Arizona Mission Offering helps new church renovate old building

In early 2023, the members of McQueen Road Baptist Church in Chandler knew they needed help to keep their church alive. They reached out to the Arizona Mission Network of Southern Baptists for assistance.

In March, Brian McCoy, lead pastor of Foothills Baptist Church in Ahwatukee, was looking for the right place to plant a church. At the same time, Foothills church member Dan Diffey knew the Lord was calling him to more pastoral ministry. Diffey is the department chair of the Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies program and a professor of Old Testament at Grand Canyon University.

“I’ve always enjoyed training people for service in the local church,” Diffey said. “My goal is to continue to be more active in the local church.”

When McCoy received a message about potentially replanting a church at McQueen Road, he immediately connected with Diffey. They met with McQueen Road members in April, and in early June, the members of McQueen Road voted to move forward with a church replant with Diffey as their lead pastor. Plans continued as the church building was inspected and other details worked out.

Foothills members voted to move forward with the replant in late August 2023. Later that fall, the church officially changed its name from McQueen Road Baptist Church to New Covenant Community Church.

Dan and Anne Diffey

New Covenant’s church building inspection revealed several issues that needed to be addressed. Diffey and New Covenant church members applied for a site grant through the Arizona Mission Network. These grants are funded by the Arizona Mission Offering to help church plants in acquiring property or renovating existing facilities.

For New Covenant, this grant allowed them to update their property.

The church building, aside from a couple of areas, had not been updated since it was built in 1983. Many areas needed work to be in line with current codes as well as to be more usable.

The church created a designated space for children’s classrooms and a nursery. They replaced old and worn out carpet and painted the walls. Electrical wiring was updated, and new lighting and windows were added. Outside the building, the church was able to enlarge and repave their parking lot and provide attractive landscaping.

“I’m thankful for this grant, because it allowed us to do some work on the building that really showed the community around us that we were doing things,” Diffey said.

While the work was happening, the church building was closed. New Covenant church members attended Sunday services at Foothills Baptist from October 1, 2023, until February 25, 2024. On Palm Sunday, New Covenant Community Church opened its doors to the community.

Since opening, the church has seen slow but steady growth, and some of this growth is a direct result of the work they completed on the building. Diffey encountered multiple people who noticed the work on the building.

“Every single week,” he said, “we’ve had somebody from the community come in that we’ve not recognized, that nobody knew.”

This past June, New Covenant held their first Vacation Bible School for children in preschool through fifth grade. The renovations completed through the site grant allowed them the space to use their building effectively to reach the children in their community.

This fall, New Covenant plans to engage the community through community groups, youth group, AWANA, Bible study, and a group for mothers of young children.

Through the generosity of those who give to the Arizona Mission Offering, New Covenant Community Church continues to thrive and reach the community of Chandler effectively.

Chelsea Bush, a freelance writer living in Phoenix, is a member of Foothills Baptist Church, Phoenix.