by Healthy Growing Churches: In July, we introduced a new series called Fresh Expressions of the Church. Since that time, we have talked with some incredible, visionary leaders who are thinking outside the box with regards to “church.” Today, I’m excited to introduce you to Matt Chesney from Eagle Ridge Church of God in Midland, Michigan. But this story is not about Eagle Ridge per se, but about a mission and vision given to Matt and his Senior Pastor, Bill Greiner, that is impacting people daily.

The Calling

The moment Matt became a Christian, he began to hear these little whispers saying, “You need to be a pastor.” Over and over again, the Voice would call, and Matt would push it away, believing he already had his dream job as a teacher, school builder, and principal. What more would he want?

While at church one Sunday morning, Matt heard this really loud voice that said, “You need to quit your job and become a teacher for Me.” Matt doesn’t remember the message given by the pastor that morning, but he knew he could no longer ignore this calling. While loading up their four children after church that morning, Matt looked at his wife and told her they needed to talk about this clear message he’d received from God. Melissa responded with, “Yeah, me too!” Matt asked his wife to share first, hoping what she heard might be different, but as it turns out, God had spoken the exact same words to her.

Eagle Ridge Church of God

This time Matt listened to and obeyed what God was saying. He was able to continue to work as a teacher while pursuing a ministry degree, knowing that God was calling him to become a youth pastor. He was later hired by Eagle Ridge Church of God.

At the time, Eagle Ridge Pastor Bill Greiner and his wife, Robin, were living through every parent’s worse nightmare. Their son, a sophomore in college who was a bright light in the community with a promising future, was tragically killed by a drunk driver. This unspeakable tragedy caused Bill to question the direction of his life and the church.

While in such a huge painful season of grieving, the Holy Spirit impressed upon Bill’s heart that it was time to start trusting in Him instead of consistently worrying about the future. It was time for Bill, his staff and leadership, and for Eagle Ridge Church to walk by faith, and they did just that when they hired Matt as the Students Pastor. Matt learned later on that the church didn’t actually have the budget to pay him, but they decided to move forward and start being the church God had called them to be anyway.

Eagle Ridge Church, whose focus pointed more inward, was headed for a significant turnaround, which included more devotion to the community in which they were called to serve. In hiring Matt, the church was looking to breathe new life into the student ministry, outreach, and discipleship, and they saw that Matt could be a huge catalyst for this change.

The Path to Something Different

With this transformation happening at Eagle Ridge, a strong vision developed to build something outside of Eagle Ridge that wouldn’t even necessarily point back to the church. They wanted something that would be a service to the community and a platform for building disciples.

They wanted something that would be a service to the community and a platform for building disciples.

Matt poured himself into building the student ministry that first year, as well as learning more about the Midland community. He began thinking and dreaming of ideas that fit the vision of outward focus and discipleship. Matt and Bill did lots of research, read lots of books, and went to several conferences. They listened to ideas presented by others, many of which were GREAT ideas. A coffee shop, however, was not one of them. In fact, neither Matt nor Bill drink or even like coffee.

Dead Ends and Closed Doors

Armed with so many great ideas, Matt battled through the discouragement of hitting dead ends and closed doors. Then, the idea came to, perhaps, plant another church. Maybe this one would be completely different from Eagle Ridge and within another part of town to reach a more significant landscape of the community. Matt got a map of Midland, which, to this day, remains behind his desk. On the map, he plotted out every Christian church in Midland to see if there was a particular area not being served by a local church. Matt found that Midland has a TON of churches. Did Midland really need one more church?

Looking more closely at the map, Matt noticed an area toward the top that was just empty space. Upon further research, that space was the Midland Mall, so it was no wonder that there was no church there. The idea came to open up a church in the mall. Surely this is what God was calling them to do! However, when Matt called the owners of the mall, prepped and ready to make his case, he was only able to get out the first sentence before the mall said, “No.” After all, how would a church encourage people to spend their money at the mall? The church would only be open on Sundays before the mall even opened. The mall needed something different, and perhaps, the community needed something different as well.

Cultivate

Armed with the understanding that the mall was looking for something that would increase foot traffic throughout the mall, the idea came to open up a coffee shop. The shop would be open throughout the week to everyone. Matt began to see that by selling coffee, they would be able to afford rent on a space in the mall, and they could even pay their employees. With his background in starting schools, Matt understood budgets, profit margins, and all that has to do with running a business.

