{"id":50053,"date":"2025-07-03T08:00:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T12:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/?p=50053"},"modified":"2025-11-04T16:25:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T21:25:35","slug":"prayer-undergirds-church-replant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/prayer-undergirds-church-replant\/","title":{"rendered":"Prayer undergirds church replant"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photos by Laura Sikes<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

JACKSONVILLE\u2013Pastor Alex Thorpe and his wife, Sonya, prayed for three years every Tuesday on their date nights in the parking lot of the former Cedar Hills Baptist Church in Jacksonville.<\/p>\n

That was before Thorpe was even considered to serve as pastor at Hope Church at Cedar Hills<\/a>, the recent replant church of Cedar Hills Baptist Church.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Thorpes, who have been married 31 years, say they don\u2019t do anything without praying first.<\/p>\n

\u201cLord, if this is something You\u2019re doing, we want to be involved with it,\u201d Alex Thorpe prayed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to make sure we were in God\u2019s perfect will; we wanted to be where He wanted us to be,\u201d said Sonya Thorpe.<\/p>\n

Today those prayers are being answered. Thorpe is serving as pastor of Hope Church at Cedar Hills. People are being reached with the gospel.<\/p>\n

Sending people \u2018where the gospel is calling\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

The story for the Thorpes and their involvement in replanting Cedar Hills Baptist Church began in 2022 when they learned that the church was without a pastor. Thorpe was serving as missions leader and an elder at Refuge Church<\/a>, about five miles away from Cedar Hills Baptist Church. In transition, Cedar Hills Baptist Church reached out for guidance from Refuge Church, which is part of the Send Network, the church planting arm of the North American Mission Board<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

“Lord, if this is something You\u2019re doing, we want to be involved with it.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n Prayer of Alex Thorpe<\/strong>
\n pastor, Hope Church at Cedar Hills\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Already, Thorpe was familiar with the community because he worked as a barber for five years one mile away from Cedar Hills Baptist Church. While living on the westside of Jacksonville for 15 years, he had built relationships and developed a heart for the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Lord gave Alex a desire and helped him see the lostness (in the area) even before the Hope Church plant,\u201d said Josh Glymph, pastor of Refuge Church.<\/p>\n

As the vision for a church replant became to take shape, Refuge Church became the sending church of Hope Church at Cedar Hills.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe send people where the gospel need is and where the gospel calling is, and we had that with Alex,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Preparing the church for transition<\/strong><\/p>\n

In June 2023, interim pastor Patrick Martin started serving for about two years at Cedar Hills Baptist Church. The church was in transition, and attendance and finances were low. Martin came to offer help and hope.<\/p>\n

Since 1958, Cedar Hills Baptist Church had shared the gospel and served the community of about 6,500 people. In 1972, the church opened Cedar Hills Baptist Christian School on its campus. The school has more than 200 students.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal was to go in and preach God\u2019s Word and to help prepare the church emotionally for whatever God had planned,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n

The church started growing and gained momentum. People became excited to see new faces coming in, he said. Multiple professions of faith were made, resulting in 34 baptisms in one year. During that time, Martin had invited Thorpe as a guest preacher.<\/p>\n

That one Sunday began to set the future for Hope Church of Cedar Hills.<\/p>\n

On Feb. 9, 2025, Pastor Thorpe was unanimously affirmed by Cedar Hills Baptist Church to replant the church into Hope Church of Cedar Hills.<\/p>\n

\u2018God\u2019s hand is in it\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Longtime member Warren Pierson was on the pastor search committee, who unanimously voted to call Thorpe.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first time I heard (Thorpe) preach, I liked him because you could feel the passion that he has for the Word,\u201d Pierson said.<\/p>\n

Pierson, who serves as Sunday School director, is also chairman of the church\u2019s weekday education committee which oversees the church\u2019s school. He is looking forward to the coming school year. By then the school will have its new name of Hope School at Cedar Hills, he said.<\/p>\n

Pierson is thankful that the church has managed the replant process so well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that God\u2019s hand is in it because our doors are still open,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On Feb. 23, the church held a legacy service for Cedar Hills Baptist to honor the church\u2019s 67 years of sharing the gospel in the community. The following Sunday on March 2, Thorpe preached his first sermon as pastor of Hope Church at Cedar Hills.<\/p>\n

JimBo Stewart, associate director with the replant team at the North American Mission Board and also church strengthening champion at First Coast Churches Association<\/a>, is pleased with how the church replant went.<\/p>\n

\u201cCedar Hills Baptist did an excellent job of pursuing godly wisdom and sacrificially following Jesus and becoming a replant,\u201d said Stewart.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need more stories like this because in Southern Baptist life, we see 900 to 1,000 or more churches close their doors every year, and that does not have to be the reality,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

God is \u2018building His church\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n

“We pray and we pray, and it\u2019s like we\u2019re standing under God\u2019s waterfall,”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n Jean Ann Taylor<\/strong>
\n member, Hope Church at Cedar Hills\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Being pastor for about three months, Thorpe is happy to see more and more people attending the church on a weekly basis. Attendance averages between 70 and 80 on Sundays and about 30 people attend Sunday School. He is excited about seeing God work in people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n

\u201c(God) is drawing people. He\u2019s building His church right before my eyes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Thorpe wants community residents to know they can come to the church for help with multiple needs they may have.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, June 21, the church hosted an outreach event that offered resources from healthcare and various government agencies.<\/p>\n

Member Chester Washington enjoys welcoming new people to the church. He has lived in the community for 40 years and has been a member of the church for 25 years. He hopes the church will continue \u201cto shine and be a lighthouse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe feeling that Hope Church (at Cedar Hills) wants to leave with people is that we care about everyone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fell in love with the church because they made me feel at home, and I stuck through the changes over the years, and God has led me to stay here,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Jean Ann Taylor also likes to reach out to the community. Taylor, a 20-year member, works with the youth and has served 27 years as the librarian with the church\u2019s school. Recently, she joined other members on a walk through the neighborhood with the Duval County Sheriff. Members met with residents and gave them invitations to the church\u2019s Easter service. She has prayed for many years for all that is God is doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe pray and we pray, and it\u2019s like we\u2019re standing under God\u2019s waterfall,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

 <\/p>\n

On Easter Sunday, Thorpe preached on the official launch of Hope Church at Cedar Hills. The day was made even more special with the baptism of new member Liberty Shepard who lives near the church.<\/p>\n

The 61-year-old says she is so thankful for the church and she considers them family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people are so nice and seem like family. They are so adorable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a different person. Jesus is in my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

With all that has happened over the past three years, Thorpe and his wife are still praying, and he has asked the congregation to join him in praying to God to send saved people, lost people and Christian leaders to the church.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see people showing up, and I believe it\u2019s because of our prayers,\u201d said Thorpe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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