Domestic

You probably know Nashville, Tennessee is called “Music City.” But did you know Nashville is home to multiple denomination headquarters and boasts the most churches per capita in the entire nation, with over 700 churches in the city? Even with its history of religion, the “Buckle of the Bible Belt” is slowly coming undone. The city is steeped in tradition and religion and filled with individuals who are religiously lost. The population of Nashville is 643,771, and there are 1.8 million in the metropolitan area!

From Derrick DeLain, Proclamation’s planter and pastor: “When God called us to plant a church we specifically prayed that He would send us to an area that was culturally Christian, growing and influential, and had college students to invest in and send on mission for the glory of God. Nashville has all of that and more! For that reason, we believe that God has called us to root our lives in this city to reach people with the gospel.”

Growing

Nashville is the 7th fastest-growing metro area in the USA. (Nashville is projected to hit over 2 million in 2020 and grow by another million people by 2035).

Influential

Nashville is a hub for higher education (with over 20 four-year colleges and universities, six community colleges, and 11 vocational and technical schools. There are 120,000 college students in Middle Tennessee).

Diverse

More than 140 languages are spoken in Metro Schools, and 30 percent of students speak a language other than English at home.

Derrick and Rachel moved their family to Nashville in the summer of 2020 to start Proclamation Church. Here’s their story:

Over fifteen years ago, God saved me from a life of performance and moral religion that kept me angry and frustrated that I could never be perfect. Through Jesus, I came to find freedom in being loved and known by Him fully. Rachel came to Jesus at the age of five and grew up wrestling with seeing Jesus as Savior and not someone she had to please by being good. We both were able to grow in our understanding of the gospel as college students and to this day, continue to see the beauty of the gospel as our sustaining hope.

While living in Winston-Salem, NC, in 2011, God began to stir in our hearts a desire to enter into full-time ministry and see others come to believe in who Jesus is and what He can do for them. As we invested in a young church plant early in our marriage, we began to see the fruit of starting a new church in a city. In time, the Lord began to burden my heart to be sent to another city to do what we were seeing him do in Winston-Salem. However, we realized that we needed more training if we wanted to be used effectively by the Holy Spirit.

For that reason, in 2014, with our daughter Tru and son Michael, we moved to Raleigh, NC, to be on staff at the Summit Church. While attending Southeastern Theological Seminary, we helped to launch the Blue Ridge Campus with 250 individuals. With leadership development and intentional discipleship, we saw the Blue Ridge Campus of The Summit Church grow from 250 people to over 1,700 in four years. We have been able to see over 20 individuals sent overseas for long term missions work, seen close to 400 people get baptized and countless others come to a saving knowledge of Christ. God has been abundantly gracious to our campus, and we have prayed that we would see His Spirit work in the same way through us in another area of the country.

Over the last year, we have been consistently affirmed in our readiness to step away from the Summit and plant our lives in Nashville, TN. Rachel and I have a burden for the city that we are falling in love with daily, and we are praying that He uses this church plant to reach this city and her people because we know that He loves Nashville more than we ever could.

• Pray that God will use the DeLains and Proclamation Church to reach people with the Gospel for His glory!
• Continue to give faithfully through Eagle’s Landing so we can support Proclamation.
• Join a volunteer team to serve Proclamation.
• Go. Why not take your profession and move to Nashville to help plant Proclamation?
• Connect people you know that live in Nashville or who are moving there to Proclamation.

Global Influence:

• Known as the “Gateway to the Americas,” Miami is one of the most influential cities in the US.
• Miami is a global banking center and the cruise capital of the world.
• Miami is an international center for the arts, fashion, and entertainment.

Great Opportunity:

• Miami is one of the most unchurched cities in the US.
• Many estimate less than 10% of people in South Florida have a relationship with Jesus.
• Miami is one of the richest cities in the world, yet 19% of people live below the poverty line.
• Miami has the third largest school district in the nation.

Philip is a Buford, Georgia native and a former full-time musician. He met his wife Becca in Memphis, Tennessee in 2007 while traveling and playing drums. In 2009, they were married and moved to Raleigh for Philip to pursue his Masters of Divinity at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he went on to complete his Ph.D. in Theology as well. For 10 years, Philip served as one of the pastors at the Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, NC, most recently as the Discipleship Pastor at the Capital Hills Campus. Philip is an avid coffee drinker, loves books, college football (Go Dawgs!), spending time with friends and family, and being a dad to his four beautiful (and very energetic) children, Elliot, Asher, Tessa, and Milly. The Smiths have always sought to leverage their lives for missions and church planting. This desire led them to the Summit Church in 2010, where they were discipled and developed to plant Redeemer City. They are excited to watch God continue to move and grow the people of Redeemer City, aiming to help people find and follow Jesus, bringing redemption to our city and to the nations.

Our mission is joining God in personal and citywide renewal. We are passionate about becoming a place where people of all ages and backgrounds can come to learn about Jesus, find friends, and work for the renewal of the city together.