Church Plant at Northwest University Emphasizes Evangelism
“Every Sunday is a good Sunday for giving the lost the option of praying for salvation,” says Sonny Hennesssy, lead pastor. “It’s a 52-week opportunity.”
Sonny and her husband Shawn, LCNW senior pastor, had introduced a weekly salvation call in Sunday services more than a decade ago. The practice has yielded untold decisions for Christ.
The Hennessys gained their initial ministry experience under the mentorship of the late Fulton Buntain, pastor of Life Center Church (LCC) in Tacoma, Washington. They called him their spiritual father. Buntain, who died in 2012, was the brother of Mark Buntain, founder of the widely-known Calcutta Mercy Ministries in Kolkata (Calcutta), India.
The couple volunteered initially as summer interns from Trinity Bible College & Graduate School before becoming youth pastors at LCC. They eventually pastored AG churches in several cities prior to relaunching an existing church in Wisconsin. During their time in Wisconsin, they continued ministering together and Shawn was named chaplain of the Green Bay Packers professional football team, a position he still holds today. But the Hennessys were still sensing God’s call to plant more churches and began considering locations in several different states and Canada.
“It’s never been about building a church – it’s all about building the kingdom of heaven,” Sonny says.
Then in April, 2025, NWU President Joseph Castleberry contacted them about planting an AG church on campus in the school’s 456-seat Butterfield Chapel.
“We were totally surprised,” Sonny says.
Normally church plants take at least 18 months of planning time, in addition to recruiting and training a launch team. But Castleberry spelled out a much shorter launch period.
The Hennessys trusted God’s leading and accepted the challenge, which entailed Castleberry’s pending retirement and search for a new president.
Jeremy Johnson, former lead pastor of North Point Church, in Springfield, Missouri, filled the president’s position on August 18. He gave his blessing for the on-campus church and the Hennessys proceeded to put all the pieces together for a fall launch.
Although LCNW leases the chapel, the university continues holding mid-week chapel services and other events.
NWU has a student population of 1,500 with 630 students studying on campus. Many are permanent residents of Washington state and have off-campus internships at 50 local churches.
“The new arrangement with LCNW gives our students an opportunity to learn about and be involved in church planting and put evangelistic applications into practice,” Johnson says. “Both Sonny and Shawn have poured their lives into our students and the local community, and reflect our theme – Jesus first, Jesus always.”
NWU senior Jacob Weaver majoring in music production, learned about the new campus church when he was offered to run the sound booth during Sunday worship. Growing up in a nondenominational evangelical church, he gave his life to Jesus at a church summer camp worship service.
“The church has been an amazing reset for me because it is a great place to slow down and focus on the heart of why I serve the Lord and people,” Weaver, 21, says. “Also, a lot of new students and especially foreign students, appreciate the easy walk to the chapel.”
Life Church Northwest was officially launched on October 5, 2025. An 18-member team from Life Church Green Bay flew to Seattle for the launch weekend. Additionally, several LCGB staff pastors continue flying in and out monthly, providing further support.
Currently the congregation is made up of 50% students and 50% from the community. Besides ministering to NWU students, the church is aiming at the greater Seattle metro area, a wide landscape of progressive ideologies.
“Even some NWU students are susceptible to deconstruction, a critical dismantling of a person’s understanding of what it means to be an evangelical Christian,” says Sonny Hennessy.
The religiously unaffiliated (nones) represent 44 percent of the population, according to Pew Research Center. Sadly, Christians represent the same percentage, with evangelicals ranking a paltry 21 percent.
Keaisha Hunt, 29, a childcare assistant on Sundays, says “Life Church Northwest has become my first home church, ever. The staff has been welcoming and loving and helpful in my continuing growth and walk with Christ. God has been doing a work in me, in the right place at the right time.”
LCNW’s salvation call begins at the end of every service when the congregation closes their eyes. Those wishing to accept Christ into their lives raise their hands and make eye contact with the pastor. They are asked to fill out the I’m Choosing to Follow Jesus” card or scan the QR code for follow-up steps, including emails and texts from the pastors, and invitations to Discovers classes about understanding the faith and learning Christian principles.
“We feel that every church must have a strong passion for reaching the lost,” Sonny Hennessy stresses. And with this unique location, the Hennessys are able to lead LCNW in living out its mission statement, The Great Commission, on a ripe mission field.
