It was the place where followers of Christ were first called “Christians.” The name was rooted not in the Hebrew culture, but in a Greek expression. Outsiders
who trusted in Christ branded the church that we are a part of today. It all happened in the city of Antioch – outside of Jerusalem, outside of ancient traditions, outside of the
expectations about who might follow the Savior.

Today, Antioch has come to Austin, Texas, as ACTS Church Antioch officially launched at the end of January. Led by a team of twenty-somethings, ACTS Church Antioch is a new church from the ACTS Network.

ACTS Church Antioch started accidentally! It all began when Rev. Gabe Kasper began hanging out at Roasters Coffee Shop in Cedar Park, Texas. He was launching ACTS Church Leander and used Roasters as his “office.” When he began to form a relationship with some of the baristas there, they expressed a desire to learn more about Jesus and to become part of his church. Unfortunately, they worked on Sundays. That’s when they offered: “Why not have church for us here?”

A new idea was born: Outside of a church building, outside of normal practice, a church in the world to bring light to the world. SMP Vicar Adam Meyer now leads ACTS Church Antioch with his team, Zach and Halle. Their goal is to launch an additional ACTS Church Antioch in 2016 and another in 2017. It is a low-cost, highly relational, easy-to-replicate model and it’s perfect for the context of Austin.

Thanks to your mission partnership in the Texas District, lives are being changed in this new Antioch.