In 2007, after a vacation to Boston, Tyler and Crystal experienced what they call “the bite of the Boston bug,” and fell in love with the city and her story.
In 2009, God began to awaken their hearts to the call of church planting, and when thinking about where to plant, New England had their attention. After a long, strenuous season of having this call tried and tested, they made the move to Boston with the support of their senior pastors. They drove into Boston on March 6, 2011, and began building our beloved church.
They moved here knowing only two people that they met on Twitter through a mutual friend, but StoryHeights began unfolding that summer as four turned into ten and then ten grew to 30 organically. There were six people that began meeting around a park table in Watertown to strategize how to get StoryHeights off the ground.
We officially began holding preview services in September of 2011 with 70 people in attendance, most who were Tyler and Crystal’s friends who flew up from Baton Rouge. Then, on January 15th, 2012, we held our first official weekly service at the Chestnut Hill AMC movie theater on the coldest day in Boston on record with only 31 people in attendance. We grew to over a hundred people, even hosting a second-weekend experience at the Green T coffee shop in Mission Hill in the evenings for our volunteers to attend. Then in December 2012, we were informed that we had three weeks to find a new venue because they were closing the AMC theater. After six straight weeks of different venues throughout Newton, unpacking storage and canceling two Sundays due to blizzards, our attendance fell back to 30 people. Finally, though, God brought us the beautiful Pine Manor College, where our Newton community met for four years and blossomed into a stable base from which we’ve grown. During those four years, we tested different endeavors, like a second campus in Southie and services in different venues all the while building the volunteers and leaders through those opportunities who now serve and lead our church with much seasoning.
In September 2017 we gained major traction when we moved into our own building in Newton Upper Falls! This long-term lease provides us with 5,000 sq. ft. first-class space that is ours 24/7 365 days a year and serves as a launching pad for all God will do in and through our church!
A church simply doesn’t happen overnight, and we are so grateful for the selfless service of the StoryHeights volunteer team. We look forward to more growth, expansion of current ministries and new ventures in the years to come!
Our story is still unfolding because we didn’t quit when the horizon was bleak. We’ve learned that failure doesn’t end the story with God! Our church’s health today is due to the tenacious spirit of the people who make room for all God ever tells us to do, and we live in awe of all He has unlocked for us in this city. As we work from a position of rest, breathing in deeply the Word of God as our baseline for truth in all we are and do, we experience more of God’s power and presence in every moment. And we can’t wait to see all that God will do, one story at a time. We invite you to add your line to our story.