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Cedar Rapids, IA
Jim Overholt and I received an immediate “Yes!” from the group of pastors gathered last fall, and Cedar Rapids has been moving in the Loving Our Communities to Christ (LC2C) strategy ever since. Some 32 congregations and a Christian school of 233 students have been praying for lost persons, and many congregations are reporting salvations and baptisms. A Prayer Task Force is being formed and the Care and Share task forces are planning citywide events for 2007 and 2008. I was back there after a year and interviewed 15 pastors who were all saying essentially the same thing: “I have changed. Now the church is changing.”
Historically known as an industrial, working class city,
Cedar Rapids is
Iowa’s second largest city (population 190,000). It is nicknamed the City of Five Seasons—the four traditional seasons and a fifth “to enjoy the other four.” In June 2008, the Cedar River surpassed the 500-year flood plain and nine square miles—about 1300 city blocks—of the heart of
Cedar Rapids were under water. Nearly 4,000 homes were evacuated. The city is still rebuilding from the flood’s devastation. One outcome of the tragedy was an unprecedented unity and rallying on the part of the Church to serve its community. The networks of churches, ministries, and Christians in the community became a lifeline for the city as police and emergency responders needed instant means to contact residents and evacuate neighborhoods. The Church came to the fore, played a critical role in the worst of the crisis, and continues to pray, care, and share and be closely involved with the community through recovery and rebuilding. The challenge for the Church in this city is to provide faithful follow-up with all those it has touched through recent circumstances, and to keep its stamina as flood recovery moves into its second year with many needs yet to meet.
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