Jeremy L. Berg

On the occasion MainStreet’s anniversary this January, I’m sharing some favorite stories I’ve written down for a forthcoming book documenting the MainStreet journey. Enjoy! 

In September of 2011 we were preparing for our first monthly preview worship service at the Gillespie Center. I remember that spring looking at our small, tired launch team and saying, “Well, we need to just put a date on the calendar and trust God will provide the people we’ll need to pull this off when that date comes.” It was a huge leap of faith.

Just a couple weeks from that first September service, I grabbed a small piece of tagboard with a few photos plastered to it, and a list of all the ministry role we needed to fill, and headed to the Crown College gymnasium for their ministry fair, or Crown Connection Day. Each student is required to serve so many hours in a local ministry, and each September dozens of local churches and ministries come and set up a table in the gym and try to get students to sign up to serve at their church or organization.

I hate this kind of thing. Some churches get really into it, and bring giant displays with video screens, handing out free trinkets and candy, acting all cool and trying to woo and attract all the “cool kids” to choose them over all the “inferior” groups. To add to my stress and sour mood, I was stuck watching a 2 month old baby Peter that morning, and had to bring him along.

I remember being embarrassed by our unimpressive little tagboard display next to all the megachurch displays that must have cost hundreds of dollars in banners and signage. (I was secretly hoping Jesus would return to flip over the tables and drive us all out with his whip!) Yet, in a moment of sheer brilliance, I put baby Peter in his carseat on the center of our table, and put a sign in his lap that read, “Nanny wanted!”  The only thing that could possibly have attracted more young college students (especially girls) would have been a crate of newborn puppies. Suddenly, the cool church handing out frisbees or water bottles with their logo on it was overshadowed by the new, never-heard-of church plant table with an adorable baby on display!

Our display simply said, “Don’t just attend a church this year, help launch one!” Jordan Keahey was the first to sign his name on the list, a drummer who was a pastoral ministry major and interested in helping with youth ministry. He later told me that he was drawn to our modest table that didn’t promise cool programs but rather a bold missional challenge to help plant a church! Jordan would spend all four years of college as a committed member of MainStreet and loyal servant.

Jordan rallied his musician friends to also join this new church that was desperately searching for an entire worship band for our first worship service coming up in two weeks! Just a week later an entire band of talented college students was rehearsing at Freshwater Church, who generously let us use their worship space for an audition. I stood in awe at the back of the auditorium, and praised Jesus for his provision!

We also met Abby Konold that day who became our first nanny that summer, as well as a kids ministry leader and worship leader! She is incredibly talented and ambitious, and was a wonderful gift to MainStreet for the duration of her college career.

A few years later, Jordan would become our first ever pastoral intern during his senior year. His girlfriend Michaela was an active youth leader as well, and I would eventually have the privilege of doing their wedding.

I can’t tell you how many times we have laughed and told the story about that pitiful looking MainStreet table amidst the giant megachurch displays, my little tagboard with a few photos pinned on with a bold invitation to help “launch a church”, and, of course, my shameless exploitation of our 2-month old Peter to draw all those students to the excitement that would soon become MainStreet Covenant Church that fall! In hindsight, I guess the Psalmist had predicted this kind of thing:

“From the mouths of nursing babies you have laid a strong foundation” (Psalm 8:2).