As we carry out our mission to walk alongside each person we meet as they take their next step with Jesus, we want to see our gospel impact multiplied not only at a personal level but also corporately. So in addition to our regular ministry and outreach efforts here in the Cedar Rapids area, we are asking God to help us expand our impact through training, sending, and planting.
A Little History . . .
In 2018, Stonebridge adopted our five-year 404 vision: to serve as God’s hands of hope to families in the ‘404’ zip code and surrounding areas by equipping volunteer teams to meet short-term needs with the goal of sharing the gospel through our actions and words and helping people take their next step with Jesus.
Through that work, we saw God establish several evangelistic and mercy ministries which are continuing to serve and impact our community today, such as the Hoover Elementary food pantry, our Hawthorne Hills food pantry, and our Bible study at ASAC Heart of Iowa.
In 2021, we began looking at the disciple-making impact of our ministries through the Vine Project. Our staff, elders, and ministry leaders spent eighteen months assessing ministries and bringing renewed focus to our overall disciple-making strategy: To walk alongside each person we meet as they take their next step with Jesus by engaging each person we meet, evangelizing non-believers, establishing new believers, and equipping growing believers as they know and grow in Christ.
Through this work, we’ve seen increased ownership, energy, and creativity among our congregation, including new ministries (e.g., Sunday Class Hour, The Mother Hood, Young Adult’s Group, Global Partners Weekend), expanded leadership (e.g., Coordinators for Early Childhood and Women’s Ministry, Deacon for Local Outreach), and the personal investment so many of you are making in others for the sake of the gospel.
As we look to the next season in the life of our church, we want to build on the work the Lord has already been doing by considering how we might multiply our gospel impact, not just personally, but corporately.
Through that work, we saw God establish several evangelistic and mercy ministries which are continuing to serve and impact our community today, such as the Hoover Elementary food pantry, our Hawthorne Hills food pantry, and our Bible study at ASAC Heart of Iowa.
In 2021, we began looking at the disciple-making impact of our ministries through the Vine Project. Our staff, elders, and ministry leaders spent eighteen months assessing ministries and bringing renewed focus to our overall disciple-making strategy: To walk alongside each person we meet as they take their next step with Jesus by engaging each person we meet, evangelizing non-believers, establishing new believers, and equipping growing believers as they know and grow in Christ.
Through this work, we’ve seen increased ownership, energy, and creativity among our congregation, including new ministries (e.g., Sunday Class Hour, The Mother Hood, Young Adult’s Group, Global Partners Weekend), expanded leadership (e.g., Coordinators for Early Childhood and Women’s Ministry, Deacon for Local Outreach), and the personal investment so many of you are making in others for the sake of the gospel.
As we look to the next season in the life of our church, we want to build on the work the Lord has already been doing by considering how we might multiply our gospel impact, not just personally, but corporately.
A New Vision . . .
In the next six years, we are asking God to help us train and deploy three new pastors through a pastoral residency, send out two new missionaries from our congregation, and plant one new church in our area.
Three Pastors Trained
In the fall of 2025, our goal is to establish a pastoral residency program at Stonebridge, where new pastors can gain meaningful experience in a mentored context, to equip them with the convictions, character, and competencies for whatever pastoral context the Lord is calling them to (e.g., pastoring in an established church, church planting, missions). The residency will be a two-year, full-time program, and like a medical residency for doctors, it will be for new pastors who have completed their seminary or graduate education and are looking for experience and training before stepping into a full-scale ministry role. We will take one resident at a time, who will serve as part of the Stonebridge equipping team, dividing his time between doing ministry and learning ministry. Lord willing, the residency program will be a long-term ministry of Stonebridge, with the goal of training and deploying three new pastors in the first six years.
