{"id":92,"date":"2009-01-23T19:45:50","date_gmt":"2009-01-23T19:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=92"},"modified":"2010-12-22T13:11:46","modified_gmt":"2010-12-22T18:11:46","slug":"6825","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/01\/23\/6825\/","title":{"rendered":"Missouri Church Seeks to Make Imprint on Neighborhood"},"content":{"rendered":"

KANSAS CITY, MO (January 23, 2009) \u2013 It has been a journey fraught with hardships for the City Church<\/a> congregation, but one that is now bringing exciting change to the local community.
\n
\nThe congregation meets in the historic First Evangelical Covenant building in the Westport area of Kansas City. Pastor Robert Johnson took over as pastor of the small Covenant congregation in 2004 and began a revitalization project that has focused on re-establishing the church\u2019s presence in the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s really been a total transformation in the last few years,\u201d Johnson says. \u201cFor all intensive purposes, City Church should be a dead church, but it\u2019s been totally revitalized.\u201d<\/p>\n

City Church has focused on making its presence known in the neighborhood. The church recently started Angel Food, a grocery co-op program. \u201cIt\u2019s just one of the ways we\u2019re showing Christ\u2019s love in our community\u201d says Johnson. \u201cPeople are able to get $60 worth of groceries for half the price.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because of the program, he adds, \u201cThere are a lot of homeless men and women who are able to get groceries.\u201d People now call daily to ask how they can qualify.<\/p>\n

The church also has taken steps to be involved in local schools, participating in the Restoration Center, a partnership with the state of Missouri that aims to teach kids life skills. The church has set up a computer lab and a tutoring center for students helping with math and reading.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re helping them with book reports, school papers, and study skills, but mostly showing them the love of Christ\u201d says Johnson. \u201cIf they can\u2019t read textbooks, they\u2019re certainly going to have trouble reading the word of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Volunteers focus on reminding students that they have an important place in their community and the church. \u201cWe want to communicate to them that they\u2019re important to God by showing them that they\u2019re important to us,\u201d says Johnson.<\/p>\n

While City Church is engaged in a breadth of vibrant ministries in the community, the congregation is not without its challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe serve a young crowd with a lot of new converts, so the main challenge is to have able-bodied Christians to meet the need,\u201d says Johnson. \u201cWe have a huge harvest, but sometimes the workers are few.\u201d<\/p>\n

The church also faces financial limitations, an obstacle that has been a real issue as the church attempts to send some students to this summer\u2019s CHIC event in Knoxville, Tennessee.<\/p>\n

Despite the challenges, two-year attendee and current church administrator Nancy Chumley reports that the community at City Church is vibrant and diverse.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s such an accepting community across race, creed and color,\u201d says Chumley. \u201cMy first experience here was with leading a women\u2019s Bible Study, and I knew from that time forward that God was calling me here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson echoes the sentiments, casting a vision for the continued life of a church oriented toward service in the neighborhood. \u201cA lot of times we like to serve where we\u2019re comfortable. City Church is not a place where you can sit back and be comfortable, but a place where you really are challenged to get out and use your gifts to serve the body of Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

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KANSAS CITY, MO (January 23, 2009) \u2013 It has been a journey fraught with hardships for the City Church congregation, but one that is now bringing exciting change to the local community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMissouri Church Seeks to Make Imprint on Neighborhood - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/01\/23\/6825\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Missouri Church Seeks to Make Imprint on Neighborhood - 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