Author: River Falls Ministry

May 19, 2021 River Falls Ministry

Semester Wrap Up and Unleashing Summer

Is May a summer month? This year we can call it a summer month since school ended earlier than usual. Before the semester’s end, we partnered with Menomonie Street Level to host a grill-out bash. Volunteers from Menomonie came over during the day to flyer and poster the UW-River Falls campus. We put up a few tents, some lights, and turned up the music! The event was out front of the coffeehouse, and it felt like a scaled-back version of a backyard party. As the evening progressed, it proved to be a great time of fellowship and interactions with some new faces. We are hopeful that some of these connections can grow as we reach out to people through the summer. 

As we moved into the month of May we transitioned into meeting Monday nights. For the summer we are planning to mix up what we have been doing by spending time outside in fellowship and for studies as much as possible. Also, now that we are meeting on Mondays, we hope to spend more time with Menomonie and Duluth/Superior. This past Monday, we went out to Glen Park for a hike and a picnic. Joining us were some new faces (one might have been a turtle). We have been experiencing an increase in interactions through social media with interest in what we have planned. So, we greatly appreciate your prayer for these interactions and opportunities.

Highlighting Burning Dog Radio

With help from the tech team, Burning Dog Radio has made its way to River Falls by installing the WIFI access point at the coffeehouse. Thank you to the Tech Team! On top of that, we are using the coffeehouse to highlight Burning Dog Radio through a giveaway and raffle offered to those coming into the coffeehouse. The hope is to generate some excitement over the Burning Dog Radio stream.

Bible Study and Fellowship

On Sunday evenings, we are studying the book of Ephesian. If you join us on a Sunday, you’ll find us going verse by verse through a chapter and having a discussion around it. Also, we have seen some new faces from the community on Wednesdays. We are continuing to seek out ways to invite people and generate awareness of our studies. We welcome people from Menomonie to join us for Sunday nights. Just reach out to Jonah to see when you can come.

Further Information

April 23, 2021 River Falls Ministry

Get the latest news from Believers Church plant and College Ministry in River Falls, WI.

College Ministry Summit

The River Falls Ministry had the opportunity to host a discipleship “summit” for college students last weekend. With support from Burning Dog Radio, this one-day summit brought together the college ministries from Menomonie and Superior/Duluth to discuss the topic, “Thinking Critically About Today’s Culture”. We watched a documentary about the quickly-changing culture on American college campuses and discussed how we should live and minister in these environments.

We are looking forward to another connection with the Menomonie group again next week when many of them are coming over to join us for a “Semester-End Cook Out”. Next Tuesday, we’ll put up a tent in front of the coffeehouse and hang out with students as they tackle their final week of classes. We’re hoping to connect with some people that are staying for the summer and invite them to our hangouts and Bible studies.

Summer is Coming

The spring semester is wrapping up quickly and we are excited to be preparing for summer. We are getting ready to be outside more than ever. We hope that the vast majority of Street Level nights will be outdoors. The plan is to meet in parks, do hikes, and even get out of town while the weather is nice. Additionally, we are moving our meeting night from Tuesday to Monday in hopes to make more connections with the Menomonie/Superior groups (who also meet Mondays).

Other outreach ideas we have in the works: Potential coffee kiosk in the park on a set weeknight, rummage sale, River Falls Days coffee giveaway, and a joint Street Level camping trip. We are looking forward to getting out there as the weather opens up and COVID slows down!

  • Radio Booth at Summit
  • Parallel Universe Missionaries?
  • Word on the Street Workshop

Prayer Requests

  • “Semester-End Cookout” with Street Level Menomonie, Tuesday, April 27
  • Summer outreach planning and connection with the community

Further Information

Believers Church River Falls

Believers Church River Falls

March 19, 2021 River Falls Ministry

Get the latest news from Believers Church plant and College Ministry in River Falls, WI.

The Coffeehouse

Hello From River Falls,

During this last month, a lot has been happening in the coffeehouse. First, the February plant sale and dollar-off student drink discount finished. We had more people stop in the coffeehouse, and it gave us the opportunity for conversations with people from campus as well as the local community.  Also, we added some new seating: A nook has been set up in place of some cabinets that still remained from when the location was a bank. This has lead us to more dreaming and scheming for what the coffeehouse could be in the future.

Missions Season

This month is also spring mission season, and some of us have geared up to travel with the rest of our greater Street Level family to a church in western Tennessee. We are looking to spend a week at the church tearing off a roof and replacing it. A few of us are also planning to go to Louisiana with other church members from Menomonie and Duluth. Thank you to everyone that is filling in in River Falls to allow for us to go.

Sunday Evenings

The Believers Church plant community outreach continues to meet Sundays and Wednesdays in the coffeehouse. On Sundays, we have been doing a verse-by-verse study starting with the book of Galatians. As the weather gets nice, there is talk of grilling season once again!

