By Megan Young
Editor
NATCHEZ, Miss. — Shortly after pastor Philip Watts and his wife Katie followed God’s calling to start a small house church, a local pastor contacted them with an offer they couldn’t refuse — the gift of his church building. He was having to close the doors and wanted to give the building to the Watts.
Philip jumped at the offer, but knew he needed more training and support to be able to launch the church plant officially. He contacted the 242 Network and began an assessment in September of 2023.
The 242 Network, an organization that supports church planters by connecting them with established churches, partnered Philip with Embrace Church in Forest. Embrace agreed to hold the church building in it’s name for a year until the Watts were able to launch Redemption Church in Natchez.
The Watts initially worked with the homeless, but their ministry shifted to focus more on former drug addicts and those coming out of rehab. According to Philip, they felt God leading them towards “the people that the world rejects” and who “don’t look like the normal church people.”
Redemption Church’s ministry strategy is simple. “We go out and we love on people,” said Philip. “We just treat people like they’re people and we love on them no matter what they look like.”
Katie is confident that their approach makes their church plant attractive to the unreached in their community.
“It kind of opens them up to the idea of, ‘If there’s all these churches, then why would these people open this one? I need to kind of check it out,’” said Katie. “So that gives them that comfort coming in the doors, and then the Gospel does the rest.”
Since the doors opened, Redemption Church has baptized 46 people.
“Those are 46 people that didn’t know the Gospel, didn’t have a relationship with Jesus Christ, and now they do,” said Philip.
The Watts are grateful for the support they have received during their church planting journey.
“It was all through the partnership of 242 and the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board that made this possible for us because they really, they’ve come under us and they have, you know, girded us and they have strengthened us,” said Philip. “They just, they’re there for us.
“It’s through that Margaret Lackey State Offering that helps churches like us — church plants — to get up and going. The help, the sponsorship, that we have from that offering is what helped us and has gotten us where we are right now.”
For more information about the Margaret Lackey State Offering and to watch a video featuring Redemption Church, visit www.margaretlackey.com.
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