A younger Pastor Jeremy desired a church that was organizationally sustainable. An older and wiser Pastor Jeremy is content with a small fellowship that brings people into a healing orbit of grace and love for as long as they are among us. … More Orbiting Grace at MainStreet
This is a teaser from a sermon on the Book of Revelation. This message explores Jesus’ messages to the seven churches mentioned in Revelation chapters 2 & 3, and the messages Christ might have for churches today. Watch full message here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwsc9…
I’m reposting this from the deep archives as it is a lesson we seem slow to learn. By the way, did you hear about the ‘Preachers N Sneakers’ controversy? Below is an excerpt from a spot-on, timely and utterly devastating articles I’ve read in years about church leadership. I wish it never needed to be … More Dangers of Celebrity Pastors & Megachurch Cultures
Today marks the 7th anniversary of MainStreet Covenant Church’s first weekly worship service. I thought this an appropriate occasion to announce the completion of a commemorative book I’ve produced that details the journey. As you probably know, I love history, and therefore I love probing origins. Any appreciator of the past quickly becomes an appreciator … More NEW! MainStreet Beginnings Book
“In those days there were giants in the land…” Genesis 6:4 I grew up a few blocks from from Highland Park in Mound. The park where I learned to fly a kite as a boy was once the old Baptist Assembly Grounds, and before that the Keswick Camp grounds. In the early 60s, Bill Bright’s … More Me & Billy G – Giants in the Land
In this series — Life Verses — I’m sharing some of the scriptures that have most impacted my life and faith journey. Today I want to share one of the most memorable moments I’ve had during my morning devotions. I even know the exact date. It was July 20, 2010. I was seeking God more desperately … More LIFE VERSES 8: Isaiah 49:1-6
Have you ever met a traveling salesperson who refuses to leave the office? Have you ever met a daycare provider who can’t stand kids? How about an illiterate librarian? These are oxymorons and contradictions. I worked on the grounds crew at a golf course in high school. I spent most of my summer cutting grass. I loved … More Going Green 6: Nomadic Gardening?
I preached this sermon in the summer of 2012 to rally the congregation of to make a deeper commitment to MainStreet and invest financially in our building campaign to move into our own space at Stonegate Plaza. A ROAD TRIP TO REMEMBER It was spring break of 1998—my senior year of high school. Several of my … More SERMON: Church Road Trip
It’s easy to get obsessed with numbers in our world. The more the merrier. The bigger the better. A packed room makes a fun party, and a poor turnout has us asking, “What’s wrong?” Make no mistake about it, numbers do matter. Especially when it concerns the spreading of the gospel and reaching people for … More Counting on God: Kingdom Mathematics
Respected leader Bob Buford highlights diverse perspective on recent reports proclaiming the decline of Christianity Here’s the article from Exponential entitled Is It “The Big Drop”? Or Is the U.S. Church Becoming More Evangelical than Ever? I expect most of us have been seeing the media barrage reporting on the drop in the number of Christians in the United … More The Demise or Evangelicalization of the American Church?
Our little community of Mound, Minnesota, is again making the local news. This time its the strange presence of a group of friendly “ninjas” dressed up in costumes and walking around town. They’ve been at it for a few months already. At first, people didn’t know what to make of it. Then people starting taking … More The Mound Ninja & the DNA of a Movement
I recently was invited to attend another church’s leadership council meeting to present the needs of MainStreet as we move into the next phase of launching this new church. These dear “mission friends” have embraced our little MainStreet team with a big bear hug, reaching into their pockets to support us, letting us use their … More God’s Economy: Give Him What You Have (Mk 6:35-44)
*From a recently published article MainStreet Covenant Church will soon open a new center in the Stonegate Plaza in Mound. Hometown Pastor Jeremy Berg is quick to make clear, “This is not a church building; it’s a community gathering place — a cafe, live music venue, book club hub, public meeting space, after school youth … More Church 2.0: A New MainStreet Location for New Impact
The article below by Lindy Lowly called The Church’s Sleeping Giant aptly captures the missional philosophy driving the vision and approach of MainStreet. This is why we exist – short and simple. Most church-goers simply don’t understand how our approach is different than the standard “come to us” model of church. I hope this article … More The Big Idea Behind MainStreet Church
This is from back in 2012 a few weeks after officially launching weekly worship at MainStreet. Note the sense of urgency in my tone. Have we lost that desperation? -JB 2017 How many of us really take Jesus’ words seriously? I don’t mean picking and choosing the teachings we can tolerate. I mean ALL of … More Cross-Shaped Discipleship in a Comfort-Shaped Culture
At first glance, Nehemiah’s rebuilding project of the walls of Jerusalem can seem quite…well…unspiritual. Is it all about brick and mortar? Is the purpose strictly practical and militaristic? Are the walls being rebuilt merely to keep the city safe from enemy attack? I think not. The clue to the deeper motivation behind Nehemiah’s project, and … More NEHEMIAH 4: Gateways Into God’s Presence
This is good stuff. <div style=”width:425px” id=”__ss_9805155″> <strong style=”display:block;margin:12px 0 4px”><a href=”http://www.slideshare.net/tallskinnykiwi/resourcing-missional-entrepreneurs” title=”Resourcing Missional Entrepreneurs” target=”_blank”>Resourcing Missional Entrepreneurs</a></strong> <div style=”padding:5px 0 12px”> View more <a href=”http://www.slideshare.net/” target=”_blank”>presentations</a> from <a href=”http://www.slideshare.net/tallskinnykiwi” target=”_blank”>andrew jones</a> </div> </div>
The Enemy did his best to drown me in doubt last week. In that darkness, I received a text message from a friend with a Bible verse with the perfect message at the perfect time: “Let us not grow weary in doing good. For at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we … More Through the Fog
A must read by David Fitch on the future of church planting in a post-Christian America: This is an idea whose time has come. It is easy, simple, saves money, and I think it seeds the mission of God in N America for generations to come: STOP FUNDING TRADITIONAL CHURCH PLANTS and instead fund missionaries … More Church Planting in Post-Christian America (D. Fitch)
1. New churches are needed because the large majority of Americans do not attend a local church. About 17% of Americans attend a local church on any given Sunday. Many of those attend a church where they do not clearly hear the message of salvation in Jesus. 2. New churches are more effective than established … More Top 10 Reasons to Start New Churches
Jeremy L. Berg 