During seminary I worked in the Mound Westonka school district as a sub teacher, coach and driving instructor.  Through my interactions with students, God slowly broke my heart and gave me a burden for the community of Mound — especially the local youth.

Following graduation from Bethel Seminary in 2005, I received a clear call from God during a prayer walk to leverage my public influence and network with the local youth to plant a new ministry in Mound. From 2005-2007, Revolution Ministries used music outreach events, community wide worship concerts, and a weekly home Bible Study to capture the attention of the Mound community, repeatedly making local newspaper headlines and reaching many teens with the message of Jesus.

Unfortunately, we did not have an adequate support network or financial resources, and the stress of working six jobs while planting a new ministry soon took it’s toll on Keri and I.  In the fall of 2007, we made the difficult decision to walk away from the ministry in Mound in order to seek personal renewal, financial stability, and healthy boundaries in ministry and marriage.  I accepted a full-time position at Faith Covenant Church in Burnsville, MN, where Keri and I have spent the past 3 years leading the high school ministry together.

In fall of 2009, I was invited to consider joining another pastor in a church planting initiative. While open to the idea, we were quite comfortable at Faith Covenant and were in no hurry to leave.  A short two months later, I was informed that my position at Faith Covenant was being eliminated due to budget cuts and our ministry and my employment would wrap up in May.  Now God had our full attention!

From January through March, we prayerfully sought God’s direction for our future, and became increasingly more certain that God was calling us to the ministry of church planting.  In April we were invited to attend the Evangelical Covenant Church’s Church Planter Assessment Center in Nashville to discern whether Keri and I had both the gifts and calling to plant.  This powerful four day assessment process affirmed our leadership gifts and abilities, and helped clarify our sense of God’s calling.

In May,  Keri and I both finally said, ‘Yes’ to the call the Lord had been making abundantly clear in our hearts for the past several months.  God is calling us back to Mound to plant a new church with the support of the Evangelical Covenant.  God is releasing me to continue the work I began in 2005, and allowing us the chance to take the ministry we began with the Revolution to the next level.  Keri and I stand united in this call and are poised to carry out the Vision the Lord has given to us for bringing a fresh wind of God’s activity back to the heart of downtown Mound.

THE ROAD AHEAD….

The town of Mound is a smaller suburban community on the West end of Lake Minnetonka. The local churches of Mound have all struggled and declined in attendance signficantly over the past couple decades. Sadly, many of the most committed Christian families in Mound have left their local congregations seeking a more healthy, vibrant community of faith some 20 minutes away from Mound. The image that haunts me is of hundreds of bright, shining lights for God all leaving Mound on Sunday mornings, and leaving behind a thick layer of darkness each week on the Lord’s day.

God is calling Keri and I to gather some of these faithful families back to the heart of downtown Mound, to raise up a community of servants that will be a transforming presence in the heart of daily life in town. Like God’s Servant in Isaiah who was called to gather the scattered tribes of Israel, so God is beckoning us to gather a community that will bring the light of the gospel to the heart of the community:

“It is not enough for one who is my servant to put the tribes of Jacob again in their place, and to get back those of Israel who have been sent away: my purpose is to give you as a light to the nations, so that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).

The kind of church we are dreaming of is one that goes far beyond the weekly Sunday morning experience. We’re dreaming of a church that has a Monday thru Sunday presence in the community — serving the practical needs of the community, reaching local teens and young adults, and intentionally inviting our neighbors into our lives.

Central to our vision is the desire to secure storefront retail space on main street and open a cafe-style church where we can, like the Apostle Paul, warmly minister “in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there” (Acts 17:17). The name and motto the Lord has given us for this church is fittingly:

MainStreet

COVENANT COMMUNITY

“A Community at the Intersection of Faith & Everyday Life.”

MainStreet aims to be a central ministry hub in the heart of downtown enabling community-focused ministries such as the Monday night Revolution youth ministry, Wednesday night adult classes, Friday night live music entertainment, monthly community service opportunities, bimonthly neighborhood House Groups, weekly worship gatherings on Sunday, and so much more.

This is a God-sized Vision that will require supernatural power and provision. This vision was born in prayer and will be carried forward by the prayers of God’s people. We believe God wants this church to be born in Mound far more than we do. We are choosing to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7) and believe in the God who “calls things into being that do not yet exist” (Rom 4:17).

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

We are seeking partners in this cause to help make this Vision a reality. The Covenant is prepared to come behind this church plant and provide financial support and resources. We are also seeking both individuals and churches to partner prayerfully and financially with us in this ministry.  Our primary task this summer is to share our call and Vision with the families and friends God has placed in our lives in Mound, and ask them to seek the Lord in this matter and consider joining the launch team for the ride of their life!

In the meantime, we’re living on a prayer, walking by faith and trusting God wants this church to be born far more than we do.  Please pray for us!

If you have questions or would like more details on how you can support the Vision of MainStreet Covenant Community, please contact me at thatjeremyberg@gmail.com.