Our story
From Ohio to the end of the road.
How a family from Ohio ended up planting a church in Key West, and why we named it The Reef.
How it started
A calling, not a career move.
Shawna and I grew up in the church and found Jesus early in life. We've spent the years since learning what it really means to live as people who follow him. It's a long story with some hard chapters that won't all fit here, but along the way we fell in love with how God works through the Jesus-following communities we call churches.
We spent about ten years in student ministry, followed by other leadership roles, and we loved what we were doing. We didn't exactly set out to start a church. But ever since serving at a church plant on the West Coast, we've dreamed about it. That season changed us. It's where we learned to see people first and ministry second.
In the years that followed, we served in churches big and small, and we kept looking for a way to plant. Nothing ever came of it. It was as if God was saying, "Not in this season."
Then, as we approached a transition, we began interviewing in South Florida with a plan of our own for what was next. At the same time, a church near us in Ohio had been dreaming and listening to the Spirit. Many of their people already spent a lot of time in Key West, and they had been dreaming about planting a church on the island.
After a few conversations, they asked us if this was something we felt called to. Our answer was yes. Through our own past and the connections God had already made, it was clear he was up to something, and he wanted us to be part of it. That's how The Reef was born.
What we found
An island full of people looking for something.
The more time we spent in Key West, the more we fell in love with it, and the more we noticed. Far more people here are transplants than we expected. They came looking for a fresh start, for freedom, for community, or just a slower life. Many work long hours in the service industry and are far from family. Many have been hurt by church, or have never stepped inside one.
We believe Jesus offers what people here are searching for: real belonging, lasting hope, and a purpose bigger than themselves. That's why we're coming. Not to fix Key West, but to reflect God's love in it.
Why The Reef
Why “The Reef”?
Just off the coast of Key West lies the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States. Most visitors never see it, but nearly everything they love about these islands exists because of it.
The reef is why the water is calm enough to sail and clear enough to dive. It's why the fish are here and why the island has weathered centuries of storms. It shelters everything that lives near it. That's the kind of presence we want to be in Key West: a church that gives life to the city around it.
A reef gathers life
Drop anything solid into open water, and life will find it. Within a few years, a sunken ship is covered in coral and surrounded by fish. Life gathers around structure. People are no different. We're all looking for something solid to build our lives around, and we believe that something is a Someone. A community centered on Jesus becomes the kind of place where people can finally stop swimming alone.
A reef is a home for every kind of life
Reefs are among the most diverse places on earth: countless kinds of life, side by side, each with a place. That's a picture of the one human family we long to see in Key West. Locals and transplants, Conchs and newcomers, workers and business owners, all finding belonging in the same place.
A reef shelters
The open ocean is beautiful, but it isn't safe, and Key West knows better than most places how beautiful and how brutal open water can be. Reefs are where small and vulnerable things go to grow. We want The Reef to be shelter: a place where people can come as they are, with their questions and their history, and find hope, healing, and room to grow.
A reef is alive
A reef is never finished. It grows layer by layer, built by many small lives doing faithful work over time. A church is the same. The Reef will be built by ordinary people showing up for one another, week after week, and finding the purpose God created them for.
Sent, not alone
We're not doing this by ourselves.
The Reef is sent by Heartland Community Church in Medina, Ohio, and supported by pastors, coaches, and partner churches who have invested in us for years. Experienced church leaders walk alongside us for accountability and support until local leaders are raised up in Key West.
We're also joining what God is already doing in the Keys, building friendships with local pastors, business owners, and neighbors who love this island as much as we do.
Meet the planters
Nate & Shawna Walker
Nate and Shawna are moving to Key West in spring 2027 to plant The Reef, sent by Heartland Community Church in Medina, Ohio.
Nate brings about ten years of pastoral ministry experience as a student, associate, and executive pastor in Indiana, Nevada, and Ohio. He holds a B.A. in Biblical Studies and an M.A. in Christian Theology. Shawna leads their home and is a big part of the work behind the scenes.
Where we're headed
The road to launch.
Spring 2027
We move to Key West.
Fall 2027
Core team gatherings begin, and we start serving the island and getting to know our neighbors.
Spring 2028
Public launch of Thursday night gatherings in Old Town.
Beyond
A church that puts down deep roots in Key West, and someday helps plant churches up the Keys.
The growth track
From a gathering to everyday life.
There is a next step for everyone. Here is the path we are building together.
Come to a gathering
Join us on a Thursday night: worship, teaching you can use, and people who are glad you came.
Find a table
Tables are dinner-table communities that meet through the week. We share a meal, open our homes, tell the story of Jesus, and practice following him together. Tables launch after our gatherings do.
Experience belonging
You are not meant to do life alone. A table is where you are known, cared for, and where you care for others.
Walk in the way of Jesus
Belonging turns into everyday discipleship — following Jesus together in the real life of Key West.
Follow the journey
The story is still being written.
Since the beginning, we've shared every step with our prayer partners: the calling, the scouting trips, the answered prayers, and what's coming next. Catch up on past updates, or subscribe to get the next one in your inbox.
Be part of the story.
Pray with us, join the launch team, or help build The Reef from the ground up.