Month: July 2025

July 19, 2025 Kindred Adults Ministry

Did you know that 53% of all adults in the United States are single? Or that 45% of first-time marriages end in divorce—and the average age of a first-time divorcee in America is 30? In 1960, 74% of American households included married couples. By 2022, that number had dropped to just 40%.1

Surprised? Statistically speaking, the majority of adults in our communities are single. Possibly isolated and alone.

But God cares deeply for single adults.

Psalm 68:6 says, “God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.” (NKJV)

Isn’t that encouraging? Whether you’ve never been married, are divorced, widowed, or find yourself in another circumstance—God has a place for you in His family: the church.

That’s why Kindred exists—to help single adults grow together as brothers and sisters in Christ. The word kindred is defined as “of a similar nature or character; of the same ancestry; a group of related individuals; one’s relatives.”2 Indeed, God has given singles a unique and meaningful place in His family, and we strive to live that out in a variety of ways.

In addition to our regular rhythms of church life and service, here are a few highlights from what we’ve been up to lately:

“The Chosen” Movie Night at The Blind Munchies Coffeehouse

At the end of March, we popped a whole bunch of popcorn and watched the final episodes of The Chosen Season 3. These Friday night events are free and open to the community, giving us opportunities to meet new people and open up conversations about Jesus. Stay tuned for Season 4 this fall!

  • boxes of popcorn
  • group of people smiling and talking in a coffeehouse
  • group of people smiling and talking in a coffeehouse
  • group of people watching a movie in a coffeehouse
  • box of popcorn and iced beverage
  • two people sitting at a table talking and laughing

Believers Church & Street Level Coffee – River Falls

In April, members carpooled to River Falls for a work night at the new Street Level Coffee / Believers Church space. Dressed in paint-stained clothes and fueled by pizza and Red Bull, we split into teams to help both the old and new locations—packing, unpacking, painting, cleaning, and removing window decals. The late night ended with ice cream and a lot of laughter.

A few weeks later, Kindred teamed up with the Co/Mission couples to help celebrate the grand opening. The couples handled the morning shift of postering and flyering the city, and the singles followed up in the afternoon. It was a joy to serve and be part of what God is doing through the ministry in River Falls.

  • panoramic view of inside of coffeehouse
  • group of people painting walls in a coffee house
  • person smiling and holding a paint roller
  • person smiling and removing a decal from a window
  • people painting inside of coffeehouse

Wiffle Ball

Later in June, Street Level Ministries challenged us to a friendly but competitive game of wiffle ball at Wilson Park. While we didn’t walk away as the 2025 Wiffle Ball World Champions, we accepted our defeat with humility and plenty of laughter. Our matching pink sweatbands and teamwork made the day a memorable one.

  • group of people from street level ministries and kindred singles ministry
  • people playing wiffle ball in a park in menomonie
  • group of people playing wiffle ball in a park
  • group of people from kindred single adults ministry
  • grass stains on jeans
  • people smiling with pink sweatbands

Camping

Most recently, we enjoyed an overnight camping trip at the church campground. Although the weather forecast called for storms earlier in the week, it cleared up and turned out to be a beautiful weekend spent together in creation. We enjoyed sitting around the campfire, going on hikes, interacting with wildlife, playing volleyball and badminton, eating chili dogs, and more. After breakfast and lunch, we gathered around the campfire to read and discuss the last chapter of our winter retreat material, “Embrace the Table.”

  • group of people smiling at a campground
  • person grilling hotdogs over the fire
  • embrace the material small group booklet
  • person with cows
  • group of people sitting around campfire at night

If you’d like to learn more about Kindred, email us at kindred@jfbelievers.com. We’d love to help you get connected.

  1. Statistics from Table for One Ministries ↩︎
  2. Definitions from Merriam-Webster ↩︎
July 12, 2025 Street Level College Ministries

Street Level is meeting for the summer on Monday nights at 6:30pm at The Blind Munchies Coffeehouse. From week-to-week, we are doing a variety of things: book studies, work nights, hangout’s, etc.

Additionally, this summer we have a few events planned. In June, we took a trip to Kansas City for a conference at All Nations. In August, we will have our yearly summer camp out for UW Stout, UW River Falls, and UW Superior.

Below are some photos of what we’ve been up to.. Enjoy!

July 8, 2025 Benjamin Morrison

Too many Christians believe that knowledge is the most important part of discipleship. As in:

  • If I know more about what the bible says, then I am a better disciple.
  • If I know more about how to behave in church, then I am a better disciple.
  • If I know the right answers in a bible study, then I am a better disciple.

While knowledge is necessary, it is not the most important part of discipleship, and, it is a terrible measure of success in it. A lot of Christians know a lot and do nothing. Can that really be called “discipleship”?

Let’s consider hunger for a moment.

Could THIS be a better way to measure discipleship? (*hunger, as opposed to knowledge) Why yes, yes it could!

At the start of Jesus’ ministry – around the time he was baptized – he asked some of the first disciples “What do you want?”

  • He did not ask them “What do you know?”
  • He did not ask them “What would you like me to teach you?”

That’s because the privilege of following Jesus goes only to those who desire to follow Him.

It is for those who want Him – not people who merely wish to try to learn some rules. It is for those who need Him – not people who simply enjoy studying a book.

Hunger (love, desire, want, need) is what moves people. A hungry person will always eat when given the opportunity. Their desires will lead them into action. That’s discipleship.

There are four possible combinations of knowledge and hunger:

  • Knowledge          + Hunger
  • Knowledge          + Hunger
  • Knowledge          + Hunger
  • Knowledge          + Hunger

Having both is the best scenario. But which do you start with if you have neither?

Consider a lesson from game theory:

  • Some games are finite. They have a known timeline, fixed rules, and clear terms for victory.
  • Other games are infinite. The timeline is unclear, the rules regularly change (*if agreed upon rules exist at all), and survival is main objective – not victory.

What should we learn from this? That we must know the type of game we are playing!

When we make discipleship mostly about knowledge,  we are playing the game wrong! (*or playing the wrong game) Knowledge about God is important. But reaching higher levels of knowledge is not “victory”.

Following Jesus is about loving and obeying Him until we die.

It’s a long game. It’s truly an “infinite game” in that we will be doing it forever. The rules won’t change. But our circumstances do. And God’s plan for us unfolds over time. So, we adapt and endure.

But it is not knowledge that keeps us going – it’s desire. A love of God. A hunger to be near Him.