Possibly Starting a new Church

[STLMetro]

I'll answer your questions if you answer some of mine, why do you want to come to Blo/No, a place you've never lived before, to start a church in an overwhemingly christian area already? It seems a little redundant to me. Why not go the the 10/40 window in order to finish the calling for the end of days? Just a thought. Anyway, below are my answers.

1. A lot. Ministries tackling social issues (poverty, homelessness, crime, etc.) and growing christians (christian schools, churches, bible studies, after school programs, outreach)

2. I believe amost every need, though not conquered, has been addressed in the community and is being actively tackled.

3. It would look an awful lot like Bloomington/Normal looks today. The stats that you have presented are almost irrelevant to the question of needing another church. You need to find statistics that suggest that the reason people are not going to church is the current churches fault (i.e. they are meeting their needs). The fact that they just don't go to church is not sufficient. I believe there are a lot of churches here already and are constantly trying to reach these people.

I wish you would be a little more forthcoming with your reasoning. You clearly think there is something that is missing in this area, but won't let it out. It seems that you are trying to get people to answer your questions by casually ignoring all the opinions of the people who live in the area. It seems you are going against your own cause....

[reveranddave]

Originally Posted by reveranddave

Though I take no offence to any of the responses or comments I've read, its none the less curious to me, that so few have address the answers to my three questions. Let me ask them again with a bit of explanation in hopes that of all those who view this thread a few may answer more directly that which I am asking.

1.) What, in your opinion, do you see God doing in Bloomington/Normal? Again I am asking for your opinion here, maybe you don't see God do anything, maybe you don't believe in God. I am asking to hear as many thoughts as possible with no wrong answer at this point.

2.) What are the needs of the community that, if addressed, would have the greatest positive impact on the most people? (examples that are problems in other communities that create needs to be fixed are poverty, crime, drugs, not enough recreation, teen pregnancy, etc.) I am also not necessarily asking about "spiritual" needs.

3.) What would it look like for "the Church" to meet those needs? (When I say "the Church" I am talking of people who have "repented of their sin, turned to God and are living their lives fully committed to Jesus Christ. The possibility of a group of people gathering in a building a few times per week is completely irrelevant to my question. Going to a church building weekly does not necessarily make someone a follower of Jesus Christ. Jesus cares about people and those who call themselves "Christians" or little Christ as the word actually means, would care about the things Jesus cares about.)

I also would say that, to this point, I am not trying to recruit a following. I am simply trying to gain a better understanding, using any means available, of the area so that if I do come to town I am better prepared to contribute to the community as I feel God has led me to do.

I have no desire to hide anything and I believe in my earlier posts I have explained why I would come to town if/when I moved. It appears as though we do not see things the same way regarding what a church is or isn't. I have no desire to argue with you or anyone regarding this. I would like to believe that if we don't see eye to eye we could still exist in the same city and both do as we see fit to contribute rather than to resist another in what could be perceived as very unhelpful ways. Can there ever be too much good done?

I may have overestimated the helpfulness of posting these questions on a message board but I'll continue to refer to my original questions and hope that others will answer with more than a "you shouldn't start a new church in my town" answer. Have a great day.

[jlawrence01]

Egads, this sounds like the OP is developing more of a marketing plan than a spiritual journey.

However, let me make a suggestion. Look throughout the the state of Illinois at the MOST BLEAK areas - let me recommend Cairo, East St. Louis and some of the worst areas of the west side of Chicago - set up a soup kitchen or a literacy center servicing the poorest of the poor WITHOUT ASKING FOR ANYTHING. There you may find what you say you are looking for.

[gospellife]

Hello Dave, my name is Jeff Foster and I am a Brethren In Christ pastor living NW of Chicago with my family. We are trying to start a church called Gospel Life and are just starting to have small groups and some momentum. I need a partner in this ministry besides my wife. My heart is evangelism and being a missional servant to the community.

Would you like to talk sometime?

Jeff
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