I sat down with Pastor Rory Chance from Genesis Church in Monroe, Louisiana, to talk about what it really looks like to plant a church in a small town. Rory has been in ministry for over 20 years, and two and a half years ago, he and his wife took a leap of faith and planted Genesis Church in a community already packed with churches. What makes their story stand out is that they became a home for people who had been unchurched or experienced church hurt, and they did it with the help of ChurchCandy digital ads from day one.
From San Antonio to Monroe: Answering the Call
Rory grew up in San Antonio, Texas. He always thought he would live in a city. But God had different plans. About 11 years ago, God planted him and his family in Monroe, Louisiana. They built deep roots and relationships in the community. Then, while attending the ARC Launch Planters Conference, Rory felt a clear confirmation that God was calling him to plant a church right there in Monroe.
“It’s a small community with tons of churches. Not somewhere that I ever would have thought that we would plant,” Rory told me. But he followed the call, and Genesis Church was born.
Reaching the Unchurched in a Churched Community
What makes Genesis Church unique is the people they reach. Rory told me that most of their congregation are people who had either left the church or never been part of one. In a town with churches on every corner, Genesis became a safe place for people carrying church hurt.
“Our ministry has really become a place where a lot of people who have been unchurched for a while or gone through church have found a place to call home,” Rory shared.
That reality shaped everything about how they do ministry. Rory and his team focus on being authentic, creating a welcoming environment, and making sure every guest feels seen from the moment they walk through the door. Pastor Sherman Dumas shared a similar experience at Kingdom Culture, where many of their visitors had also been away from church for years.
Using Facebook Ads From the Very Beginning
Before Genesis Church even launched, Rory’s team started running ads through ChurchCandy. They used the ads to build a launch team, invite people to interest meetings, and create awareness in the community. And it worked.
Rory explained how the ads helped them connect with people who were interested in learning more about the church. Not everyone who filled out a form ended up grabbing coffee, but the team did not stop there. They pointed those people to interest meetings and found other ways to stay connected.
“Because we run ads and we’re one of the only churches that run ads, we’re often one of the first churches that people visit in our area. So as a church plant, that’s invaluable,” Rory said.
That approach mirrors what I see across our ChurchCandy partner churches. The ones who commit to running consistent ads week after week are the ones who build real momentum. Pastor Ken Bennett at Connect Church used a similar consistent approach and grew from 150 to 600 in six months.
Stewardship of Every Lead
One of the biggest things Rory and I talked about is stewardship. A lot of churches will spend money on ads, get a list of names, and then let those names sit in a database. That breaks my heart. Because if you are spending the church’s money to reach people, you owe it to your congregation and to God to follow up with every single one of them.
Rory gets that. His team treats every lead as a real person, not just a number. They follow up personally, they invite people to next steps, and they make sure no one falls through the cracks.
“We always talk about stewardship,” Rory told me. “If you’re going to invest money into reaching people, you have to steward those connections well.”
Is Church Planting What He Expected?
I asked Rory to be honest about whether church planting has been what he thought it would be. He laughed and said it has been both harder and more rewarding than he imagined. The challenges of building teams, managing finances, finding a permanent location, and leading through uncertainty are real. But so are the stories of life change.
Rory shared stories of people walking into Genesis Church broken and walking out with hope. Families being restored. Individuals finding purpose for the first time. Those moments make every challenge worth it.
Advice for Aspiring Church Planters
Toward the end of our conversation, I asked Rory what advice he would give to someone thinking about planting a church, especially in a small town. Here is what he shared:
- Build strong relationships in your community before you launch. People need to trust you before they will follow you.
- Be patient with the process. Growth in a small town looks different than in a big city, but it is just as meaningful.
- Invest in digital outreach early. Running ads from day one gave Genesis Church a head start that most church plants never get.
- Steward every connection. Follow up with every person who shows interest. Do not let names sit in a database.
- Stay true to your calling. There will be hard days. But if God called you to it, He will see you through it.
Final Thought
Pastor Rory Chance is proof that small-town church planting works when you combine genuine love for people with smart strategy. Genesis Church continues to grow because they meet people where they are, both online and in person. If you are a pastor wondering whether digital ads can work for your church, the answer is yes. And if you are planting in a small town, do not let the size of your city limit the size of your vision.
If you want to hear more stories like this, check out my conversation with Pastor Roberson Pier about building New England’s largest church plant.
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