Becoming Unforgettable
She invited the Camachos to the worship service where Carlos, 32, says he sensed God speaking to him through the message by lead pastor Paul Thomas, Pam’s husband.
A man seated near Carlos introduced himself as Cristobal and asked to pray for him. “The prayer was spot on—mending relationships with family, my father, mother and sister, struggles at work—it was a stressful time, and Cristobal hit it spot on,” Carlos says.
“The credit goes to the Holy Spirit,” he declares. “No way this man standing near me would know this.”
That day in early 2025, Carlos gave his life to Christ. Months later, he and his wife, along with daughters Sophia, 12, and Anna, 7, received water baptism together as a family.
Paul Thomas, 61, describes the Camachos as just one example of those who have come to faith in Christ since the Lord imparted a daunting vision for this neighborhood church, which was founded in 1927. Since the park and coffee shop opened in early 2024, Evangel has seen Sunday attendance increase 70%.
This transformation began after executive pastor Mike McGarvey, 40, challenged the church staff to self-reflect in a 2015 meeting: “If Evangel had to close its doors on Sunday, would anyone beyond the people that attended notice?”
The staff reacted with stunned silence. “It stopped the whole room,” says Thomas, who also serves as assistant superintendent of the Georgia Assemblies of God.
The key to reversing long-plateaued attendance lay beyond the church’s status quo. The writing was on the wall – Evangel would have to change, moving many beyond their comfort zones.
“Our generation was more concerned about what we wanted to do. We hadn’t viewed this from what’s best for our city,” Thomas says.
Indeed, the largely white middle-class congregation didn’t look like the racially and economically diverse neighborhoods surrounding Evangel’s 17-acre campus. The city’s prosperity concentrated downtown and in northern Columbus, far from Evangel as the city grew around the church, which had been built on an old dairy farm. Demographics within a one-mile radius included neighborhoods with Title I schools and middle-class homes.
“We’re in forgotten space,” McGarvey says. Notably, neighborhood parks hadn’t been cared for.
Evangel’s moment of self-reflection ignited a process in which its leadership began to unpack what God was calling the church to do in their community.
“We wanted a church building that our community used the other six-and-a-half days a week, not only on Sundays,” McGarvey says. “We decided we’ll be the initial investors and give our campus as a gift to the city.”
In the process, he says, the congregation died to self.
“Reaching people is more important than preferences,” McGarvey says. While for Evangel’s congregants the paradigm shift may have been uncomfortable, never was it divisive as the church raised funds for the multi-million-dollar building and renovation project.
Among keys to maintaining church unity was keeping the congregation engaged throughout the process. Congregants decided they wanted to see the nice quality city park right in front of the church and keep it open seven days a week.
Along with Milltown Square Park, in January 2024 Evangel opened full-service Milltown Coffee with a menu similar to large chain coffee houses: “No full grill but you can get grits, a bagel and egg sandwich, a breakfast burrito, or a toasted sandwich,” McGarvey says. In 2025, Milltown Coffee did 34,000 transactions — “That’s 34,000 opportunities to host people in that space.”
Thomas notes that the park and coffee shop were but a third of the scope of the construction project. Beyond Milltown, the Evangel building itself, built in 1978, underwent renovation to make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which helped both the aging congregation and others with disabilities. Architects designed a ring around the church exterior that enabled wheelchairs to fully access church facilities “without running into steps,” he says.
This reflected a shift in how Evangel welcomed people, McGarvey says.
“Our goal was diversity of the congregation to reflect our community,” McGarvey says. “We needed space to accommodate [persons with disabilities]. We wanted to make it the most inclusive and accessible.” The park, for example, includes a merry-go-round for wheelchairs.
Additionally, it’s become a venue to host public school functions, including choir concerts and graduations. He recalls a kindergarten teacher who knew somebody at Evangel and called in desperation after her class field trip host canceled. With little notice, the church welcomed the kindergarteners, got out its bubble machine, and served popsicles for the 5-year-olds who also enjoyed the playground.
When Evangel opened Milltown Square, the community responded. In 2023 Evangel had 192 first-time visiting families. In 2024, that number jumped to 582. Baptisms and the children’s ministry have more than doubled. To accommodate the growth, the church has added a third worship service.
The first year of Milltown Square’s opening, 30 percent of first-time visitors came through the coffee shop. “They found their way to Jesus because of that hospitality.”
McGarvey points to the Camachos as but one of the families transformed by Jesus after Evangel went beyond its existing reach through Milltown. Val and Carlos are greeters; Val is team leader for Fam Closet, the church’s ministry that supports foster and adoptive families in the county. She also helps with Starting Point, Evangel’s welcome class.
Additionally, they attend a Bible study for young married couples. Their daughter Anna is engaged in Evangel’s eKids while daughter Sophia is active in the church’s Alive youth ministry.
He sees the Camachos nearly every Sunday with a family they’ve invited.
“At Evangel we define a disciple as someone who is following Jesus and teaching others to do the same,” McGarvey says. “The Camachos do that in their community and at work. We just love seeing that story unfold with family after family who finds their way into this union of sacred space.”
