Celebrating Growth and Community Impact at River City Christian Community
River City Christian Community in partnership with the Riverwalk Church of Christ set out to plant a network of house churches in Wichita, Kansas in 2011. Our story over the past 14 years has been an experiment in trusting God and that continues to this day. We joke about having started about 5 house churches over those years – we just never had more than one at the same time. We would gather a small group of people and walk with them for about two years and then they would move away or decide to move on to other things. Then God would lead us to a new group and we would walk with them.
Our first group consisted of a seed group of people from the Riverwalk church and a few others that joined from various places. Over time most of that group moved on to other things and we began to connect with a number of people connected with our part-time jobs at Starbucks. During that season with our “Starbucks church” Kyle (my church planting partner) and I began to explore new ways of fundraising and/or move into full time jobs outside of our church planting. Within six to nine months we both were able to move into management positions at Starbucks.
During this time we began to see our church shift to a more family oriented ministry and connect with some young families. I think this shift took place in part because my family grew from two children to four and Kyle’s family grew to three. As children took a more and more prominent place in our family and church community, our current community began to move away and we decided to move to a different part of Wichita.
Kyle and I actually ended up moving into the same new neighborhood, right next door to each other. From that time on we were committed to creating the best cul-de-sac in Wichita. For the most part we are pretty proud of what we helped create. Our church became our neighbors. Some started coming to our church gatherings, the rest we just considered part of the church even though they didn’t realize it yet. When COVID hit we were affected far less than most churches. We began meeting in our garage with the doors open. We actually became a church during that time for a handful of neighborhood kids.
Our current season has been focused on teen ministry. Kyle and I both moved out of our Starbucks management jobs. I took a job with a local nonprofit who works with local schools promoting financial literacy and work readiness. Kyle found a position teaching Bible at a local Christian school. Taking our teens to Winterfest and Sooner Youth Camp in the summer are highlights for us and we regularly volunteer at a local children’s home called Carpenter Place. It has been a joy to see our children commit themselves to the Lord in baptism and see them include their friends in our church community.
Our ongoing story is a testament to the faithfulness of God. The Lord led us to begin this ministry with part time jobs and moved us to supporting ourselves completely outside of our church planting ministry. While we have questioned that decision at times, it has allowed us the longevity to represent God’s kingdom in Wichita without the pressure of creating our own success. As I wrote at the beginning, this has been an experiment in trusting God. We at River City Christian Community look forward to continually walking with him as he leads us to new people and opportunities to share his love and represent His kingdom.
In His service,
Micah Lewis