Then, in a meeting between Bill and Matt, Bill drops the bomb. Let’s give the coffee away for free! The church had connections with people in parts of Guatemala, Panama, and Uganda, so as a side effect of opening a coffee shop, Bill and Matt knew they would want only to serve coffee that was ethically sourced. Then, the coffee communities would also be empowered and encouraged as they sold more of the fruits of their labor.

It ended up taking longer to open Cultivate than Matt originally wanted. Matt had a timeline of opening before the holidays of 2018, but Bill wanted things to move a little slower. Ultimately, Bill wanted Eagle Ridge to become more passionate about discipleship and community; however, Bill gave Matt full authority on when the shop would open. By the time legal stuff was done and the coffee shop was ready to launch, many months had passed, way more than what Matt anticipated. Cultivate opened in June 2019.

Miracles Along the Way

With an opening budget of about $60,000 and only $30,000 in the bank, Matt recalls sitting in his car prior to signing the lease on the space in the mall. How was it going to work? He stopped to pray before going in and decided to go in with an attitude of faith. At the start of his meeting, the manager asks him one more time if he wants to look at the space again. As the two were walking through the mall, the manager began pointing out other vacant retail locations and asking him to notice different furniture pieces in them. With $25,000 of $60,000 of the budget allocated for furniture, Matt saw that number go lower and lower as the manager began to offer up all of this furniture to him for free.

Matt says he doesn’t know how it all worked out, but with the $30,000 they had to start with, $12,000 was remaining after Cultivate was all set up and ready to open! There were all types of small blessings happening with each step, which altogether took the initial projected $60,000 start-up budget down to only $18,000.

Since the Opening

Cultivate: Coffee and Tea wanted to be known for its friendliness and service to the community. Matt and Bill went into it with the attitude of building genuine relationships with people, not just beating people over the heads with the Bible. And as is common when one begins to engage authentically with another person, it’s not so easy to get around the subject of faith when that is the center of who you are. Within the first months of starting up, Matt and other volunteers have had the opportunity to share the faith numerous times. Almost every time, it’s others who have brought up the subject of faith in Jesus.

Cultivate has 5-6 various volunteers who have never even attended a service at Eagle Ridge. These volunteers have either become Christians or renewed their commitment to Him during the first few months of the shop’s opening, and now they are serving and discipling others. The coffee shop has become a place where people’s stories get heard, where faith is shared, and disciples are made. And that is the whole purpose of it all!

One of the most significant takeaways from this story is that you have a church intentionally not looking to put their name on another ministry or location but to multiply by making disciples. They are not trying to build their own kingdom, but God’s. You will not find the coffee shop on Eagle Ridge’s website, nor will you see Eagle Ridge on Cultivate’s Facebook page. What you will find is evangelism through genuine relationship building, disciples making disciples, and ultimately, the Great Commission. That is something to support and celebrate!

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by Healthy Growing Churches: A few weeks ago, we shared the story of River City Church and how they are doing church differently. Today, we want to share the story of The Tampa Underground Network. As we’ve stated before, we hope that by sharing these stories with you dreams, vision, and newfound faith would permeate your hearts and minds. Ultimately, our goal is for us to work together to build the Body of Christ in stronger and more effective ways.

The Underground’s Story

In 2006, Brian Sanders, along with about 50 others, left their traditional churches to pursue together a different vision for how the church should look. At least, this was the vision given to them by the Spirit for how they should do things differently, and therefore, add greater depth to the Church as a whole. They left with a love for the Western church, but “hoped for more than Sunday morning worship and middle-class Christianity.” 

With a passion for the poor and the lost, The Underground works to “empower communities to reach and serve the people who exist at the margins of the church as we know it.” They believe that intimacy with God means committing to His mission, which leads to “prioritizing both those in poverty and those without knowledge of His saving grace.” 

Discipleship is of utmost significance to The Underground. They help empower people to pray and seek to know their unique calling and then find a community where they can pour themselves out. At the heart of this vision is the micro-church. As people find their true callings, they can get to work mobilizing communities to meet needs there and to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus and His kingdom.

Theology

One of the best places to discover The Underground’s theology is in Brian Sanders’ book, Underground Church, which we highly recommend. Flip to the back to Appendix A, and you find their “Manifesto,” or statement of belief. As one who senses the call and is starting a micro-church movement in my community in South Carolina, this book has been transformational in my thinking and planning.

