My name is Luke (or L.T.) Greer. I'm the Director of the Bay Area School of Ministry, where I help equip church leaders to minister well to their communities. I've been at this kind of work for 25 years: more than a decade of it with Orchard Group, building funding and leadership partnerships for new churches in global cities, and before that in the Mexico City Valley, at Renewal Church in Chicago, and at New City Church in Oakland. Most of all, I'm being made new.
Primary leadership includes working with founder to direct the organization's mission, with particular focus on BASOM’s growth into new Bay Area regions and on partnerships with new churches.
Coaching for church planters and prospective planters in the Stratum incubator program.
Head of Partner Development, Orchard Group
Chicago, IL and Oakland, CA · 2016–2026
Primary leadership included building funding and leadership partnerships with churches for new church plants in global cities and the direction of communications strategy and media. Additional responsibilities included coaching and consulting with multicultural church start-up teams domestically and abroad, and facilitating project management teams during the first years of church project formation.
Consistent year-over-year growth in partnerships, measured by new and repeat partner churches, and by funds raised for new church plants in global cities.
Instrumental in key campaigns like Global Cities Initiative and Seventy-Fifth Celebration.
Successful implementation of new giving systems and communications strategies.
Effective communications campaigns for Rise Fund (African-American church planting leaders) and for acquisition of Restoration House Ministries.
Fruitful management team oversight and handoff of multiple church plants.
Board Chairperson, Intro Church
Bucharest, Romania · 2024–2026
Primary leadership included facilitating a high-level team focused on “ends” not “means” (adapted from the Carver model) to see to it that the church plant accomplishes what it intends and avoids what is unacceptable. By design, this management team is replaced by internal elder leaders over time.
A fruitful launch and steady growth in attendance and reach in the local community.
New ministry center location in the heart of Bucharest serves church and church outreach activity.
Church Planter Coaching, Chicago Partnership / City To City
Chicago, IL · 2019–2024
Monthly coaching for church planters or prospective planters in the Chicago Partnership incubator program.
Sounding board and guidance for one to three mentees annually.
Practical assessment and placement recommendations for Chicago Partnership / City To City.
Board Chairperson, Şehir Kilisesi (City Church)
Istanbul, Turkey · 2018–2025
See the Board Chairperson description above.
According to research firm SILAS, this is the first Turkish church in Istanbul in nearly a century to routinely have 75+ in attendance in Sunday services.
Board Chairperson, City Church
Lagos, Nigeria · 2017–2022
See the Board Chairperson description above.
Fruitful facilitation of multinational board.
Church plant has become successfully self-governing, with indigenous leaders.
Church plant exceeded expectations for self-replication strategy.
Church plant moving forward on clear path to financial self-sustainability.
Board Chairperson, Pro Deo Church
Cape Town, South Africa · 2016–2021
See the Board Chairperson description above.
Church plant became self-governing (with indigenous leaders), self-sustaining, and self-replicating.
Navigated challenges, including leadership transition in the church plant.
Board Chairperson, Renewal Church of Chicago
Chicago, IL · 2016–2021
See the Board Chairperson description above.
Church plant has become self-governing, self-sustaining, and self-replicating.
Lead pastor has flourished beyond the church plant into broader city impact.
Church plant is a founding member of Chicago Delivers.
Church Planter and Missionary, Impacto Latino / New Mission Systems
Greater Mexico City Valley, Mexico · 2008–2014
Worked with a multinational team to start a new church in Pachuca, including developing and implementing a leadership training pipeline.
Created outreach with residents to working class neighborhood that included both development (job training), relief (low-cost grocery), and early childhood education (sports camps).
Fundraised and hosted groups from visiting partner churches.
Instrumental in catalyzing a Spanish-language online media studio that produces material used throughout the Americas.
Urban Team Co-Director, Dallas Christian College
Dallas, TX · 1998–1999
Oversight of a college student-led program for children of low-income families on Dallas’ south side: including organizing a volunteer staff, and designing and implementing holistic urban outreaches like summer day camps for around eighty elementary school kids.
Summer camp served eighty elementary school kids from the Fair Park neighborhood.
Management of college volunteers and volunteers from visiting churches.
Facilitated high school camp which provided students with their first-ever trip outside their city and state.
Teaching in the school’s core curriculum, including courses Biblical Interpretation and Pastoral Toolbox.
