Skip to content
How Reach Fellowship Is Reaching Apex, North Carolina with a Message That Matters
A smart church launch marketing strategy can be the difference between simply starting and truly reaching people. That’s exactly what Reach Fellowship set out to do when they launched in Apex, North Carolina in early 2025. Planted by Chase Gardner with a mission to spark gospel awakening, this new church needed more than visibility—it needed clarity, empathy, and real connection with people on the margins of faith. Sonder partnered with Reach to build a phased strategy rooted in authenticity and trust—and the results spoke for themselves.
Reach Fellowship launched in January 2025 with a mission to spark gospel awakening in their city, their state, and their world. But like many church planters, Chase faced a familiar set of challenges:
• Planting in a school.
• Competing with noise in a saturated market.
• Reaching people who had been burned by churches or Christians.
• And doing it all in one of the fastest-growing areas in the U.S.
That’s where Sonder came in.
A Church Launch Marketing Strategy That Started with People First
Rather than jumping straight to promotions or pushing Sunday service details, Sonder took a different approach: self-disclosure over self-promotion. We helped Reach share who they are, not just what they do.
In the months leading up to launch, Sonder rolled out a phased church launch marketing strategy:
November–December: Awareness campaigns focused on curiosity, belonging, and healing from spiritual hurt
Mid-December: A personal video invite from Chase launched as a paid ad, paired with a message-first landing page
Calls to Action: Plan Your Visit—but not for a number. For a prayer. For a seat saved. For them.
We weren’t chasing clicks. We were building trust—one breadcrumb at a time.
Meeting Apex Where It’s At
Apex sits next to Cary, one of the fastest-growing zip codes in America. Thousands of people are relocating to the Triangle region, many of them skeptical of institutions, unsure about faith, and exhausted by life. Some are young families trying to find their footing. Others are deconstructing Christians still nursing wounds from their past. Without a rock solid church launch marketing strategy, Reach would have missed pivotal opportunities to connect their mission to this group.
Reach Fellowship was planted with them in mind. So our messaging met them there.
Instead of polished hype, we delivered honesty.
Instead of loud graphics, we used warmth. Instead of “Join Us!” we asked:
“What if church felt different?”
“Not sure where to begin with God?”
“We’ll save you a seat.”
The messaging was bold in its restraint—and it resonated.
What Happened on Launch Sunday (And After)
When Reach Fellowship opened its doors in January, over 300 people showed up, including 100 kids. But that was only the beginning.
Just five months later, the church is consistently reaching over 700 people every weekend, with new families still coming in weekly. The digital campaign drove hundreds of Plan Your Visit submissions, each one personally followed up on. Every click wasn’t just a lead—it was a name, a story, a step toward belonging.
Chase later told us, “Whatever you guys did—worked.”
Real Strategy. Real People. Real Partnership.
Chase is the first to admit marketing isn’t his lane. But he didn’t want a firm to just “run ads.” He wanted a partner that understood his heart for Kingdom over Empire—and his desire to reach deconstructing Christians who might never walk through church doors on their own.
At Sonder, we’ve continued walking alongside Reach through:
• Ongoing ad campaigns for sermon series
• Website consulting and messaging
• Strategy sessions that go beyond clicks to cultivate clarity and mission
Because when the message matches the mission, people notice. And more importantly—they feel safe enough to come and see.
To learn more about Reach Fellowship check out their website HERE.
To explore more about how Sonder helps churches plant succesfully, with a sound church launch marketing strategy click HERE.