The following is what The Underground’s website states regarding their Theology:

Theologically, we are orthodox and evangelical. Being an independent church plant (not coming from any denomination) we are anchored by the ancient and historical creeds of the church. The first and simplest creed: Jesus is Lord. We seek to place Jesus Christ as the head of this church, and to establish and submit to his supremacy in all things.

We acknowledge both the historical significance and the prophetic call of the Lausanne Covenant (1974), agreeing with it completely, and the reaffirmations of the Manila Manifesto (1989). These creedal/confessional documents serve to anchor our theological commitments while also expressing our missional and evangelical convictions. We stand to be both challenged and guided by these core expressions of theological commitment as we try to grow and mature into the church that God has destined us to be.

Learn More

The very best way to get to know this incredible ministry network is to watch this video. You will not regret the time spent watching!

What’s Happening Now?

The Underground now supports and encourages 100s of micro-churches across 6 continents.

The Underground also has 12 global sister movements. You can click here and find out more about each of these movements.

Most importantly, people from all walks of life are making a difference in their various communities by becoming empowered and supported to live their God-sized, God-given dreams!

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by Healthy Growing Churches: Back in May, I had the privilege of interviewing Ryan Sidhom, the lead pastor of River City Church in Vancouver, Washington (USA). As we explore creative, fresh expressions of the church, we thought his story and the church’s mission, vision, and rhythm were so inspiring that we needed to share it with you.

The Dream to Plant a Church

In June of 2016, Ryan and his wife, Clarissa, took a trip to Portland and began to tour the city in search of the area in which they would plant a church. Although they knew God was pulling them towards the Portland, Oregon area, the entire time they were there, nothing felt right. They then journeyed right outside of the city into Vancouver, WA. As the couple explored this city, they knew that “this was it!” They had found the place they would plant River City Church.

Returning home to Tennessee, planning got underway. Ryan and Clarissa worked to develop a prospectus, decided on the mission and vision of the church, and planned their departure from Tennessee and move to Vancouver. Their first day in Vancouver was May 1st, 2017. This husband and wife duo hit the ground running. As River City Church, they began making connections with people and learning more about the culture in Vancouver. What was discovered was that the prospectus created from the start didn’t make sense within the context of the community they were called to serve.

Community Survey

Ryan and Clarissa started surveying the people within the community. With willing hearts to serve and to meet the people where they were, what they discovered changed the way they would approach this fresh expression of church. Two items on the Community Survey stood out:

Families needed things to do with one another on the weekends. With most households in the Vancouver/Portland area requiring two incomes, family quality time was in high demand.
Millennials, who are a large part of the population in Vancouver, were searching for purpose and belonging and were genuinely interested in volunteer opportunities. They wanted to do things to help their community. River City Church knew they would need to help this population find hope in Jesus and belonging and purpose in serving together.

Why Do Church Differently?

I asked Ryan about how River City Church was different from other churches of which he had been apart. Ryan wanted to create a church that was more relational than attractional. That means putting relationships first. The beautiful thing that develops due to that priority is the church becomes attractional as more profound and deeper relationships form.

Ryan also realized early on that he was not there to bring the south to Washington. Instead, the whole purpose for being there was to bring Jesus, fully and completely. Ryan said they ended up adjusting everything they’d planned, except for Jesus. River City Church would require a vastly different rhythm to reach those away from Christ.

Mission Statement and Tagline

I love the mission of River City Church! The Mission Statement is:

Encountering the Author of Love and Engaging Our Community in that Love

The Tagline of River City Church is:

Changed by Love

One of the many stories Ryan told me regarding the truth of the words above occurred at their Sunday gathering on May 5th, or Cinco de Mayo. With many cities and towns in America having higher rates of Hispanic migration, Ryan and Clarissa had already decided that they would have live Spanish translation available for their Hispanic neighbors during all gatherings. On this special holiday in Hispanic culture, the decision was made to flip the script.

When people gathered for the music and message on Cinco de Mayo, they were greeted with a Mariachi-style worship band. The entire service was in Spanish; therefore, the English speakers got the opportunity to wear the headphones feeding them the live translation of the message. After service ended, the entire church was met outside by a fantastic food truck serving tacos. The day was special for everyone involved!