College Bible Study

The college group continues to meet on Tuesday evenings. Lately, we have been going through the gospel of Mark as well as a 4 part series called “Raised”. We are looking forward to getting outside more as the weather warms up as well as trying to schedule more outreach events on campus.

We are excited that Burning Dog Radio is now streaming online. This is being advertised throughout the coffeehouse, and on our social media. Also, we are looking into installing a wifi hub at the coffeehouse. Some of the students have begun lending their voices to commercials for the Bible study, and we are opening up opportunities to be involved in the ministry.

Prayer Requests…

  • Opportunities to minister to the community through the coffeehouse
  • Street Level outreach on campus as well as continued growth and commitment in the main group
  • Future planning for the summer

Further Information

February 19, 2021 River Falls Ministry

Get the latest news from Believers Church plant and College Ministry in River Falls, WI.

Community Outreach

We are excited to be starting back up our Sunday evening Bible Study. It will be at 5 pm in the River Falls coffeehouse. In order to help invite the community members, we are planning some increased advertising. Already, there is a new billboard up on highway 35 between River Falls and Ellsworth. Also, we created new posters to distribute and are working on sending out an EDDM within the community. We were previously meeting Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm and will continue to do so.

College Bible Study

The students have been back on campus for a few weeks. This semester UW River Falls has lessened some of the regulations, so we are able to be on campus a little more. We were able to do a table on campus this month and are investigating the possibility of having a Street Level meeting on campus.

Since it is the beginning of the semester we are being creative in our ways to meet other students. One way we are doing this is by hosting a plant sale in the coffeehouse with advertising directed at the college students. Also, the coffeehouse is running a $1 off student discount for the month of February.

We have had a couple of new students attend the College Bible Study this semester, and we hope to continue to build relationships with them.

  • Note “bucket of wipes”

Prayer Requests…

  • That the new students we are meeting will desire a deeper relationship with God.
  • For the advertising to be reaching the right people in the community.
  • That we will be led by God in our conversations with people in the coffeehouse and in the community.

Further Information

January 19, 2021 River Falls Ministry

Get the latest news from Believers Church plant and College Ministry in River Falls, WI.

Hello from River Falls,

College Bible Study

It is currently J-Term, so the students are still gone from town and campus. But we have been able to continue with our weekly College Bible Study meetings with a core group of 3 or 4 individuals. Even though our group is small, it has been nice to see them stay involved over the break.

We also had the opportunity to connect with other Street Level locations this last month. As the fall semester was winding down, we made it over to the Menomonie to take part in their study. Hopefully, we can do this more often. More recently, we went up to the Street Level Garage in Superior for a Leadership meeting. It was a great opportunity for all the student leaders to meet in person and start building relationships. The discussion topic was Discipleship and how this is, should, and will be playing out in our various Street Level groups. From what I heard, everyone enjoyed the opportunity and appreciated the material.

On our way home from Superior, we even made a quick stop to see the world’s largest Walleye.

Community Outreach

On the church front, we continue to meet in the coffeehouse for Wednesday night rewinds and use the coffeehouse as a tool to invite people. We are still meeting with our Micro groups on Sunday evenings and will see where God leads with these. This is new terrain, so we appreciate your continued prayer for God to be leading our decisions and discussions. We move forward and pray to see what doors God opens to us in the community and with the people who walk in the door. God is Faithful and we trust that his plans are greater than ours.

Coffeehouse Updates

Over J-Term, we started a few projects in the coffeehouse, including setting up a new merchandise area, an updated bookshelf, and getting ready for a plant sale. There are still more updates we are working on these next few weeks. If you are ever in River Falls, feel free to stop in and check out our updates.

Prayer Requests…

  • As the University begins in the next few weeks, the current students would stay impassioned, and we will all go into this semester bold to invite new people.
  • For creativity making connections with the students returning to campus.
  • For the people we have talked to and are asking about the church to step through the door.

Further Information

December 19, 2020 River Falls Ministry

Get the latest news from Believers Church plant and College Ministry in River Falls, WI.

College Ministry Fellowship

Recently, our college group finished out the semester with a fellowship night. While the 1990 classic “Home Alone” played in the background, everyone participated in an ornament-making challenge. Our ornament theme was felt. Although the quality of product varied widely, we all had a good time hanging out. Also, participants were awarded in categories such as, “Most Likely to Inspire Holiday Cheer” and “Pinterest Fail”.

Micro-Groups

We recently began meeting in small, focused fellowship groups with some of the regular participants in the ministry. We intend these “micro groups” to offer further fellowship and discuss real-life application of our faith. Currently, we are running “young men” and “young women” groups. We expect topics and group composition may change over time.

Prayer Requests…

  • That we have continued opportunities through the holidays and while school is off in January.
  • Pray for our “micro groups”
  • Pray for continued direction as a ministry as we go into a new year.

Further Information

College Ministry