Rock Island 2024 Initiatives
Rock Island is a network of missional businesses, non profits, and everyday people who have a dream to see every home made fully alive through the good news of Jesus. We believe that the best way to reach Every Home is by equipping and sending Every Person with the tools, gifts and unique purpose that God has given them. We believe that the best way to heaven on earth, is to help every person possible have the tools, resources, and support to say yes to the purpose God has placed in their life.
We are located in Raytown, Missouri. Raytown is one of Kansas City’s most diverse suburbs. While it showcases it’s unique beauty and identity through it’s diversity, it has also resulted in a wide gap of inequity in our town. We love Raytown, and we know Jesus does as well. We know the importance of cultural diversity and believe that if we can help to awaken the dreams of each individual, then we can build a community that showcases the diversity and justice of Jesus Kingdom. As a result, we’re opening what we call a ‘Kingdom Business Incubator’ with the purpose of creating a space to foster community, train everyday people to discover their Kingdom purpose, and utilize our space to incubate and send businesses, non profits, and missionary people.
One way we seek to see our city changed by the good news of Jesus is through missional businesses. We do this by pairing entrepreneurial training with missional emphasis on how to operate a business that doesn’t just seek to gain profit, but seeks the welfare of the city and embody the hope of Jesus. In Raytown, there is a growing pioneer spirit coming out of a long season of empty buildings, and declining business. Through our incubator, in the center of downtown Raytown, we hope that we can create a rallying point for new and young entrepreneurs who want to serve Jesus and serve our city. One example is having a coffee shop in our space ran completely by high school students. We will partner with Zero Hour Ministries to give these students missional training and help them to create a space where students can build community, find employment, and build the hope of Jesus into each other.
Another vital piece of seeing the Kingdom built in Raytown as it is in heaven, is through intentional non profit work. To pair with missional businesses, we desperately need organizations that are committed whole-heartedly to addressing injustice and need in our community. Through administrative help and missional training, we will utilize our space to help to start and support new non profit work in the city. One organization can help thousands of people, but a network of missional organizations and businesses can support a city.
We believe the last piece of bringing the Kingdom to Raytown is through equipping, supporting and sending everyday people as missionaries into their neighborhoods, jobs and everyday places. We do this by training them in the Missionary Pathway, a training program that gives tools, resources, and missional rhythms to everyday people to see their neighborhoods changed with the hope of Jesus.
When all of these pieces work together, we see people all over our city come together in unique and small spaces, centered around Worship, Community and Mission. We believe that in these small, biblical and simple forms of the church, lives can be changed forever. Regularly, we gather as an entire network of missional businesses, non profits, and everyday people to worship, build community and share stories of mission.
We have already raised close to 50k dollars, but we are dreaming of raising another 100k to finish construction/renovation as well as help with staffing and operating costs in the start up phase of 2025.