Spotlight: Westminster Grand Rapids

by Larissa Kwong Abazia
May 15, 2025

This month, we’re thrilled to shine a spotlight on Westminster Presbyterian Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan—a long-time supporter of NEXT Church and host of our upcoming National Gathering this November.

Under the leadership of Rev. Lynette Sparks, Westminster has been deeply engaged in the evolving movement of NEXT Church. Rev. Sparks, who has served three congregations before becoming Senior Pastor at Westminster, has witnessed the growth and transformation of NEXT Church firsthand.

Our Executive Director, Rev. Larissa Kwong Abazia, asked Lynette about the church’s commitment to NEXT Church, the importance of our relationship, and her vision for the Church that is unfolding. Westminster Grand Rapids’ participation, wisdom, and financial support are helping shape the future of the Church—and we couldn’t do it without them.

Larissa: Why does Westminster Presbyterian Church support NEXT Church?

Lynette: As a congregation, Westminster has supported NEXT Church financially and through its participation since the inception of NEXT and through its iterations to where it is today. If we thought the world was changing fast in 2010, and were wondering how the church could respond to cataclysmic change then, now it’s all the more so! NEXT Church has modeled learning, adapting, and transforming itself to focus on going deeper, and invites us all into that life-changing, Church-changing endeavor.

Larissa: In what ways do you (either individually or as a congregation) value the relationship between NEXT Church and WPC?

Lynette: We are excited and honored to host the National Gathering this year — an invitation to us that grew out of the long relationship that Westminster Grand Rapids has had with NEXT Church, as well as my own personal experience with NEXT Church and its leaders since 2011 while serving in three different congregations. NEXT Church is ultimately about people and community; NEXT Church is helping us respond to the biggest justice issue of our time and context (white supremacy) that’s standing in the way of God’s beloved community. We still have a long way ahead on our antiracism journey, and are grateful to have NEXT Church as an ongoing companion in the journey.

Larissa: What impact have you experienced by engaging with NEXT Church?

Lynette: In addition to the church-wide relationships I have developed, two things in particular come to mind for me personally:

1. NEXT Church is where I first learned about the transformative power of community organizing, both within a congregation and in our community context. I took the course NEXT Church offered in Baltimore in 2018, where I learned to understand in a whole new way the power of relational organizing. So when I was discerning a call to Westminster Grand Rapids in early 2020, the fact that Westminster was on the ground floor of broad-based organizing work locally was an important factor in my decision. Fast forward to today, where our local broad-based organization is taking root, I am seeing members’ lives and faith transformed by doing the work of justice alongside those in our community who are marginalized. They are learning to be led by communities impacted by identified issues.
2. After having been involved in justice and antiracism work for a long time, I’ve found Antiracism as a Way of Being to be hands down the most helpful framework I’ve engaged to both do my own internal antiracism work and help lead our congregation into new ways of being so that it seeps into all ministries of the church. The “values–based” approach is, quite frankly, very empowering; it not only changes the way I “see” the systems at work, it offers transformative responses. We just had an initial cohort of ten leaders go through the course with two NEXT Church coaches, and plan to work with NEXT Church to offer a series of additional cohorts over the coming couple of years to spread it throughout the church.

Larissa: What is the change you would like to see in the larger Church and how can NEXT Church be a part of it?

Lynette: Mainline Protestant churches like the PCUSA are certainly not God’s answer to everything; yet at the same time, I believe more than ever that our theology and understanding of Church has the potential to minister powerfully and compassionately to people in our current context; we have a clear call. I want the Church to embrace that call decisively and joyfully.

Larissa: What else would you want current and/or future donors to know about NEXT Church?

Lynette: Every iteration of NEXT Church’s focus has been helpful over the years. I really appreciate how it’s evolved to focus on the deep, transformative work that changes everything.