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OUR STORY

Our Story

Our founding Pastor Jeff Murphy and his wife Christy moved their family to Columbus in 2008 with the dream of planting a church in this city that would help people find their way back to God. Not long after, the dream became a reality on a frigid Sunday morning . . .

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MyChurch launched on January 25th, 2009. The first ever service was held that day outside in a tent on one of the coldest weeks of the year because our building was not ready. Amazingly, 625 people showed up to that kick off worship gathering, sat in a huge tent, and worshiped the Lord together in freezing weather. Most importantly, 44 people made Jesus the Leader and Forgiver of their life! This is what it looked like that first Sunday.

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And that is how the adventure began!

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Over the years, we’ve seen Jesus ‘build His church’ just as He promised he would do in Matthew 16:18 (small photo of the rock). MyChurch of Columbus has become a church that consistently reaches people who are far from God, and provides a safe, dynamic place where we can all grow and serve.

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In 2014, MyChurch purchase 11 acres of beautiful land here in Columbus, where one day we plan to have a new church building. In the meantime, we gather on that property for special services and events.

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In May of 2018, the Murphy family moved to Lynchburg , Virginia, as Jeff took a position with Liberty University. At that time, Ed Grifenhagen took the position as Pastor of MyChurch, and is leading us into an exciting future.

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In December 2018, Pastor Ed asked the church family to commit the name of the church to prayer. After 8 weeks of prayerful consideration, the name was changed to Church On The Trail. New name. . .same values. New name. . . same beliefs, same heart, same mission: Helping people find their way back to God. . .and grow. The church that Jesus Christ birthed 2,000 years ago is always on the trail-always on mission!

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Since that blustery day back in January of 2009, we have seen well over 2,000 people make Jesus their Savior. Through the ministries and the servant hearted people of Church On The Trail, the homeless community of Columbus is fed, soldiers and military families are helped & supported, those struggling with addiction find recovery, and families at risk of losing their kids to the foster system are preserved. In short - people find their way back to God … and grow!

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We invite you to come worship with us on a Sunday morning, or check out one of our worship experiences online. Thanks for visiting and we hope you’ll browse around our site to see what Church On The Trail is all about, and how you could be a part of the awesome stuff God is doing in our community.
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