“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28-19

Joy Lutheran Church will open its doors Sunday at 11 a.m.
The congregation will gather in the chapel inside Thompson’s Funeral Home on Augusta Road, according to Rev. Paulette McHugh, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Little Mountain is the parent church and it will be affiliated with North American Lutheran Church. The new church will focus primarily on West Columbia residents. I asked Rev. McHugh how she became the pastor and why West Columbia. 
She told me that she had been an associate pastor several years but felt she was destined for something else. She took a year off to seek God’s will. In 2015, she attended a conference on church planting. After that, she was sure that God wanted her to start and pastor a church.
Her search for a place began. She had strong feelings toward West Columbia based on research she had done about the diversity of the population, and advice from friends convinced her that West Columbia was the place.
The church’s purpose statement is simple: “Love God. Love Neighbor. Serve all people in Jesus’ name.” They aim to be a simple uncomplicated, joyful church of missionary-disciples.They want to grow in faith through their love of God and one another as they serve with joy in Jesus’ name. She said they are following the Great Commission of Matt 28:18-20. Now the task begins to reach out to the community. 
I love her comment at the end of our interview.
“Evangelism is not rocket science. It’s just building relationships”. 
She is right.