Our Community

A startling new trend is changing the makeup of our country. For the first time in our history, there are more people living in poverty in the suburbs than in the cities. Even in the most affluent suburban cities, pockets of poverty are rampant and growing.

In Chaska, once quoted as the 16th most affluent city in the nation, the poor are quite visible to those whose eyes are open. In Brandondale, in Riverview Terrace, in numerous low-income apartment complexes, in downtown Chaska homes, there are those who are unable to make ends meet. According to the last census, there are 153 families and 816 individuals in Chaska that are below the poverty level. That number has almost assuredly grown since then.

Even though there are a number of city, county, state, and private programs available to help those in need, there are still far too many people in our community who slip through the cracks.

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www.mcchronicle.com/Articles/Jan07/Art_Jan07_02.html
censtats.census.gov/data/MN/1602710972.pdf

Our Story
The River Church began as a group of idealistic college students who believed that a community could be changed by simply loving people and pointing them to Jesus. From the beginning, people in the church made friends with people in the trailer parks, adopted low income neighborhoods, knocked on doors to help with household projects, all the while intentionally building relationships with the less fortunate and inviting them to join us in following and worshiping Jesus.

As time went on, the church became less associated with college students and became an eclectic community church made up of “ordinary” people. There is something unique about a church that makes room for broken and hurting people, reaches out to drug dealers and addicts, and gives people the space they need to take their next steps on the journey of becoming someone better. People from all walks of life, all levels of maturity, and all levels of society live and grow together in authentic community with one another. The River is a church of second chances. Even among our church leadership, we have those who have made serious mistakes, yet through the grace of God have been transformed.

The pastor of The River, Corey Magstadt, has spent the last six years entrenched in this community. He spends much of his week in various coffee shops throughout the city, constantly building relationships and seeking to point people toward Jesus. Many people have entered The River community through relationships that have been established over coffee and meals. Pastor Corey also intentionally networks and partners with the leaders of other ministries and organizations to facilitate transformation within the community.

Our Dreams
The River continues to have big dreams for the future. We have begun reaching out to hurting teens in Chaska through “Christ Zombies”, a youth group made up of kids who have been rejected by their peers but who have found friendship and hope together. The leaders of Christ Zombies have been building relationships with area teens by hosting concerts which have seen hundreds of students in attendance. We hope to eventually be able to have concerts and other events every weekend as well as providing a place that facilitates other mediums of artistic expression among teenagers.
We also have a heart for the forgotten children of our community. We have dreams of after school tutoring and other programs for children in downtown Chaska. We would love to host martial arts classes for children in low income families. An important element of helping children is fostering healthier families. This includes teaching English classes to help those in our community who do not have an adequate grasp of the language be able to succeed in school and their occupations. We have taught life skills classes such as training in financial management and would like to do more to bring holistic life change to families within in our community.

One of the key areas of influence that the River exerts in the community is the partnerships that we have created with other ministry organizations. The River is one of the founding member churches of Love In the Name of Christ, (Love INC), a partnership of church and community organizations that seeks to bring assistance to the poor of Eastern Carver County. We also have partnered with New Life Christian Fellowship to operate our youth ministry. Additionally, we have sought to foster unity among the churches of Chaska by organizing joint worship events with other churches. One recent event included five Spanish-speaking congregations and four English speaking congregations gathering together in a multicultural celebration. This group of pastors has also joined together regularly to pray for our community. We have regularly partnered with Treehouse, a local youth and family counseling agency. We are also working on a partnership with an organization that brings aid and education to poverty-stricken families in Morocco. Our dreams include strengthening these relationships which would enable all of these organizations to serve more effectively.

Our Needs
These dreams cannot become reality without a major change in the way our church operates. The River currently meets in a Methodist church building in the middle of a nice neighborhood in Chaska. This building has recently been put up for sale, leaving us without a long-term church facility. This has been a scary time, but also a good time as we have been able to evaluate where we really want to be and how we can have greater influence in our community.

We have realized that we need to go to where the people with the greatest needs are. This means moving down the hill and into downtown Chaska. We have found a location that would be perfect for our church which would enable us to do so much more than we can currently do and are excited about the opportunity to begin fulfilling our dreams of providing hope and transformation.
By obtaining a permanent facility in downtown Chaska, we will be positioned to have a far greater impact in our community. We will be a blessing to downtown Chaska by providing a place for those in need to go to find help and hope. We will provide a place for the teens of Chaska to gather on weekends that is safe and fun. We will provide a community that embraces and connects with those who have been overlooked.

But we need help. The people that we have reached out to who make up our church simply do not have the kind of resources we need to purchase this facility. In order to make this dream a reality, we need to raise $700,000. This would cover the cost of the facility as well as the cost to renovate it into usable space.

We cannot accomplish this alone. We are looking for others who share the same heart for reaching the broken, the forgotten, the poor, the homeless and the rest of our community to partner with us this pursuit. Would you be willing to contribute to help The River continue its mission within this community? The enclosed contribution form describes the ways that you can help bring hope to the hurting of our city. Together we can rejoice in seeing God’s provision, the transformation of lives, and the restoration of hope.

Stories of changed lives

Brian and Reylin
Brian had been a notorious drug dealer in the Chaska area for the past few years. Last summer, he and his fiancé Reylin began attending the River because they were expecting a baby and wanted to be involved in a church as they were raising their family. During the ensuing months, they began to grow spiritually as well as gain some skills at coping with life in healthy ways.

This winter, their baby Drake was born and everything seemed wonderful. But life has a way of throwing a wrench in even the best stories. Two weeks after Drake’s birth, Brian and Reylin woke up to find that their baby had passed away during the night. This traumatic event has severely shaken them, yet they remain hopeful that they will be able to escape their former lifestyle and find freedom and a second chance.

Alicia
Alicia began attending the River about a year after the church began. At the time, she was pregnant with her first child and was struggling to overcome 10 years of heavy drug addiction and abuse. She quickly became a regular part of the church, participating in various small groups and Bible studies, and slowly becoming a different person as Jesus transformed her life.

There have certainly been setbacks along the way. Alicia’s second son was born two years later. Not long after that, she fell back into drug use. We were able to help her into a treatment center which significantly changed her life. We also assisted her finding a job that helped her gain some financial stability.

Last year, Alicia met a wonderful young man whose mother attends the River. In the fall, she finished her degree from the University of Minnesota. Earlier this year, Isaiah and Alicia were married, which was a beautiful next step in the transformation of this family.

Mike
Mike first visited the River with his family in the first months of the church’s existence. At the time, Mike was a middle school student who became one of the first kids in our youth group. Through the influence of a number of dedicated youth workers and his very involved parents, Mike quickly developed as a leader. For two summers during high school, Mike served as an intern at the River and continued to grow in his faith and his leadership skills.

After high school, Mike went to college where he began his studies in youth ministry. Along the way, Mike came back to the youth group, now as a volunteer leader. Today, Mike is one of the key youth leaders at the River where he organizes all of the Christ Zombies concerts as well as spending many hours with the teens in the youth group. He is an amazing example of what can happen when a church pours into the lives of its young people and gives them opportunities to lead and serve.