PITTSBURGH (BRN) – A “true step of faith” is how Zakk Roberts describes his journey into his new role as North American Mission Board (NAMB) Send City Missionary for Pittsburgh, a role he has now faithfully served in for a year.
In early 2024, Roberts felt a conviction that his missionary support had become a “safety net,” rather than a walk of trust. This conviction led him to inform his supporters that at the end of 2024 he would be done, despite not having another job on the horizon.
It was in that window of total reliance on Him that God opened the door for this role with NAMB,” explained Roberts.
Coming into the Send City Missionary role, Roberts brought more than 12 years of local experience in church planting to the table. His journey with church planting began in 2012 after being saved while he was attending Michigan State University. Following his salvation, he joined a church plant team that moved to Pittsburgh.
“I love the unique fabric of this city…when you include the surrounding boroughs and municipalities, you’re talking about roughly 300 different distinct areas. It has a beautiful blend of small-town charm and the potential for kingdom renewal,” said Roberts.
Over his years in the Steel City, Roberts has been a part of three different church plants, including Steel City Church where he formerly served as a co-pastor since 2020.
Since stepping into his full-time role as a Send City Missionary on January 1, 2025, Roberts has stepped down from his pastoral position at Steel City. He remains an elder and a faithful attendant of the church.
Additionally, Roberts has been married to his wife Leah for 12+ years, and together they have two sons, Felix (3-years-old) and Archer (7 months).
In his Send City Missionary role, Roberts has two primary purposes: (1) coming alongside church planters to “prepare, assess, and equip them as they seek to plant healthy, multiplying churches,” and (2) working with existing churches to “help mobilize them for the mission.”
With Pittsburgh being home to 90 city neighborhoods and more than 300 surrounding municipalities, Roberts admits that the city is a “challenging area,” especially for Southern Baptists.
“Data shows that for every 1,000 people in our metro region, only 2.2 identify as Southern Baptist, putting us at the absolute bottom of all U.S. Send Cities,” said Roberts.
He continued: “While we know the Kingdom is bigger than our denomination, we value our Baptist heritage — autonomy, believer’s baptism, and the benefits of cooperation. We want to be a group of churches that can say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant,’ by doing our part to expand the Kingdom here.”
Despite low SBC numbers, Roberts is hopeful that through three specific levels of collaboration – relational, missional and movement – there will not only be an increase in SBC representation in the Pittsburgh region, but, more importantly, an increase in Christ followers and Kingdom collaboration as a whole.
Along with increased collaboration, Roberts is also looking forward to working with leaders who the Lord raises up from within the region as well as those coming from around the world to plant, and partnering with already established churches who feel the call to multiply.
“We want to help existing congregations take critical steps toward multiplication,” said Roberts.
He continued: “This strategy is vital for seeing the gospel expand here — not just for people to hear it, but to have local churches where they can be discipled and made into disciples who make disciples.”
Churches in the Pittsburgh region who wish to connect with Zakk Roberts, NAMB Send City Missionary for Pittsburgh, can do so by emailing Zakk at [email protected].
How You can Pray for Zakk Roberts and his Family:
- Pray for wisdom for Zakk as he cares for existing churches and church plants in the Pittsburgh area and works alongside new church plants and planters
- Pray for the Lord to raise up church planters in the Pittsburgh region or bring more planters to the city
- Pray for hearts and souls in the Pittsburgh area to be softened to the Gospel
- Pray for Zakk’s wife, Leah, as she adjusts to Zakk’s new role and helps him in it, while also raising two young boys
- Pray for Zakk and Leah’s sons, Felix and Archer, asking God that their boys would come to trust and follow Jesus. Pray also that Zakk and Leah would have patience, humility, wisdom, and discernment from the Lord to faithfully disciple their sons.
