It’s About Connecting
River of Joy, Prior Lake, Minnesota

People long for a tightly knit community whose main function is to serve in God’s world. This is one of several important themes that have emerged from a series of visioning meetings held by mission developer Steve Bonesho since he came to Minnesota in the summer of 2006. Through these meetings a new faith community, River of Joy, is being born.

Three Minneapolis Area Synod congregations: Prince of Peace in Burnsville, St. Mary Magdalene in Savage, and Shepherd of the Lake in Prior Lake have come together to create River of Joy. Members from all three congregations have volunteered to leave their congregations to participate in this new endeavor. These members share a desire to reach out to their community with the Good News of God’s love. They often host visioning meetings in their homes and use their social networks to identify prospective members or those who might be interested in their discussions. Attendees may have no experience with a church or might even be agnostics.

These visioning meetings feature different participants with discussions of different subjects. The questions offered include:
• how does Christ influence your life?
• where is Christ in our community?
• what will the church be like in the future?

The first visioning meetings involved only high school students from various faith communities, but because they will carry the Gospel of Christ well into the 21st century, their views and visions are especially significant.

Where does River of Joy go after these first visioning meetings? First, leaders will be chosen to determine what steps need to be taken for the organization of a congregation. Then small group meetings will provide potential members with opportunities to build relationships, to pray together, and to study the Bible. A Web site has been designed to make River of Joy more visible. The first public worship service is tentatively scheduled for the spring of 2007.

As River of Joy acts on its vision, the new congregation is supported by the prayers and gifts of its partners. St. Mary Magdalene Lutheran Church provides office space for Pastor Bonesho while Prince of Peace and Shepherd of the Lake combine with the Minneapolis Area Synod and Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Ministry to provide financial support.

“As you start sharing the vision that God has put on your heart with another person,” Pastor Bonesho believes, “you realize that this vision is not really your vision at all but God’s vision. This phase of the development process is not so much about ‘Making Christ Known’ to others. Rather, it is about creating space and community for Christ to be made known among us as he shapes and guides our hopes and dreams for our new faith community.”