Rev. Jonathan Quinn has accepted the call to serve as pastor at a new mission in Moncks Corner, S.C., one of four new mission starts funded by the Board for Home Missions (BHM) in 2011.

A 2007 graduate of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis., Quinn had been serving at Good Shepherd, Midland, Mich., as the assistant to the Michigan District president. “It was a hard decision to leave behind the people whom we’ve been able to serve here and whom we love very much,” says Quinn, “but it’s also a very exciting opportunity to go to Moncks Corner and start everything from scratch.”

Moncks Corner is in a growing area, with new subdivisions cropping up due to an influx of jobs at a new Boeing plant. Quinn will have a core group of people with whom to work—30 to 40 members from Beautiful Savior, Summerville, S.C., 25 minutes away. Most of these members live in the Moncks Corner area.

Beautiful Savior began exploring Moncks Corner in 2008 and already has been canvassing and reaching out in the area. Rev. Jon Hein from Beautiful Savior and his vicar have been holding Bible information classes and recently confirmed six new members.

The core group also has been looking at land on which to build a worship facility. The mission was one of six to receive a grant from the BHM in June 2011 to help with purchasing land or constructing a worship facility. The BHM received a one-time $1 million grant from the WELS Church Extension Fund in February 2011 to help kickstart mission congregations and get them into worship facilities sooner than is typically the case.

“Due to several factors, Home Missions is allocating a healthy portion of resources to this mission,” says Rev. Keith Free, BHM administrator. “Home Missions does so with the prayer that this mission will reach many souls with the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Quinn, his wife, Katie, and their two children plan to move to South Carolina in May. He says, “I’m looking forward to all the blessings and the challenges of starting the mission and ask the Lord’s blessings as we do his work.”