English
Korean
Spanish
As College Station plant marks one-year anniversary, God has exceeded all expectations
Brandon Sweeney may be new to church planting, but he is not new to ministry.
Sweeney, 41, has been in ministry for 17 years. A native of Ohio, he has served God in North Carolina (where he met his future wife, Ashantae, at church), Atlanta, Houston, and now College Station. The Sweeneys, with three children in tow, planted Salt City Church in Aggieland in March 2024.
“We have made it just over a year,” Sweeney said of Salt City, which meets in a local elementary school.
God has exceeded all expectations at Salt City, Sweeney said. “This is so beyond us,” he said of his multigenerational, multiethnic congregation which started with a core group of 40—including his family and people he recruited in College Station to join him.
Launch day at Salt City attracted more than 200, including many well-wishers and community members. By January 2025, attendance was around 180, and then it mushroomed to nearly 400 in the spring. The church began community groups, a Sunday kids ministry, and an outreach called Salt the City.
With only 400 chairs available at the school and limited parking, Salt City is already considering adding a service—a happy problem to have.
“People have come and stayed and joined,” Sweeney said.
“Our church took off and grew so fast. I still can’t believe we planted a church. We are amazed at what God is doing."
The pastor credited the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, including the church-planting-focused Send Network SBTC, for invaluable help throughout the planting process, including funding assistance. Through Send Network SBTC, Sweeney partners with Cameron Whitley of Westlake Atascosita, which is not only Salt City’s sending church, but a church plant itself.
Sweeney also meets monthly with mentor Chris Millar, pastor of The Well in San Marcos. Millar texts Sweeney weekly, asking how to pray for him and the church. “He is always available for me to call,” Sweeney said.
The SBTC provided a grant to help with Salt City’s VBS outreach last summer. Not vacation Bible school—but a single day they call “Very Big Sunday” that serves as a community outreach featuring food, a game truck, and opportunities to connect relationally.
“Our church took off and grew so fast,” Sweeney said. “I still can’t believe we planted a church. We are amazed at what God is doing.”