Service

Service is at the core of what happens at River City Church. From the very first day in Vancouver, they started serving the community as River City Church even though they hadn’t yet launched their first service. In fact, the official launch of Sunday services was Easter Sunday of 2019. This launch was two years after the move to Vancouver!

Ryan talked to me about the importance of serving without expecting anything in return. One story he told me was about a local public elementary school there. He had reached out to the principal hoping to support the needs of teachers and students. Initially, the principal would hardly enter into discussions with Ryan as Separation of Church and State is a prominent value in Vancouver, WA.  As the church began meeting the needs of those in that school, over time, the principal’s heart softened. This year River City Church was able to host a giant Easter Egg Hunt on the property of that school where they were able to meet and serve over 600 people!

Rhythm

It was refreshingly apparent in my conversation with Ryan that the most important voice he listens to when thinking of mission and vision for his church is that of the Holy Spirit. There is a Sunday to Sunday rhythm that River City Church follows that is different from any other church I’ve encountered. I would even call it a brave leap of faith. Each month, they follow this Sunday Schedule:

1st Sunday: Study – This is a worship service where there is music and study of the Bible and its life principles.
2nd Sunday: Serve – The entire church gathers for a family-friendly volunteer project. It is a different project each month.
3rd Sunday: Study – This is a worship service where there is music and study of the Bible and its life principles. The difference here from week one is the individual teaching is typically one who is being discipled, equipped, empowered, and eventually sent out to start another church.
4th Sunday: Play – This service is infused with fun! It is a family-friendly gathering where you may experience a game day, a comedy show, holiday parties, and other creative ideas to bring families together and build tighter community.
5th Sunday: Next Generation – In this service, kids, youth, and college ministries take over the service.

Would having this type of rhythm in your church be scary? With this church rhythm, a pastor would have faithfully risk relinquishing a lot of control. Ryan, who self-admittedly is a bit of a control freak, has had to adjust to the freedom of prayerfully letting go. He has to be able to trust those he’s discipled who are speaking on the Sundays he isn’t. He has to train up and trust his volunteers on the Serve and Play Sundays when the entire community is invited to be served and to have fun. Ryan and the whole team at River City Church have to be willing to get their hands dirty and commit to engaging the daily lives of those far from Jesus no matter how messy the lives of those people.

Vision

River City Church has a courageous vision. Their goal is to plant 32 churches in 20 years. Due to those aspirations, the church is keenly aware of the need to develop and mature believers into leaders and leaders into future pastors. You can see this vision coming to life within the rhythm of the church where on the 3rd Sunday of the month, a future church planter delivers the message.

Marked By Generosity

River City Church also aspires to be a church that is “Marked by Generosity.” A great example of this is what they do with their visitor cards. Many of us likely have a mug, t-shirt, pen, or cup from a church we once visited with a friend. But when someone new comes to River City and fills out the visitor card, that person gets to choose a charity they would like to support. The church then donates $5 to that charity. But wait. There’s more! When that visitor returns for a second time, the church donates another $10 to that charity! (Also, take note of the “Where Are You?” section where individuals can indicate where they are on their spiritual journey, all the way from “Not Curious” to “Disciple-Maker”).

Dedication to People and Small Businesses

A significant part of the vision for River City Church is its dedication to people and small businesses in the community. Ryan says it this way, “The Gospel doesn’t just redeem people, but it has the power to redeem entire communities!” He believes that the church should be friends with and support those running small businesses in the community. This concept has already made a significant impact even before the church officially launched earlier this year. One local business is a bubble tea shop. The owner there has seen the value River City Church has brought to the community through service and support. Though she is not a follower of Jesus, she has become a monthly supporter of the church! “The Gospel doesn’t just redeem people, but it has the power to redeem entire communities!”

The church’s vision of supporting and reaching the community is so big that even though the church had the fortune of inheriting the building where gatherings now take place, one of the first things they did when moving in was to vacate the office area there. The official office of the church can be found out in “the public square,” or the local coffee shop.

What Next?

So as you’ve read through pieces and parts of River City Church’s story, what do you do with that information? Are there risks you’ve been dreaming about taking that you’ve pushed to the side? I encourage you to genuinely listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you. We know statistics indicate the church in America is on a sharp decline. We take hope in the truth that there is fresh Spirit-infused creativity that we must tap into to see the Church not just survive but thrive in the decades to come. And we do this not for our fame or glory but the glory of Jesus Christ!

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