Grand Opening Videos

Standing Room Only at Grand Opening!

Praise God!  I ordered more chairs today… Thanks to all our faithful supporters!

Grand Opening Update: “The LORD has done this…”

“The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:23).

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So I won’t try to describe the product of the past seven years of ministry, prayer, obedience to God, relentlessly chasing after a God-given vision and holding fast to a dream for a new venue in the heart of downtown Mound where we can do innovative ministry and outreach.

God said, “Go.” We obeyed. God provided. We said, “Can we really pull this off?” He said, “Trust and obey.” We marched on. People came. People left. More people came. Servants served. Builders built. People gave money. And now we invite you all to come and see what God has done and is about to do among us at MainStreet!

Grand Opening BENEFIT CONCERT for the local Food Shelf Saturday, March 9 @ 7pm.

Grand Opening WORSHIP CELEBRATION on Sunday, March 17 @ 10am.

Enjoy the pictures….and tell me what words they convey to you!

For His Glory and the salvation of the lost!

Jeremy

MainStreet Anniversary “Shout Outs”

Anna & Jessica’s MainStreet Stories

MainStreet celebrated our first year of public ministry this past Sunday. Here are just a couple of the stories of how God has been at work among us this past year!  Read many more MS Stories here.

MainStreet Building Project Update

Hi all,

We’re getting closer to getting building permit to begin work on the new facility in Stonegate Plaza. There’s a lot that goes into these kinds of projects that we were not prepared for. We are asking for your continued prayers as we move this project forward to enhance our mission in Mound. On a bright note, we reached our funding goal of $55,000 for the initial buildout. Praise God!

Will you please continue to pray for this project — that the community will embrace the broader vision of this facility, and that God will continue to move in generous hearts to fund this dream!

Grace and peace!

Church 2.0: A New MainStreet Location for New Impact

Proposed Cafe Area

*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 hangout — where we happen to have church on Sundays.” MainStreet, as it’s name implies, is rethinking church for the 21st century and seeking creative and compelling ways to bring the hope and message of Christ beyond the sanctuary walls and onto “Main Street” — or, as the Bible says, “in the marketplace daily with all who happen to be there” (Acts 17:17).

Proposed Gathering Area

MainStreet’s new place is an example of what author Ray Oldenburg calls a “third place” in his influential book The Great Good Place (1989). According to Oldenburg, one’s “first place” is the home and those that one lives with. The “second place” is the workplace — where people may actually spend most of their time. Third places, then, are “anchors” of community life and facilitate and foster broader, more creative interaction.

All societies already have informal meeting places; what is new in modern times is how intentional people are in seeking them out as vital to current societal needs. “Its time churches pick up on this societal trend,” says Berg. “Why should restaurants and coffeeshops be the only places people go to meet with friends and discuss the latest ideas?”

Oldenburg lists the following hallmarks of a true “third place”:

• Free or inexpensive
• Food and drink, while not essential, are important
• Highly accessible: proximate for many (walking distance)
• Involve regulars — those who habitually congregate there
• Welcoming and comfortable
• Both new friends and old should be found there.

In a day when churches are often seen by the general public as private clubs mainly serving their own members, Pastor Berg likes to quote Bishop William Temple who once said, “The Church is the only society on earth that exists for the benefit of non-members.” MainStreet wants this new community gathering place to say to the broader public: “We’re here to serve the Westonka community, and we hope this new facility will benefit everyone.”

Making Local Headlines for Jesus

Enjoy this growing collage of news headlines from our past years of local ministry in Mound. I’m very proud of these articles — not because I want my own name lifted up but because far too many churches are irrelevant to the broader community today. MainStreet’s burning passion is to bring the life-transforming message and power of Christ out beyond the sanctuary walls and into plain view of every resident where we live and serve. Newspaper headlines are just one small way to publicly wave the banner of Jesus high for all to see — all for His Name and His glory. Amen. A special thanks to all those co-laborers for Christ who made all of these events possible over the past years. What a joy to serve Christ’s kingdom together!  Let’s keep it up!

A Church in the Marketplace

Tim was an outspoken atheist who vowed he would “never go into a church again.” But he became a regular participant at our live, local teen music spotlights in Mound during his last two years of high school. Many good conversations about faith and life grew out of our interactions at these music events.

Kim never found a traditional youth group where she fit in. Kim was an artistic type sporting tattoos and piercings and felt more at home on the fringe of the social landsape. But she was proud when her paintings were showcased at one of our monthly coffee house live music events in Mound.

“Hating the Love” and “Burn All Flags” were just two of the teen punk bands who we got to know during the high school Battle of the Bands events we organized in Mound. These self-proclaimed anarchists and anti-religionists found acceptance at our Revolution youth events.

On a Monday night Christians and atheists alike turned out for “Doubt Night” where we discussed the toughest objections to Christian faith. Everyone was allowed to share doubts and wrestle openly with questions other churches feared to bring up.

While teaching driver’s educaiton, a 16-year old artist and drummer confessed his frustration with institutional forms of church. “Do you know of any churches that simply focus on showing people how to follow the Way of Jesus?”

These are just a few of the stories from the Revolution youth movement I spearheaded in Mound in 2005-07. Young people are hungry for meaning and purpose, open to spiritual conversations, but largely disinterested in church-as-usual. My conviction in 2005 is still the same conviction guiding the vision of MainStreet Church in Mound: In a culture where many people will never come to church, the church must go to them. 

Centennial Worship Article