The UM Connection
3Circle Church – The Launchpad Chris Bell | Fairhope, Alabama
3Circle Church, led since 2012 by University of Mobile alumnus Chris Bell (Class of 2000, Bachelor of Arts in Theology), is a hub for discipleship, worship and community engagement at its main Fairhope campus, with locations in midtown Mobile, Daphne, Robertsdale and Thomasville. Ministries range from youth programs to worship leadership and outreach initiatives, and the church has long invested in equipping leaders and sending them into ministry.
One of those leaders was Jack Diven ’15. While still a student at UM, Jack worked part-time as a worship leader at 3Circle’s Thomasville campus and the main campus youth group. After Jack and wife Kayla ’12 moved to Atlanta, he felt God calling him to step into pastoral ministry. 3Circle opened that door and Jack returned to Fairhope, serving over three years as a youth pastor and starting a middle school youth group that grew to 200 students.
Then Jack felt God’s nudge to start a new church. “I called the only person I knew who had ever planted a church before, and it was Joseph Gibbons,” a 2012 UM alumnus who had served at Dayspring Baptist Church when Jack occasionally led youth worship.
Visiting with Joseph at his newly planted Favor City Church in Las Vegas, Jack felt a pull to ministry in that largely unchurched city.
Jack shared his vision with Chris Bell. “What happened after that was really pretty incredible,” Jack remembers. “Not only could I see God calling me to this, but Chris had been praying for years that God would send people from 3Circle to plant churches.”
3Circle continued to invest in Jack while he served on staff in a church planting residency. That gave him the space to craft a vision for a new church and start building a team. When Jack and Kayla moved to Las Vegas, 3Circle kept him on staff while he started a training residency at Favor City Church and laid the groundwork for the launch of YOUR Church in southwest Las Vegas.
“There is not a single person on this earth that has believed in me more than Chris Bell, and he flung the door wide open for me to have essentially every opportunity I have ever been given to do ministry,” Jack reflects. “That man has changed my life.”
Favor City Church – The Training Ground Joseph & Kristen Gibbons | Las Vegas, Nevada
Joseph and Kristen Gibbons felt God calling them to Las Vegas to plant a church where people could belong before they believed. That call became urgent after they led a youth weekend in the city and witnessed firsthand the epidemic of teenage homelessness.
“Las Vegas is known as the nation’s capital for teenage homelessness, a reality that broke our hearts and clarified our calling. This statistic became personal when we met a young girl in the city experiencing homelessness. We knew then that only the local church could bring hope and healing to such needs,” said Joseph (Class of 2012, Bachelor of Arts in Theology/M.Div. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary). Kristen ’12 earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.
In August 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, they moved with their two children, Cannon and Riley Jo, and five close friends to launch Favor City Church. The church officially began in a local high school with about 90 attendees, a small but faithful start to what would become a thriving community.
Over the next five years, Favor City grew rapidly. The church now averages 400 weekend attendees in an 18,000-square foot facility. It offers youth and children’s ministries, outreach programs that provide thousands of meals to hurting families, small groups that meet weekly, and regular community events to share the Gospel. Hundreds have expressed faith in Christ, and over 100 have been baptized since the church’s founding.
Favor City was planted through SEND Network, the Southern Baptist Convention’s church planting network model that emphasizes churches, not individuals, plant churches by equipping planters with mentorship, training and accountability. Favor City’s ministry reflects a generational multiplying legacy in Las Vegas, rooted in the work of Hope Church, founded in 2001 by Vance Pitman — now president of SEND Network. Hope Church has long been committed to church planting in the city, including sending planters who launched WALK Church in 2015. WALK in turn partnered with SEND and other networks to raise up new churches across the valley, including Favor City.
Favor City embraced this collaborative strategy as part of its DNA and, in turn, provided training and support for Jack and Kayla Diven to plant YOUR Church in southwest Las Vegas.
“Our years at the University of Mobile deepened not only our understanding of the gospel, but also how to live and share the gospel in everyday life,” Joseph said. “Professors and staff did more than teach us – they discipled us, invested in us personally, and continue to encourage us in ministry today.”
YOUR Church – A Church on Fire Jack & Kayla Diven | Las Vegas, Nevada
YOUR Church launched in Las Vegas on Sept. 21, 2024, with Jack as pastor and Kayla as communications director.
“God has given us a vision for the city rooted in Psalm 67:1-2. The heartbeat of our church is found in three words from these verses, ‘So That Your.’ We want to attach ourselves to the glory of God So That YOUR Church will see the gospel move in power in Las Vegas,” said Jack, a 2015 UM graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Worship Leadership. Kayla ’12 holds a Bachelor of Arts in humanities and philosophy.
The couple credits Favor City Church and the SEND Network, as well as 3Circle Church, for making the launch a success.
“I was at Favor City in a residency for about a year and a half. They show you how to plant a church, help you craft your vision, and give you the opportunity to serve in a church to see how church plants operate. You’re in a training mode, engaging the city, beginning to build your team — all while having the cover of Favor City,” Jack said.
During that residency, Jack and Kayla began hosting outreach events, launching Bible studies and building a core team. “Our first event, Coffee & Community Night at a local coffee shop, had about 40 people,” Jack remembers. “We bought coffee and pastries, shared the vision for the church and invited people to be part of it. Eventually, a core team started to rise to the top. Once we reached around 50 core members, we knew we were ready to launch the church.”
Today, YOUR Church averages 50–75 attendees weekly, with 15 baptisms since its founding. The church maintains small groups, a men’s ministry called Band of Brothers, homeless outreach, community events like Easter egg hunts and block parties, membership courses and has seven volunteer teams led by a staff of five. Looking ahead, YOUR Church is focusing on leadership development and a ministry theme called “Church on Fire,” centered on the book of Acts.
“We’re setting a Big Hairy Audacious Goal for the next three years: develop 120 Upper-Room Ready leaders,” Jack says. “An Upper-Room Ready leader is someone who’s gone through the normal stages of church development — from guest to regular attender, to member, to serving on a team, to leading in ministry. These leaders are actively sharing the Gospel, engaged in community and growing in prayer and leadership.”
Jack says the impact of the University of Mobile and its alumni is immeasurable. Both 3Circle and Favor City continue their support for the Divens’ ministry, and the connection the alumni share continues to deepen.
“3Circle is our national-sending church and Favor City is our city-sending church. It’s the combined efforts of both that helped us launch YOUR church in Las Vegas,” Jack said. “I do not think we would be out here if it weren’t for the UM connections we had.”
Kathy Dean uses her passion for storytelling and “playing with words” to share the stories of people, place and purpose that make the University of Mobile unique. As associate vice president for university communications, she manages media relations, edits the TorchLight alumni magazine, and oversees university communications. A former award-winning journalist, she is a two-time recipient of the Baptist Communicators Association grand prize for feature writing. Kathy and her husband, Chuck, live with three extremely loud miniature schnauzers.
