Todays News

‘God is not done with small town Iowa’

Redeemer Bible Church congregation cuts ribbon on new home in Montour

MONTOUR -- Since they launched Redeemer Bible Church out of the Montour Community Center about four months ago, founders Mike and Jenny Vinson have been trusting God to guide their path, and on Sunday, they took another huge leap of faith as they celebrated the grand reopening of the former Living Faith United Methodist Church at 207 S. Main St., which is now Redeemer's permanent home.

The Vinsons and Montour Mayor Tony Smith stood front and center for a ribbon cutting surrounded by members of their congregation and the community, and the importance of the moment in a town of about 200 residents wasn't lost on anyone in attendance.

"This has been teamwork," Mike said. "There's so many people that have been involved with this and getting their hands dirty. Honestly, we were talking about this in the message (today). It's just about showing love. We're showing love for each other. We're showing love for the community. It's an outpouring of love."

Smith noted that communities like Montour "wither and die on the vine" when people move away and businesses and schools close, and a church leaving is usually "the final straw."

"But in this case, we had you guys come along. You brought this church back up, and you're moving," he said.

Living Faith officially closed around the turn of the year, and Smith said that a new church moving in is especially meaningful for the people who still live in Montour and believe in its future.

"When we have people like Jennifer and Mike and they come in here, and they're like 'Let's do this. Let's get this moving again.' To me, that's part of what makes it even more special," he said.

Jenny is excited that the congregation includes attendees of all ages, including a large contingent of families, and it overjoyed her to watch them playing in puddles during the inaugural service on Sunday, Sept. 6.

"To see that, the neighborhood pays attention to that, and seeing new life come in these doors, it matters," she said.

As Mike, a naturalized U.S. citizen who originally hails from Canada, put it, "God is not done with small town Iowa."

"He's not done, and that's why this is all happening. It's not because we're such great, phenomenal people. It's because God's not done with small town Iowa, and I know there's so much focus on the big cities. But what, you think he doesn't love the people in small town Iowa?" he asked. "He's not done here."

One particularly unique feature of the new church is that the cross in the sanctuary was actually taken out of material from the original foundation of the building, which dates back almost 100 years.

"Christ is the foundation of this church, and so the picture of that, it just blows my mind," Jenny said, as her husband referenced the classic hymn "On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand."

They've even borrowed hymn books from the old church, and they've been hard at work, painting and sprucing up the interior. Weekly services will be held on Sundays at 10 a.m. preceded by a 9 a.m. coffee hour. Redeemer is not affiliated with a denomination, and the doors are "wide open."

"He is our redeemer," Mike said. "You know, in Job, it says, Job, who went through a whole lot of suffering, went through a lot, but he still says, in Job 19:25, my redeemer lives. That's the whole point, and that's why we're called Redeemer. Because our Redeemer does live."

To learn more, visit https://www.redeemeria.com/.

Contact Robert Maharry at (641) 753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.