New chirch opening, Celina Record

Leaders of a new church getting to know neighbors in Celina, Prosper Lisa Ferguson, lferguson@starlocalmedia.com Jun 8, 2016 0 The congregation of Legacy Church does not yet exist. In fact, Pastor Steve Smothermon Jr. hasn’t overseen a single worship service since he and his co-senior-pastor wife, Lissette, set up pulpit earlier this year at Rucker Elementary School, 402 S. Craig Road in Prosper. That will happen once Legacy Church - an offshoot of an Albuquerque, New Mexico megachurch of the same name led by Smothermon’s father - officially opens its doors in late August. Until then, he and his staff are keeping busy by shaking lots of hands and getting to know residents of Prosper and Celina where they volunteer the church’s manpower at city-sponsored and other family-friendly events. For example, the church will operate a children’s obstacle course at Saturday’s Under the Sea … On the Square, an installment of the monthly outdoor movie series presented by Celina Main Street on the city’s downtown square. Also, keep an eye out for Legacy’s orange-shirted crew when they lend hands at the city’s Splash & Blast water-themed summer party June 25 at Old Celina Park. Smothermon said the church is also set to assist during Prosper’s Pride in the Sky Independence Day celebration July 1 at Frontier Park. “Because we’re hard workers, it’s just in our DNA,” he said of the staff’s involvement in the communities. Smothermon, who majored in business finance and entrepreneurial studies in college, said he wants to “get the message out” about the church before he preaches his first sermon there. “A lot of us staying busy is getting our name out there so people are aware we’re here so when we do launch it’s not, ‘What’s this Legacy Church?’” he said. “What you’re really asking people when you ask them to come to church is to trust you. … We want people to trust us and to understand that we’re not here to take anything. We’re here to give.” For eight years, Smothermon, 29, served as the youth pastor at Legacy Church in Albuquerque, which boasts about 30,000 congregation members. He, Lissette and their two children relocated to Celina in January after they were “called” by God to start a non-denominational church in Prosper, Smothermon said. “Our goal is not to come and take people from other [churches],” he said. Legacy Church hosts what Smothermon described as “hangout” sessions at 5:30 p.m. Sundays at Rucker Elementary in an effort to introduce its mission to potential congregation members and staffers. “I give a quick little message, a thought about who we are, our core values, where we’re at, what we’re doing,” he said. Smothermon said he is excited to watch the local outlet of Legacy Church grow in coming years. “I do believe we will be a very large church, and the reason we’re OK with being a large church is because a big church can make a big difference,” he said. “The more people you mobilize in the same direction, the more needs you can meet, the more resources and people you have that can do things to bless communities.”