There's a church in Nashville, Tennessee that's been around for generations.

It's a five-story red brick building that was once a pillar of the community.

And for many, many decades, the church was really thriving down there in the heart of Nashville.

That's my colleague Cam McWhorter. Cam says, like many churches around the country, eventually the congregation shrank and got older.

The church over time dwindled.

Ultimately, by the late 2010s, it had maybe 30 people going to it. It had a lot of assets,

but it didn't have a lot of people. Then one Sunday in 2017, a man named Sean Mathis showed up.

He came for a service there with his wife.

Mathis was in his 40s, much younger than the average member, and the congregation, which

was desperate for newcomers, welcomed them with open arms.

They knew it was declining.

They knew there were issues.

So when Sean showed up, at first they were very excited.

Mathis said he wanted to get involved

and started sharing his thoughts about how the church could grow.

What were some of his ideas?

He was very interested in talking about reviving the church

and bringing in more members

and expanding its mission to the whole world via the internet.

He had big plans.

Here's Mathis giving a lecture in 2019.

The church will thrive as much or more than we've ever seen it.

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