Jeremy Baker

Jeremy Baker on Growing a Church from 46 to 3,000 in Four Years

Jeremy Baker, lead pastor of Elevate Church in Wallingford, Connecticut, joins Philip Cameron to share the remarkable story of how a congregation of 46 people grew to more than 3,000 worshippers across five weekend services in just four years—with 4,552 salvations and 600 baptisms recorded in a single year. Growing up on welfare in the streets of Detroit, Michigan, with a father in prison, Jeremy credits his entire trajectory to the moment someone introduced him to Christ. That personal transformation drives his conviction that "lost people reach lost people," and it fuels Elevate Church's identity as what he calls "a hope factory" and "a salvation station." Citing Mark 10:45 — that Jesus "came as a ransom for the many" — Jeremy argues that the vision of the local church is never about bigger buildings or budgets, but about relentlessly pursuing dying, broken, and lost people. Philip and Jeremy unpack the difference between churches in revival and churches in survival mode, the prophetic imagery of Zechariah 1 and the four builders God raises up, and why only 12% of Connecticut residents attend any church — making the Northeast one of the most urgent mission fields in America. Jeremy's church, ranked among the top 100 fastest-growing churches in the country, is launching its first campus in January. Learn more at www.ElementLifeCT.com.