Three Pastors Trained
In the fall of 2025, our goal is to establish a pastoral residency program at Stonebridge, where new pastors can gain meaningful experience in a mentored context, to equip them with the convictions, character, and competencies for whatever pastoral context the Lord is calling them to (e.g., pastoring in an established church, church planting, missions). The residency will be a two-year, full-time program, and like a medical residency for doctors, it will be for new pastors who have completed their seminary or graduate education and are looking for experience and training before stepping into a full-scale ministry role. We will take one resident at a time, who will serve as part of the Stonebridge equipping team, dividing his time between doing ministry and learning ministry. Lord willing, the residency program will be a long-term ministry of Stonebridge, with the goal of training and deploying three new pastors in the first six years.
- Updated proposal shared on February 9, 2025:
Begin the program with our first pastoral resident on June 1, 2026 (instead of August 2025). This gives us more time for giving to stabilize by budgeting just two months’ salary and benefits for the position during the next fiscal year (plus a small amount for search expenses). It also aligns the program with the academic schedule for graduating seminary students better (starting in June, rather than having to wait till August). And, given the possibility of Pastor Josh being called to a new position in Iowa City, it gives us time to get clarity on our own pastoral staffing needs and structure. For next fiscal year, this would mean budgeting approximately $13,500.
Two Missionaries Sent
Because we are called to make disciples of all nations, not just our neighbors, we are asking God to raise up two new career missionaries (or missionary families) from our congregation, whom we can send to serve in cross-cultural contexts within the next six years. While we remain committed to praying, giving, and supporting the global reach of the gospel, we also want to be active in going and sending, that God might multiply the impact of Stonebridge globally.
Because we are called to make disciples of all nations, not just our neighbors, we are asking God to raise up two new career missionaries (or missionary families) from our congregation, whom we can send to serve in cross-cultural contexts within the next six years. While we remain committed to praying, giving, and supporting the global reach of the gospel, we also want to be active in going and sending, that God might multiply the impact of Stonebridge globally.
- Updated proposal shared on February 9, 2025:
Designate $2,500 of the missions budget to a launch fund for new Stonebridge cross-culture missionaries. We can continue to add to this fund in the following years, and it would be used to help new missionaries from Stonebridge who are entering cross-cultural contexts be able to get onto the field. In terms of our General Budget, because this would be designated from within our missions budget, it would not impact the bottom line of the 2025-26 general budget.
One Church Planted
EFCA Central (our district) has launched a church-planting initiative this year, with the goal of ensuring there is a life-giving church within driving distance of everyone in our district. We want to be part of that initiative by taking what God has been doing in and through Stonebridge and reproducing it in a new congregation in our area. Not only is church planting one of the most effective ways for reaching unchurched non-believers, it is an opportunity to trust God to use Stonebridge in new ways. To that end, our prayer is to establish one new church within the next six years.
EFCA Central (our district) has launched a church-planting initiative this year, with the goal of ensuring there is a life-giving church within driving distance of everyone in our district. We want to be part of that initiative by taking what God has been doing in and through Stonebridge and reproducing it in a new congregation in our area. Not only is church planting one of the most effective ways for reaching unchurched non-believers, it is an opportunity to trust God to use Stonebridge in new ways. To that end, our prayer is to establish one new church within the next six years.
- Updated Proposal shared on February 9, 2025:
Designate $5,000 toward a new church planting fund. This will help us start saving up funds while we learn more about planting and begin identifying our church planting strategy. And like the missions launch fund, it’s something we can continue to set aside each year, or even increase incrementally, as we see fit.
Frequently Asked Questions & Feedback
Click the button below to view some of the questions and answers we have collected already.
In light of the recent revisions to the proposal, we would like to continue the discernment process together over the next couple of months. Please continue sharing your input and questions using the button below or by reaching out directly to Pastor Brandon at brandonl@stonebridge.church.
Vision Night - January 5, 2025
If you were unable to join us, we encourage you to take some time to watch the recording of our time together. In it you’ll find more about the rationale behind the proposal, along with the congregational question and answer time that followed.