MADISON, Wis. (BP) — The trampoline and rock-climbing wall soon will be gone, but even without them the “gospel greenhouse” otherwise known as Doxa Church, planted in 2018, anticipates growth will continue.

A focus on prayer and discipleship has grown the church to 900 in three Sunday morning worship services. A focus on church planting by the then-four-year-old church resulted in the young church planting Treeline Church in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Kiunsugi Church in Osaka, Japan, both in 2022. A new plant in Milwaukee is slated to start this year.

“God’s primary way of reaching the nations and the world is through the local church,” Lead Pastor/Elder Rob Warren told Baptist Press. “We believe the church is God’s means to make an impact on a community, and that the most powerful impact on a person’s life is through a relationship with Jesus Christ in the context of a local church community,”

One of the largest Southern Baptist churches in Wisconsin, Doxa Church meets in a former recreation center. Half of it still has a rock-climbing wall and oversized trampoline the pastor would like to give away. In late February the building is to be remodeled into classrooms and a larger worship center, so the church can go back to two services.

“We want to foster an abundance of life and growth that forces us to plant and send for years to come,” Warren said. “Doxa can’t force spiritual life or maturity, but we can fight to align and realign every aspect of our church towards thriving, multiplying growth in the people God brings to Doxa.

“For us as a church, one of the things we want to be is a mother church, a ‘gospel greenhouse,’” the pastor continued. “A greenhouse is intensely focused on one thing: helping plants thrive, grow and propagate. Everything about the conditions in a greenhouse are geared towards this end: the fertilizer, watering system, lighting conditions, temperature, etc.”

Everything Doxa Church does is geared toward one of the six marks of discipleship: worshipper, becomer, investor, lover, inviter and neighbor, according to the church’s website: doxamadison.com. About 70% of the congregation is part of a “Connection Group” designed to deepen within each person a closer walk with God.

“A greenhouse is a place where plants are nurtured and grow, but it’s not supposed to be their final destination,” Warren said. “As a gospel greenhouse, we want to be a community where different types of people can encounter the gospel, trust Jesus and grow into the ministry He has for them with the eventual goal of them being richly planted in our city or cities beyond Madison, to bear fruit for the gospel.”

Locally, Doxa Church focuses on helping the needy through a food bank, pregnancy care center and adopting an elementary and middle school. As school begins each fall, supplies for youngsters who need them, and materials for teachers, are distributed. Doxa members also provide after-school tutoring and grounds maintenance.

In early December, a “Christmas store” at the church consists of items parents might want to give their children. There were more than 1,200 toys, games, books and warm clothing for about 400 youngsters this last Christmas.

“One of our passions is every year we want to give more and more money to our city,” the pastor said. “Our heart is to be generous like Jesus. When we think about the money we are stewarding, we want to bless the city we are living in and bless the nations by our giving to missions.”

Another ministry of Doxa Church is a collegiate ministry called Salt Company that this semester includes about 250 students and 50 trained small group leaders for mid-week Bible studies. There’s also a Salt Company Thursday evening large group worship service.

Doxa Church itself is part of the Southern Baptist Salt Network of churches planted in cities with large universities and a commitment to reach students.

“We’ve seen a lot of people needing Jesus and open to talk about spiritual things,” Warren said about the multi-generational congregation. “This church is like a family on mission. People are faithfully sharing the gospel, and as people sit under Bible teaching, God opens their eyes.”

Though news reports indicate a growing number of Americans without a church connection, Warren said he has read in Pew Research studies and he has seen himself that people are more open these days to conversations about God.

“There is a growing contingent of people interested in having discussions about the Bible and faith,” the pastor said. “Madison is a progressive city and anti-gospel, but the people are open. So we’re just going to open our lives to love people and open our Bibles to give people the gospel.”

Despite entering a $7 million building project, Doxa Church continues to give 18% of undesignated offerings to Kingdom work, including 7% through the Cooperative Program (CP).

“Generosity is a key measure of our discipleship and love for Jesus and people,” Warren said. “One of the biggest reasons for our giving to the Cooperative Program is that the North American Mission Board (NAMB) has been the biggest supporter for our church getting started and all our plants. Without NAMB it would have been a different story.

“We have been blessed so much with the ongoing training and resources we have received,” the pastor continued. “We want more church planters to have that opportunity. We want to give back to NAMB every dollar they have given us, and then more. NAMB is awesome!”

Doxa Church’s name means “glory” in Greek because, “We want God to get the glory,” Warren said. “This church exists for the glory of God. It’s not about us; it’s about Jesus. What we do we do to glorify Jesus.

“We grow healthy disciples with a vision for the kingdom and send them out to reach people throughout the world,” the pastor said. “Spending time with God leads to health and movement.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Karen L. Willoughby is a national correspondent for Baptist Press.)