NEW WORSHIPPING COMMUNITIES
Every New Church Development (NCD) is considered a "new worshipping community" (NWC)--for example, Umoja (Kenyan congregation) was an NCD before they were chartered by the Presbytery in May 2018. But, not every NWC is a NCD. Olympia Presbytery is experimenting with New Worshipping Communities and seeing where God leads.
HAGAR’S COMMUNITY CHURCH
Hagar’s Community Church is a Sanctuary for God’s Beloved Exiles at the Women’s Correction Center for Women (WCCW). The mission is to give the individuals incarcerated their own Christian community through which they might explore their spirituality and encounter the proclamation and experience of God’s love.
God is doing a new thing in Olympia Presbytery. Across our region, fresh expressions of church are springing up in living rooms, cafés, retirement communities, and neighborhood gatherings. Each of these New Worshiping Communities (NWCs) reflects the Spirit’s creativity, rooted in the gospel and contextual to the lives of those they serve. Some are just beginning to take shape, while others are deepening into sustainable rhythms of worship, fellowship, and mission. Together, they remind us that Christ’s Church is alive and adaptable, meeting people where they are with hospitality, prayer, and hope.
GATHER | TACOMA
We are a community of Jesus-followers seeking to embody love and hospitality through our:
Shared Table, Shared Journey, Shared Purpose
In a world where so many feel isolated, overextended, or spiritually unmoored, Gather exists as a countercultural community of welcome. We believe life with God was never meant to be a solo journey or a spectator event—it is meant to be lived out in community, through rhythms of shared meals, honest questions, acts of justice, and everyday friendship. Gather Tacoma is a Spirit-led ecosystem of spaces where people can explore faith, practice neighborliness, and grow into Jesus-shaped love.
The Table
The Table is a New Worshiping Community nested in Harrison Square Presbyterian Church. Sensing a deep hunger for meaning, belonging, and spiritual connection among young adults in Lewis County, a team of leaders and young adults have been discerning a fresh expression of community and faith for this next season. The vision of The Table is to create a welcoming, open-handed space outside traditional church walls, centered around meals, honest conversation, and gentle spiritual invitation. Our goal is to launch soft gatherings in early 2026, hosted in partnership with local businesses like The Juice Box, and shaped by relational rhythms that meet young adults where they are. Supported by a pending Seed Grant and local leadership, The Table hopes to be a “front porch” to faith—warm, accessible, and rooted in Christ’s hospitality..
Umoja Olympia
A culturally vibrant worshiping community being birthed by Umoja Tacoma.
As part of Olympia Presbytery’s NWC initiatives, it seeks to embody inclusivity, spiritual growth, and outreach, with special attention to those on the margins. Through worship, fellowship, and community engagement, Umoja is exploring fresh forms of church that reflect the gifts and needs of its diverse members.
Panorama
The Panorama New Worshiping Community (NWC) began with the simple act of taking home communion to Sandy, a member of Lacey Presbyterian Church who lives at Panorama, a phased retirement community in Lacey, WA. What started as a pastoral visit soon grew into something larger as Sandy asked if she could invite neighbors to join. Many of those neighbors, disconnected from the church due to mobility challenges and other barriers, found in this gathering a space of belonging. Today, 8–10 participants gather monthly not only for communion, but also for prayer, fellowship, encouragement, and reading the Word of God together.
Taken together, these New Worshiping Communities reveal the Spirit’s movement across Olympia Presbytery. Each initiative, whether it begins around a kitchen table, in a retirement home, at a café, or in a neighborhood gathering, offers a fresh expression of Christ’s hospitality. Some are still in their early stages of discernment, while others are maturing into more sustainable forms of community. All of them share the same heartbeat: to create spaces where people can encounter God’s love, belong in authentic community, and be formed as disciples of Jesus.
These communities remind us that the Church is not confined to one building or model, but is continually being renewed for the sake of God’s mission. Together, we are witnessing the gospel take root in surprising places, bearing fruit for the Kingdom in ways both humble and profound.