Program Director, Orchard Institute
New York City, San Francisco, Chicago · 2014–2016
Primary leadership included developing, directing, and co-teaching an on-site intensive program for credit with a consortium of regional Bible colleges, designed to introduce undergraduates to urban church planting. Courses: Exegeting the City, Dynamics of the City, and Church Planting in the City.
Established and executed for-credit urban church planting courses with three Bible colleges.
Annual course offerings: two New York City course intensives, one Chicago course intensive, and one San Francisco course intensive each academic year.
More than 100 institute alumni from 2014–2016; many have gone on to serve in ministry positions in cities or that benefit urban church planting.
Missionary in Residence, Ozark Christian College
Joplin, MO · 2013
Semester-long program that brings in an international missionary to teach and mentor students. Taught the required 100-level course Christian Life and the elective 300-level course Cross-Cultural Church Planting.
Positive feedback from post-course student surveys.
Many students from Christian Life and Cross-Cultural Church Planting have gone on to fruitful church and missions ministry vocations.
Primary leadership included serving directionally with the lead pastor, preaching 10-12 times annually, teaching “Learning Cohorts,” organizing discipleship and community groups, and pastoral counseling.
Strong encouragement to the team and especially the lead pastor in a young church, planted in 2021.
Instrumental in successful relocation, which helped result in 30% year-over-year attendance growth.
Teaching Pastor and Elder, Renewal Church of Chicago
Chicago, IL · 2014–2022
Primary leadership included high-level leadership on the elder board, preaching Sunday services around ten times annually, pastoral counseling, writing discipleship group materials, facilitating discipleship groups, and teaching curriculum-based adult classes.
Fruitful “alongside” service with the lead pastor, working to support and establish him in the opening years of his role.
Successfully navigated nascent church staff and volunteer challenges.
Established the first discipleship group method and teaching series.
Church Planter and Missionary, New Mission Systems International
Pachuca, Mexico (Greater Mexico City) · 2008–2013
Leadership in the Iglesia Cristiana El Jubileo church plant included primary Sunday preaching and teaching (20-25 times a year), fundraising, hiring and training staff, community group formation in an under-resourced neighborhood, and Mexico religious association board membership.
Successfully served with a multinational team to establish a new, vibrant church.
Church has gone on to help plant two other churches.
Fruit from the sermon series’ design and direction became known, sought after, and then replicated by other area churches.
Successfully trained dozens of lay leaders for small group discipleship.
Missionary and Minister of Student Ministry, Iglesia Cristiana de Coyoacán
Mexico City, Mexico · 2002–2007
Primary leadership included preaching and teaching, small group facilitation and organization, leadership training, board membership for the El Congreso Juvenil Mexico national youth conference, weekly service in a church plant, and developing the La Vida Profunda discipleship curriculum.
Personal: learned the culture and language in one of the world’s largest cities.
Curricula that our team developed continue to be used in the Mexico City Valley, and have been used in other Latin American contexts as well.
Youth events sparked dozens of confessions of faith and baptisms; several students went on to pursue full-time Christian service in churches and other ministries.
Why Should I Trust Jesus?Sermon at New City Church · Oakland, CA · July 26, 2026
Why Does God Wait To Help Me?Sermon at New City Church · Oakland, CA · July 19, 2026
Sermons and series at New City ChurchOakland, CA · 2024–2026
Sermons and series at Renewal Church of ChicagoChicago, IL · 2014–2022
The ImpossibleTalk at luncheon at The International Conference on Missions · Columbus, OH · 2022
Finding and Equipping Church Planting Candidates for Work in the CityCo-taught workshop with George Johnson at The International Conference on Missions · Columbus, OH · 2022
Light of the WorldWashington Avenue Christian Church · Amarillo, TX · 2021
Race and the Urban ChurchCo-taught talk with Derrick Puckett for the Neopolis Network ministry leaders’ gathering · Chicago, IL · 2018
You Are HereSermon at Compass Christian Church missions banquet · Colleyville, TX · 2013
Putting on ChristSermon at Lakeview Christian Church · Rowlett, TX · 2012
Sermons and series at Iglesia Cristiana El JubileoPachuca, Mexico · 2008–2014
What is the Christian Life?Iglesia Cristiana de Coyoacán · Mexico City, Mexico · 2005