Influence

 the shape of leadership

Sowing Seeds in America’s Heartland

A profile of church planter Heather Weber

In September 2016, Heather Weber and her team launched CityChurch in downtown Iowa City, one block from the University of Iowa campus.

How would you describe the spiritual climate in your community?
Iowa City is a college town and home of the University of Iowa, one of the top party schools in the nation.

Sixty percent of the people here have no religious affiliation, and many of those who do aren’t going to church most weekends. Despite not being a super-religious town, there is a large movement of what I think of as the alt-spirituality movement, with a lot of people seeking spiritual experiences in contexts outside of organized religion. We’re talking eastern mysticism, chanting and transcendental meditation, as well as seeking spiritual fulfillment through social justice initiatives.

How does this post-Christian reality shape your ministry approach?
People describe our church environment as welcoming and humble, in that we’re not trying to force religion on anyone.

I often say that we started CityChurch so that people who are followers of Jesus can come together with people who are exploring faith in Jesus and that our Sunday morning services are for anyone — wherever they are on their spiritual journey. This vibe is important to our context.

“People describe our church environment as welcoming and humble.”                                         — Heather Weber

What is your greatest challenge?
Our biggest struggle so far is the high turnover typical of a college town. A lot of people are just sort of in flux in life. It’s relationally hard to lose people, and it’s also challenging to fill the places where they so faithfully served on Sunday mornings.

How do people respond to you as a woman pastor?
I think my gender has been disarming to those in our community who might have stereotypes in their head about church leadership and church. I’ve met people who’ve said approvingly, “You’re the pastor? Young. And a woman.”

It has the effect of instantly subverting their expectations and creating curiosity about what CityChurch is all about.

What have you learned through your church planting experience?
I was at a conference receiving prayer before I planted, and the guy who prayed over me said, “Church planting is easy when God is your Father.” I’ve carried those words with me.

The biggest challenge isn’t growing a church; it’s learning how to rest in the fact that God is a good Father and is more invested in growing His Church than we can comprehend. I’m not suggesting that we don’t put our best efforts into our callings, but that we do it knowing we aren’t in control of the outcome. That part is God’s job.

This article originally appeared in the August/September 2017 edition of Influence magazine.

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