Who is that behind the mask you ask? That’s us! A few of us had the opportunity to be on campus for the “City and Sustainability Sampler” on the UW- River Falls Campus. We brought down two kiosks, gave away coffee coupons, and had a drawing for a few Bible journals. It was a lot of fun meeting students and other people in the community. Keep reading here to see what we have been up to this last month in River Falls.

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Street Level Campus Ministry

Besides meeting Monday nights, we have had a few fellowship opportunities. The campus advisor for Street Level UW-River Falls invited us over to his house for a hangout at the end of September. We grilled brats and hot dogs, ate Halloween-related snacks (look up Hostess Scary Cakes), and even got a tour of his award-winning rose garden. It was a great opportunity to get to know each other a little bit more.

Also, A few weekends ago we joined the Street Level Summit in Menomonie along with Duluth. Some of us came for the Garden Party, slept over (who doesn’t like a grown-up slumber party?), and then attended the Summit on Saturday. The main topic was “Jesus is Better than….”. It challenged us to be thinking Christians – able to be faithful in the middle of ever-changing culture. Since there was plenty to chew on, we took some time to further discuss the topic the following Monday at Street Level.

Believers Campus Church

On Wednesdays we’ve been meeting at the university for Believers Campus Church and are continuing through the book of John. We feel really blessed to have the opportunity to be on campus – it’s allowed for us to connect with a lot more people this year. Some have become regulars at church while others have become regulars to Street Level. Over time we hope these two groups grow more connected.

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Prayer Requests

• Students
  • To want and to seek after being used by God beyond just going to Bible studies.
  • That they wouldn’t get distratcted from God as life gets busier towards the middle of the semester.
• Coffeehouse
  • That we would continue to meet people in the community, and we would have the opportunity to share who God is with them.

For Further Information

• Believers Campus Church River Falls
• The Blind Munchies River Falls Website
• Believers Church River Falls Outreach Facebook
• Street Level Ministries UWRF Facebook
• The Blind Munchies River Falls Facebook

Brace yourself; they are coming.

We have been preparing for this semester and are excited to see what God will do. We appreciate all the prayers leading up to the beginning of the semester and hope you all will continue to pray for the various things going on in River Falls.

Over this past month, we ended the summer and transitioned into a new semester. Beginning Believers Campus Church in River Falls, on the UW River Falls Campus brought a lot of change for us. It also brought a flux of new people into our lives.

Street Level Fall Semester

We officially kicked off Street Level for the new semester last Monday, with a new series called Alpha. Alpha is a series that will help bring discipleship and evangelism to the forefront of our minds as the campus ministry.

Also, we hosted multiple events geared toward fellowship and meeting new people. It’s been nice to start seeing some consistency in new faces at these events. Check out the photos we included from the UC bonfire pit, a grill out at the coffeehouse, and a death-defying hike (or so it may appear).

Believers Campus Church

We are on the college campus for Church on Wednesday night and grateful that it’s possible. Now it’s time to see where the preparation and prayer will lead. As you read, last month, we sent out over 1000 postcards advertising both Believers Campus Church and Street Level. Another wave of advertising will go out with the newest WOTS to all the freshmen in the mail and around the campus/community.

On Wednesdays, we are looking to build a desire for God and a hunger for his word through the campus church. We are going verse-by-verse through the book of John during the services and look forward to what God has to teach us through it.

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Coffeehouse

The coffeehouse is still used as a hub for a lot of our ministry opportunities. These first few weeks have been a rush. We have seen higher numbers and an excellent response to the postcards. We also handed out about 800 free coffee coupons to students.

The Tuesday after the Church campout, we had the opportunity to be on campus and hand out several hundred iced coffees, and a few hot coffees. Of course, it was a hot day, so I don’t blame people. We had some help from a few Menomonie volunteers, and a couple of River Falls students also stepped in.

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Prayer

All in all, we have a lot to thank God for and trust he knows what he is doing. But, of course, we are always grateful for your prayers and help as well.

• Thanks. We are very thankful for those we have gotten to meet and the support of a Church. 
• Fruit in students’ lives. People are starting some good consistency, but we pray this continues throughout the semester.
• Service. We are hoping that students are interested in serving God and people. Those students can receive the true love of God and want to share it.
• Events. We have more events coming and some that are not set yet. But that we would see fruit, not just some short-term enjoyment from them.

For Further Infomation…

• Believers Campus Church River Falls
• The Blind Munchies River Falls Website
• Believers Church River Falls Outreach Facebook
• Street Level Ministries UWRF Facebook
• The Blind Munchies River Falls Facebook

We have fully embraced summertime in River Falls by giving away coffee, ice cream, and grilling out!

Street Level Mondays

We have been meeting for Street Level in different locations around town this summer. We’ve shuffled around from parks, to back yards, to locations on campus. Several students and other visitors have joined us. Our main focus has been going verse-by-verse through the book of John.

Recently, we had a great weekend joining the other campuses for camping and canoeing in Superior. The Street Level group there hosted us at their own campground for a time of fire and fellowship in the woods. We then took a fleet of canoes for a 4+ hour trip down the Brule River.

