The hub was established as a prayer and mission base in Grove City, Pennsylvania to serve spiritual family in our region and beyond. The vision for the hub is rooted in the desire to see an “Antioch Community” established in western Pennsylvania, where believers grow in their relationship with God, are trained to follow His teachings and sent out to see the good news of His love spread. In 2011, the Antioch Overflow Experiment (AOX) was planted as a community of simple churches that would host and steward the vision of the hub.
As our house churches began to grow, we started praying for a space to host trainings and times of prayer and worship. In the spring of 2012 we were approached by a local pastor who asked us to pray about whether God would want us to have the building that their church had been meeting in. As we walked through the space, we felt like the space would serve the vision that God had given to us.
Through the generosity of many individuals, families, churches and businesses, God provided everything that was needed for us to purchase and payoff the building in 2013. Since then, we have used the space for community gatherings, a pre-incubator / co-working space for over a dozen young entrepreneurs, and as a prayer room. Dozens of young believers have been sent out to take what they have learned about following Jesus to places that Holy Spirit has led them.
Through the years, we have been blessed to walk with men and women of God that have been deeply connected to what God has been doing in this region for generations. In this image, Jim Erb, a spiritual father and grandfather to many shares at a gathering at the Hub as he introduces our friend, Georgian Banov.
The Hub is also the name of the physical space that we use to facilitate prayer and worship gatherings, our summer intensive, and collective gatherings for AOX simple churches. However, it is more than just a church building. Our goal is to be a place from which spiritual resources can flow. As we continue to host times of prayer, worship, and training at the Hub, our heart is to serve others well and to continue to send out disciples of Jesus who have been equipped and now sense God leading them elsewhere. Our goal is not to become a physical location for church activities or the epicenter of spiritual life in the region. Rather, we desire to faithfully steward who the Lord has called us to be, while also continually encouraging, hosting, and equipping the broader Body of Christ in our region.
While the hub is directly connected to AOX, the vision for the hub has always been bigger than one local church community. We believe that we have a small part to play in seeing the church of Grove City and our region grow healthy and strong. We also believe that a part of what is in God’s heart is that Grove City would become a hub, where people are drawn to His presence through worship and prayer, and in that atmosphere, they are equipped and sent out to live out the Great Commandment and Great Commission.
We are encouraged by the fact that many other local leaders share this belief. This is one reason that we have a high value for growing in close relationships with other local churches, house church networks, and prayer ministries. We know we are stronger together. We also recognize that the more we walk in healthy relationships with other parts of the body of Christ, the more we are free to fully express who God has made us to be, and focus on the things He has called us to do.
The story of the church at Antioch has been a helpful picture of what a healthy sending community looks like. From that story recorded in Acts 11 and 13, we have found four core priorities that we hold to in stewarding the vision of the hub.
As we spend time focusing our lives and affections on the Lord through individual and collective times of prayer and worship, we acknowledge His worthiness, grow deeper in connection with Him and give our attention to the things on His heart.
As we become more aware of the gospel working in our own lives, we look for opportunities to live in a way that proclaims and demonstrates the good news of Jesus, as He leads us to the hungry, hurting and lonely around us.
As we follow Jesus and give ourselves to loving one another deeply, we learn how to walk together in a way that honors the Lord and each other, cultivating personal wholeness and modeling healthy spiritual family to the world around us.
As we learn how to minister to the Lord together, grow in deep love for one another, and live out the gospel, we believe that God will continue to call us to go from our communities to the ends of the earth to represent Him and express hope.
Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit…
Acts 13:1-4a
The primary objective for us in 2011 is to establish an “Antioch Community” in Grove City that will function as a prayer and missions base for our region. At the center of this community will be a core group of people who are walking together as spiritual family and functioning together as a simple church community. We believe that the culture of this community will allow students, mobilizers and others to be trained and become acclimated to an overflow lifestyle where ministry and even community comes out of the overflow of our relationships with Jesus.
Equip, Encourage and Empower Everyday Followers of Jesus.
Thank you for your interest in the Hub. If you have any questions or want to talk with someone from our team, please reach out; someone will get back with you.