New Site for King of Kings, With a Little Help From LCEF
King of Kings Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids is out of space – with 15-20 children in classrooms built for 8, Kings of Kings had to find new ways to serve their people and expand. Since their current property offered no room for expansion, the members purchased a site in Robins, one of the fastest-growing towns around the Cedar Rapids metropolitan area. King of Kings was organized in 1981 and have been located on their curent 4-acre site since 1984. Well aware of the facts that they are outgrowing their facilities and the changes they’ve seen in their ministries, they have been planning and searching for a new church location for years. The members decided to purchase an undeveloped parcel in the rapidly developing Robins area which is easily accessible – only about 90 seconds from I380. Adjacent parcels have been sold and are being developed – mostly for residential use. Nearly 1 out of 2 people in Linn County (43%) are unchurched so the mission field in this area also is ripe for harvest!
Of the 600+ members at King of Kings, over 20% are under age 14 and the average age of their members is 30-35, so there is strong desire to expand ministries for families. This congregation has 107 in Sunday School and Bible Classes and averages 47% of their membership in worship, well above the average 35% for mainline denominations. 70% of their Vacation Bible School participants are non-members from the neighborhood, helping this ministry to be a great tool for outreach. There are so many children and, with such limited space, they offer two weeks of VBS – the first for preschool age and the second for grades 1-6. About 50 volunteers helped with the first week and, for the second week, King of Kings utilizes Camp IODISECA’s traveling day camp. The Camp provides curriculum and some instructors while the congregation provides housing for the Camp instructors, helpers, all the supplies and, obviously, the space. Though there is a per child fee, the congregation does not charge for attendees because they believe it is such an important tool for outreach.
While Rev. Leon Hauser provides pastoral leadership, the congregation has a full-time Director of Christian Education, Kathleen Mills and a full-time outreach and small-group coordinator, Elise Hexum. Also Kari Sicard serves as organist and part-time Director of Music. She leads the adult choir and the contemporary worship team “Prays Twice”. Kathleen is in charge of youth and children’s ministries and has initiated a nontraditional form of Sunday School called Heartland. Instead of age-based classes, all the children meet together in a large group to hear the Bible story and then split into smaller groups to learn more about the story and life applications. This arrangement necessitates different facility needs than the traditional classrooms approach. Confirmation instruction is offered on Wednesdays for the traditional 7-8th grade, but is optional also for 6th grade – and most of them attend! The Junior and Senior High meet every Sunday and Wednesdays and also do a servant event every summer. Their most recent found the youth in western Maryland helping with construction for elderly and low-income families; this was an opportunity provided by LCMS Servant Events through the Department of Youth Ministry. Kathleen also leads a monthly gathering of Iowa District East DCEs and other non-ordained professional workers.
Another effective outreach tool has been their in-home small groups which meet weekly and bi-weekly. This ministry has been active for 4 years and has seen an increase in participation from 7 to 160. While Elise is in charge, there are many volunteer leaders who also help with the 15+ groups. While many groups/topics are typical, one you may not see at every congregation is “Parents of Hawkeyes”. The youth are not the only ones involved in service: each small group does their own service projects each year: one within the church and one outside the church. One small group might host the Heartland (Sunday School) Teachers Appreciation event and an example of an “outside” service project would be siding a garage for “Aid to Women”. Elise also recently helped organize a benefit concert for Matthew McCarthy, an 8-month old suddenly paralyzed by transverse mellitus. The 400 tickets were sold out and the event raised over $15,000 and continues to receive donations. “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men.” Eph 6:7a
The congregation currently plans to raise funds to build their new facility at the new site and sell their existing church. LCEF is pleased to provide financing for the purchase of the new site through the faithful members who invest in Church Extension, making funds available for Great Commission work. LCEF investments and loans: Lutherans helping Lutherans. If you would like more information on LCEF loans for your congregation or school or LCEF investments for your family or organization, please contact Carole White at 877.439.5233 or carole@lcmside.org.
Picture: King of Kings current site in Cedar Rapids