Also, a group of us went with the other Street Level groups to the St. Louis, Missouri area at an all-weekend conference. There was fellowship, worship, and a variety of topical teachings. The organization, Campus Ministry United, put together a collaborative series entitled “Cancel Culture”. It was encouraging and inspiring to see another young and committed group of believers growing and serving together.

Coffeehouse and Church Outings

We continue to set up the coffeehouse kiosk at “Music in the Park” on Thursday nights. We serve a simple menu of cold brew, hot coffee, and watermelon Italian sodas. It has been nice to see the local community getting familiar with who we are and vice versa. Our regularity there has kind of made us the de facto “info booth”, with people regularly asking us questions that we don’t know the answer to.

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Sunday evenings we have shifted away from our weekly studies and have been doing some simple outreach in the community. Our basic plan is to fill up a cooler with ice cream treats and wheel it around town to see who we meet. We have talked to several people at parks and trails, many of whom are ready and open for conversation. We even gave away patriotic popsicles on the 4th of July to a huge group of college students.

“River Falls Days” was this month and with it came large crowds, reminiscent of pre-pandemic times. This is one of the biggest events in River Falls during the summer. To get our name out there, we handed out hundreds of flyers Friday night during a “walk through” parade. The next day we gave away cold brew, coffee, Italian sodas, and food from the coffeehouse parking lot. There were lots of local people who came over, many stayed and hung out to chat about the coffeehouse, the ministry, and whatever else was on their mind.

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Prayer For….

Please continue to be in prayer for the future outreach and ministry that is going on in the River Falls community. Also, that God would open the hearts of the people attending the studies. Lastly that we’d have wisdom and clarity about the direction of the ministry for the fall.

Further Information

• River Falls Ministry Website
• The Blind Munchies River Falls Website
• Believers Church River Falls Outreach Facebook
• Street Level Ministries UWRF Facebook
• The Blind Munchies River Falls Facebook

Summertime in River Falls

We have been trying new ways to reach out to the community this summer. Every Thursday evening the coffeehouse is setting up the kiosk in Veterans Park during “Music in the Park”. Some of us also did an ice cream giveaway at one of the trailheads this last Saturday. In addition, Burning Dog Radio joined us for a local poster bomb.

Street Level Ministries

This is the first summer we are meeting in person for Street Level in River Falls. We have been doing a number of grill-outs and Bible Studies outside in various spots around town. There have even been some new students joining us for it!

We put together a short video to show you some of what we have been doing. Have fun watching it here!

Prayer Requests

• That we are effectively meeting people in the community through our various outreaches.
• That we can see true discipleship in the lives of people coming to our various studies.

Further Information

• River Falls Ministry Website
• The Blind Munchies River Falls Website
• Believers Church River Falls Outreach Facebook
• Street Level Ministries UWRF Facebook
• The Blind Munchies River Falls Facebook

We have been trying new ways to reach out to the community this summer. Every Thursday evening the coffeehouse is setting up the kiosk in Veterans Park during “Music in the Park”. Some of us also did an ice cream giveaway at one of the trailheads this last Saturday. In addition, the Radio joined us for a local poster bomb.

This is the first summer we are meeting in person for Street Level in River Falls. We have been doing a number of grill-outs and Bible Studies outside in various spots around town. There have even been some new students joining us for it!

Semester Wrap Up and Unleashing Summer

Is May a summer month? This year we can call it a summer month since school ended earlier than usual. Before the semester’s end, we partnered with Menomonie Street Level to host a grill-out bash. Volunteers from Menomonie came over during the day to flyer and poster the UW-River Falls campus. We put up a few tents, some lights, and turned up the music! The event was out front of the coffeehouse, and it felt like a scaled-back version of a backyard party. As the evening progressed, it proved to be a great time of fellowship and interactions with some new faces. We are hopeful that some of these connections can grow as we reach out to people through the summer. 

As we moved into the month of May we transitioned into meeting Monday nights. For the summer we are planning to mix up what we have been doing by spending time outside in fellowship and for studies as much as possible. Also, now that we are meeting on Mondays, we hope to spend more time with Menomonie and Duluth/Superior. This past Monday, we went out to Glen Park for a hike and a picnic. Joining us were some new faces (one might have been a turtle). We have been experiencing an increase in interactions through social media with interest in what we have planned. So, we greatly appreciate your prayer for these interactions and opportunities.

Highlighting Burning Dog Radio

With help from the tech team, Burning Dog Radio has made its way to River Falls by installing the WIFI access point at the coffeehouse. Thank you to the Tech Team! On top of that, we are using the coffeehouse to highlight Burning Dog Radio through a giveaway and raffle offered to those coming into the coffeehouse. The hope is to generate some excitement over the Burning Dog Radio stream.

Bible Study and Fellowship

On Sunday evenings, we are studying the book of Ephesian. If you join us on a Sunday, you’ll find us going verse by verse through a chapter and having a discussion around it. Also, we have seen some new faces from the community on Wednesdays. We are continuing to seek out ways to invite people and generate awareness of our studies. We welcome people from Menomonie to join us for Sunday nights. Just reach out to Jonah to see when you can come.

Further Information

• River Falls Ministry Website
• The Blind Munchies River Falls Website
• Believers Church River Falls Outreach Facebook
• Street Level Ministries UWRF Facebook