The Vision

By Tim Borseth

I long for a way to reach people who are far from the cross. My passion is to influence the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ, especially the younger generation in the 18 – 25+ age bracket. By influence, I mean not simply see them come to Christ, but to be trained and equipped to be an army of godly warriors who can honestly, practically reach this world for Christ. I long to effectively envision believers to be courageous enough, sacrificial enough, and mature enough to actually plant churches throughout the world.

To do that, I’m inspired by Proverbs 1:20-23 where “Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech” and Proverbs 8:1-11 where wisdom calls out, “On the heights along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gates leading into the city, at the entrances...” and Proverbs 9:1-6 that says, “Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars. She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her maids, and she calls from the highest point of the city, 'Let all who are simple come in here.'”

It is my vision to see a facility and a ministry that reflects this kind of wisdom. It would involve a location that has high visibility, easy accessibility, and is visually attractive. A place that is seen as safe and welcoming for the person who would hesitate to step foot into a church building. A place that is excellent in every way including its appearance inside and out, the production/ product being offered, and especially the people who run it. And a place that is excellent in reflecting the God we serve and the mission we are on. Essentially, my vision is to put the church on display is a relevant, compelling, and effective way.

It is my hope and goal that a ministry and venue like that will aid us greatly in meeting the lost and winning them to Christ. They would then follow our example of excellence, sacrifice, and seriousness in doing whatever it takes to rescue those being led to slaughter.

The Need in our Culture Today:

This generation of youth is increasingly less likely to go to a traditional, organized expression of church than ever before in the history of the U.S. George Barna writes:

“Perhaps the most striking reality of twentysomething’s faith is their relative absence from Christian churches. Only 3 out of 10 twentysomethings (31%) attend church in a typical week, compared to 4 out of 10 of those in their 30s (42%) and nearly half of all adults age 40 and older (49%).

The low level of twentysomething church attendance is not just due to the ”college years,“ when many young adults may not have easy access to a church. The research shows that church attendance bottoms out during the late 20s when the vast majority of students have transitioned from education to the workforce. Just 22% of those ages 25 to 29 attended church in the last week.

Many twentysomethings are reversing course after having been active church attenders during their teenage years. As teenagers, more than half attended church each week and more than 4 out of 5 (81%) had ever gone to a Christian church. That means that from high school graduation to age 25 there is a 42% drop in weekly church attendance and a 58% decline from age 18 to age 29. That represents about 8,000,000 twentysomethings alive today who were active church-goers as teenagers but who will no longer be active in a church by their 30th birthday.” [From a September 2003 report by The Barna Group.]

Barna Research also found that there has been a net loss of born-again believers in every county in the US. We have got to come up with more effective ways of attracting the younger generations (high school – young professionals) to the cross!

The Need in Ames and at Iowa State University:

The enrollment at Iowa State University is over 27,000 students, yet only about 5% (or about 1300 students) are involved in an evangelical campus ministry. A survey of Freshmen in 2003 indicated only 27% were involved in any religious organization at all.

Not only is Ames included in the nationwide trend toward low spiritual involvement among members of the 18-29 age group, but recent and future developments are aggravating the way we have customarily done outreach. The dorm culture at Iowa State, which has been our bread and butter for evangelism, is rapidly decreasing. The traditional dorms are being closed or torn down, with suite-style buildings and university-run apartments being built in their place.

These changes in dorm style are creating an environment with less community-like interaction than the residence halls offered in past years. This makes it difficult to make lots of new friends and have a broad influence on people. We have to find a way to develop a community/ family experience outside their immediate living situation.

The off-campus student population is also larger than ever before. This is a hard demographic to reach because they are so wide spread and isolated. About 46% of students live off-campus in Ames, with another 16% of ISU student living outside of Ames. We have to find a way to draw these students out of their apartments and rental homes so we can meet them and develop relationships with them.

Another need is created by the Rock's style of ministry. Our high production, concert like events are outside the usual campus organization's format and so the university has been having a hard time knowing where to permit us access to their facilities. The only place on campus that we have consistent access is Curtiss Hall. While this is adequate, it does require Rockers and visitors to go onto campus and find this building. After a long week of class, unmotivated students would prefer not to do that.

The theater-style seating in Curtiss also restricts us from being creative and hinders easy fellowship from occurring. The Rock cafe is currently located in the hallways of Curtiss. This space easily becomes very cramped, making it difficult to maneuver and engage in meaningful discussions. Another need we envision is the day when Curtiss is too small for our growing attendance. And so, with all this in mind, it is clear that we need a place that has easy, more inviting access with ample space for growth and has an attractive Rock café possibilities.

A Proposed Solution:

We live in a post-modern, increasingly post-Christian society; therefore, we need to think like missionaries in a foreign land. We need to be “Christians reaching out to post-moderns” in a way that they can understand and value. Statistics show that the emerging generation feeds off of music and relationships. These two things are the language they speak. It would be only wise for us to utilize these formats to communicate the truths that transform lives. The Rock has become and is continuing to become a vehicle for that expression. Locating the Rock at a place that is neutral ground, close to campus, and trendy in appearance will greatly aid our efforts to attract those people who are not interested/ going to church and those who are living in the revamped dorms or off-campus.

I believe that the old Audio Plus building (3329 Lincoln Way) satisfies all that I'm dreaming about and more. I believe that this location is a place where the Rock would thrive, and could even financially sustain itself with the laundry mat and a coffee house/ sandwich shop/ ice cream parlor operated out of the old show room. I believe that this is a golden opportunity to make a run at seeing my vision realized and, better yet, reaching the lost and building the kingdom.

Ames and Iowa State University Numbers at a Glance:

Ames Population: 50,731

About 45% of Ames residents (almost 23,000 people) are ISU students.
4,000+ young adults (ages 18-29) who are not ISU students also live in Ames.
Median age, including college students, is 23.6 years old.

Iowa State University Enrollment: 27,380

92.6% of undergrads and 80% of all students are under the age of 25.
Only 28% of students live in the dorms (about 7700 students).
Another 46% live in houses and apartments off campus.