Church Without Walls Finds Home in FishHawk

The Rev. Kody Kirchhoff is accustomed to making a big impression wherever he goes.

Born in a small town in Nebraska, he went on to Green Mountain College in Vermont on a basketball scholarship. When he discovered there was no Christian organization for students on campus, he created one.

Later, as a youth and sports minister in Omaha, he set out to break the Guinness Book of World Records for most consecutive three-point basketball throws in a 24-hour period to raise funds for a youth center and demonstrate to his youth that they can accomplish anything they set their minds to doing.

Kirchhoff not only broke the record with 6,301 consecutive throws in 2006, but broke his own record again in 2007 with 7,007 throws. In the process, he also set the one-hour record for 623 throws in one hour.

“I could have done more, but I stopped at 623 in honor of Romans 6:23, ‘For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’,” he said.

Now, after moving to Lithia 2 ½ years ago, Kirchhoff continues to impress, this time by starting the area’s first church with no walls.

Instead, the church, 242 On the Move, meets at local parks and members' homes throughout the Lithia area.

“Our whole vision is that a church is not a building,” he said. “Church is on our cul de sac and in our office place. We’ve declared this is how we will live. Ministry happens everywhere.”

It wasn’t until he was in college that Kirchhoff felt a calling to the ministry. As a child he grew up going to church simply because it was the right thing to do and it was what his parents wanted him to do.

“I didn’t really have ownership in it. I was just going through the motions,” he said. “It wasn’t until I was in college that God revealed Himself to me.”

Kirchhoff took a year off from college to work at a Christian youth camp in Seattle so he could explore God’s intentions for his life.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” he said. “I had gone to school to play sports and I’d thought about being a teacher or coach.”

His experience at the youth camp cemented the idea of devoting his life to God.

“I made the decision to go into ministry at the age 20,” he said. He finished college and then went on to attend Valley Forge Christian College in Pennsylvania.

At his side was his wife, Lisa. They met in college where she was an All-American soccer player.

“Both of us found a relationship in Christ,” said Kirchhoff. “And she supported me while I went to Bible college.”

His first job out of Bible college was back in his home state of Nebraska.

“I feel I was called to go back to Omaha,” he said. “It was an amazing start.”

Kirchhoff had been born to a teenage mother in Omaha and was adopted by his parents. Ironically, Lisa got a job in social work at the same institute from which Kirchhoff had been adopted, the Child-Saving Institute.

“I felt I was part of a community,” he said. “I even did public speaking for the Child-Saving Institute.”

However, after four years in Omaha, Kirchhoff said he felt called to move on.

“I began to pray about when and where,” he said.

He accepted a job as student pastor at Sunset Bay Chapel in Lithia in June 2009.

“I don’t know why Florida,” he said. “It was never even on our radar. It was a complete leap of faith. But it was an amazing opportunity to reach hundreds of students in FishHawk. And you can’t ignore the call of God.”

However, after two years at Sunset Bay Chapel, “I began to feel the nudge and felt it was time to move on,” he said. “You always have to be obedient to God. And, on June 17, God revealed it was time to start a church and to do it here. I gave my resignation and, on July 17, I started Don’t Have a Name.com, a church with no walls.”

He later changed the name to 242 On the Move after Acts 2:42, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

“It refers to after the Pentecost when a group of people devoted themselves to God’s Word and to living out the teachings of the apostles,” Kirchhoff said. “It reminds us to take care of one another in our hopes, dreams, sorrows and hurts. And the breaking of bread reminds us to be devoted to the Lord’s Supper and how we’re to proclaim Jesus’ resurrection every time. And, finally, we look at prayer as the power to move the hands of God. Jesus said, ‘Ask anything in my name and I’ll do it.’ Through prayer, He begins to heal lives and people.”

The fact that the church has no building is actually a freeing concept, said Kirchhoff. “We don’t have a building or an address, and we don’t have to be focused on paying for it. Instead, we’re a ministry movement that can devote our funds to good works.”

To that end, 242 On the Move sponsors a mission in Haiti, feeds the homeless in Tampa and furnishes homes for the poor, among other ministries.

On Sundays, members meet at local parks for worship, followed by a barbecue and social. The first Sunday of the month, the ministry meets at Aldermans Ford Park, the second week at Park Square, the third Sunday at the gazebo in the Garden District of FishHawk Ranch and the fourth Sunday at Ibis Park in FishHawk Ranch.

“Church happens more than just on Sunday,” Kirchhoff said. “Ministry can happen everywhere at any time. We love Sundays but we put 10 percent of our effort into Sunday. Ninety percent of our focus takes place during the week. We’re together probably four or five times a week, and we have a blast. I refer to the members as my family.”

He also encourages members to pursue their own personal ministries.

“Each person has a call to ministry,” he said. “We teach them to take ownership of their ministry. If you’re searching and don’t feel like you’re serving a ministry, come check us out.”

In addition, 242 On the Move takes part in community events such as the FishHawk Chili Cookoff and Movie Night at FishHawk Creek Elementary School. Members do a prayer walk once a month through FishHawk Ranch during which they pray for the schools, businesses and other churches in the community. The next prayer walk will take place at Park Square March 3 at 6:30 p.m. And, on the last Wednesday of the month, members get together for food, fun and games.

“The reaction to our ministry has been mixed,” said Kirchhoff. “After all, there are 300,000-plus churches in America with a variety of styles. But I think our style of ministry is needed, especially in Florida. I couldn’t do this in Nebraska where it’s cold half of the year.

"I know this ministry is a bit radical, just as what Jesus did was radical," said Kirchhoff. "Jesus was the lead radical. I believe we’re called to be radical.”

But being radical doesn’t mean Kirchhoff is willing to deviate from Scripture.

“We believe the Bible is the absolute, inerrant Word of God and we will never change Scripture to fit the desires of our lives and we will never ignore the Scriptures to fit the desires of our lives,” he said. “We will change the desires of our lives to fit the Scriptures.”

242 On the Move currently has 80 to 100 members of all ages, from infants to 75 years old, said Kirchhoff, adding that members come from all walks of life.

“We want to keep our ministry small. If it’s too big, it’s no longer intimate, like a family,” he said.

Instead of growing the ministry, he plans to branch off and start a new 242 On the Move ministry in Tampa later this year.

“My goal is to start 30 ministries in 30 years, all with about 150 members,” he said. “We don’t want to get larger than that because we want the members to know one another. Plus, the smaller we are, the less red tape we have.”

To learn more about 242 On the Move, visit the ministry’s website.