Wesleyan Life

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Celebrate Community Church
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

By Jerry Brecheisen, Managing Editor

"It's been an awesome year," lead pastor Keith Loy of Celebrate Church (Wesleyan) in Sioux Falls, S.D. said. We would agree. From May 2007 to April 2008, this Dakota District church has seen over 1,000 people make a decision for Christ through its ministries. Pastor Loy says, "Our DNA is simply loving people, not focusing on converting, just loving them with the Love of Christ—no strings attached."

His voice reflects a range of emotions from excitement to weariness, but it definitely majors on passion, "People are just inviting people! We're tired but we're excited." Loy reports meeting new attendees every week, often those who have been invited by family members and friends. He adds "The best evangelists are those who come to know Christ. People around them see that something has changed in their life and want what they have."

Asked about methods, Loy explains that "it starts with Christ and ends with Christ." He says that people respond during altar calls and also make decisions when he wraps up a sermon series. "No matter what the series is about, the real issue is whether people have met Jesus." Interestingly, the church offers no formal training in evangelism, though Loy doesn't refute its importance. He calls the explosion of decisions for Christ a "God thing," but adds, "Even with growth there will be some times of discouragement. I constantly cling to the verse, "The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it" (1 Thess. 5:24).

With a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dakota Wesleyan University and a Master of Divinity from Briercrest Biblical Seminary, Keith and his wife, Kay, moved to Sioux Falls in 1999 to plant a church. One hundred attendees from Linwood Wesleyan in Sioux Falls came to help with the launch of Celebrate. "Seventy-five went back," Loy reports. "But twenty-five stayed." From that nucleus, the church has grown attendance to as high as 3,000.

During this time of explosive ministry, Pastor Loy stays focused. "Lord, this is Your church, not mine," he says. "The church's mission is simple: to reach thousands of people for Jesus."

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