In the 1960s, more than 20 Assemblies of God-affiliated churches served more than 3,000 members in the City of St. Louis. By 1992, the doors closed at the last remaining city sanctuary. Other denominations faced similar scenarios. As residents moved up north or out west, more churches closed. Crime rates grew and ultimately by 2006, St. Louis was being named the “Most Dangerous City in America.”
A few hundred miles away in Wisconsin, Pastor Brian Schmidgall sighed at the news. Originally from Illinois, he was surprised to see the city he frequently visited to enjoy Cardinals baseball had become an unsafe place for many. Schmidgall traveled to St. Louis to meet with various local pastors and find out how he could help. It was during that visit when the seeds of MiddleTree Church were planted.
“The name is a play on words,” says Schmidgall. “Scripture talks about how Christ hung on a tree between two thieves. We also noticed the City of St. Louis is divided into two halves. We want to bring life amongst the division.”
The division to which Pastor Brian, as he’s known to his members, speaks is the racial divide on the Delmar line. North of Delmar is predominantly black and faces numerous economic challenges. North City is lined with abandoned buildings, vacant lots and signs of struggle. South, however, is predominantly white and more safe and affluent.
Churches in the city are often as segregated as the neighborhoods. Even Schmidgall’s ordination as an Assemblies of God pastor serves as a reminder that race, culture and economics have often influenced the church as well. The Assemblies of God and more familiar Church of God in Christ (COGIC) were once united in the Pentecostal movement, and still share nearly identical doctrine. But early in the 1900s, the churches split, primarily across racial lines. MiddleTree seeks to end that divide and unite Christians of all colors.
“I want to get away from white or black,” stated Schmidgall. “I envision a new kind of church, a church that’s going to bring healing to this city.”
In January MiddleTree opened its doors on Sunday mornings in the Demetrious Johnson Center (724 Union Blvd.). Since then, the building has served as a multi-cultural place of worship boasting diverse membership and services. The congregation embraces a friendly, casual and modern culture. Services generally include a blend of lively of contemporary Christian music, old school Pentecostal fervor and insightful sermons by Schmidgall and associate pastors Will Jones and Joshua Stockstill.
Jones, originally from East St. Louis, was raised through a COGIC background and shares Schmidgall’s vision of rebuilding St. Louis through an integrated community effort.
“God can bring together whatever race, culture or background we come from, because to us this is a reflection of what Heaven is going to look like,” he said.
As a former international professional basketball player, Jones still travels to different cities, countries and continents to preach. But his primary focus is to help MiddleTree transform St. Louis through outreach, community service and discipleship. The church recently participated in the “Day of Hope” in the Ville neighborhood and continues to partner with churches and organizations.
Sept. 9, the church will begin “Soul Detox,” a new series focusing on serving those with troubled or restless souls and bringing them to Christ. The church braintrust believe that God has called them to seek out individuals who are hurting, not just economically, but spiritually and bring them together for healing.
“It’s a challenge, bridging the different cultures,” Schmidgall said. “We’ll have to remain humble, faithful and compassionate if we’re truly going to reach this city.”
“It hasn’t been and won’t be easy,” Jones said. “But we want to be a church that finds life and gives life through the Gospel of Christ.”
MiddleTree Church holds services at 10:30 Sunday mornings. Visit middletreechurch.com.
