One of the most powerful things any congregation can do is to love on its neighborhood, city or region because Jesus does. One of those churches who believes in the power of loving on its community is Valley Church in Des Moines, Iowa.
It recently completed a beautiful community center adjacent to its own facility for the sole purpose of blessing the community. Since its recent completion they have had over 12,000 guests and expect 5,000 for their great Pumpkin Party.
The facility is located on a 35 acre campus across the street from Valley Church. It is 29,000 square feet and features an Event Hall (large gym that converts into an attractive, carpeted venue for 1250), Maplenol Café (seats 150), kids indoor play area, meeting rooms and offices. Outdoors are sports fields, the historic Maplenol Barn, and the Global Greens Farm (for refugees). The cost of the facility is $6.5 million.
Why would Valley Church make such an investment in their community - at their expense? The
heart behind the Valley Community Center is from 1 Peter 2:12 (ERV) - “People
who don’t believe are living all around you. They may say that you are doing
wrong. So live such good lives that they will see the good you do, and
they will give glory to God on the day he comes.”
Quintin Stieff, the senior pastor and a friend of mine says this: "At
one time, the church was at the center of community life. But today, it
is marginalized both by our own choices and by the response of our community.
Our heart is to return to the center of the life of our community. Not to
dominate it, but to be a life-giving presence. How is that
possible? We have concluded that we cannot talk our way into the hearts
of the people of our community. We cannot force our way. We need to
serve and love our way back into their hearts. So, we have launched a
major initiative called “Love You Des Moines” to do just that. The Valley
Community Center is one component of that initiative. It is a community
bridge."
VISION
The vision for the Valley Community Center is: “A hub for partnerships, doing
good for the community… with the community.”
STRATEGY
Nearly
all the events and activities are for the greater Des Moines community. (There
are very few “church events” held here.)
Half
of the community activities are led by community partners (both community
non-profits and Christian ministries). The other half are community
events and activities led by Valley Church for the community.
To fund this effort they approach morally positive non-profits and say: “We really
believe in what you are doing in the community. Could you use the Valley
Community Center to help advance your cause?” Their fees are quite low
(sometimes free), and are intended to be revenue-neutral. They don’t make
money off the Valley Community Center. It is our gift to the
community. Many of the guests assume (wrongly) that the city
of West Des Moines built the community center. They are shocked (and
pleased) to find out that the church did this.
From
a Christian perspective and internally, the strategy is communicated:
Good works à Good will à Good news
Aggressive
GOOD WORKS for/with the community lead to GOOD WILL and that leads to
opportunities to share GOOD NEWS.
Quintin shares a few examples of how the Valley community Center has been used recently:
· Public School Teachers -
The Valley Community Center hosted the staff training day for all 675 employees
of the local public school district.
· Military - Hosted 750
members of the Iowa Air National Guard for a training gathering.
· Disabilities - Host a
weekly meeting for Iowa Adaptive Sports, providing individuals with physical
and cognitive abilities in power (wheel) chairs the opportunity to play “power
soccer” completely independently.
· Refugees – We provided a
few acres of land (at the Community Center), irrigation, and some resources to
create the new Global Greens Farm in partnership with Lutheran Services of
Iowa. The Center/Farm serves 20+ refugee families from Rwanda, Nepal,
Myanmar, Burundi, and Bhutan. They raise produce to supplement their
family income and food source. The church also hosted several Global
Greens Farmers Markets, where church members could meet the refugees and
purchase produce. Delicious!
· Youth – We hosted the 10
Year Gala Celebration for Freedom for Youth, an inner city ministry partner
that serves homeless and at-risk youth in Des Moines. 400 people attended and
over $125,000 was raised for this organization.
· Children – Valley Church
leads Upward Sports (community leagues for children in flag football,
cheerleading, basketball, soccer). This fall, we have 1300-1500 children,
parents, and coaches participating on a weekly basis. We are expecting
25% more for basketball this winter.
· Random Groups – We host
an indoor cricket league (30 men from India), a Pakistani community celebration
(120), an historic neighborhood reunion (100). Coming soon: Special
Olympics basketball, Circle of Friends banquet (special needs), Mosaic (disabilities)
dinner (200), Parks and Rec Daddy/Daughter Valentines dance, etc. These
are all community events, not church events.
· Monthly Compassion Focus
– Every month there is a different compassion project to serve people in
need. This month is the winter coat drive. The community is invited
to participate, as well as the church.
· Guests – Since our
opening in June, we have welcomed over 12,000 guests. We expect 5000+
this week for our 3-day Great Pumpkin Party.
See
the attached magazine for a list of some of the partners and other info.
It is a powerful story and one that God is going to bless! You can do this in your way and in your situation. It comes out of a heart like Jesus to love our communities.
