kingdom-minded team, reflecting the Kingdom of God and the one new man that the gospel has created.
I see a church that elevates the TRUTH OF THE WORD OF GOD which brings the freedom of God to those who choose to make it their ultimate authority. It is a place that listens to and obeys God’s voice to minister to the next generation. It is a church that lives in the authority Jesus extends to His bride and functions in supernatural unity.
I see a church that preaches and practices the transformation of the gospel and its victory in every area of life. It is a house of worship, equipping to reach the lost. It is a church that is growing and multiplying regionally, nationally and internationally. It is a church experiencing God-ordained growth… it is planned growth, surprising growth, thriving growth, and warfare growth.
There is an open door in front of the church. This is the church I see and by God’s grace, we will become this church. Let’s go together!”