Story of God at Work in Moscow
The story of Moscow is one of ebb and flow. The storms will come, as they always do, but amidst the confusion and uncertainty, this church prevailed in hope due to the depth of God’s faithfulness and an expectancy of brighter days ahead. It doesn’t have to be grand or astounding, but the body of believers at this church experienced the blessing God places on their faithful obedience.
No matter who you are or what you do, you know you can’t do this life alone. It may be tempting or seem more manageable, but we would be selling ourselves a lie if we operated out of the belief that who we spend time around doesn’t matter and that we are merely here to coexist. Maybe family has been anything but simple, and friendships have never lasted. Still, a collection of people can become a family that endures through trial, proving to be stronger as a result, laying a foundation for a unified body, and this story is just that.
In 2006, Matthew and April Young moved to Moscow, Idaho, a small but lively town on the northwestern border of the state, neighboring fellow university town, Pullman, Washington; the move was rooted in a desire to minister to people in a place outside of the bible belt, as both Matthew and April had come from Texas to the Northwest several years prior for seminary school in the Portland area. The Youngs took over ministry roles in a local Baptist church within Moscow upon their move, grabbing onto an opportunity to be near a 4-year university that wasn’t a commuter school, was outside of the bible belt region, and was just under 10 miles from their dear friends, Paige and Keith Wieser, who had made the move from Texas to Portland to Pullman not to long before they had.
University of Idaho, Moscow
Their time in Moscow began by being a part of a ministry that already had weekly gatherings, resources, and connections within the town, contrary to what God would invite them into the building in the months and years to come. As they spent a semester getting to know students on and off campus, they would meet with their friends across the state border, the conversation often moving towards the church the Wiesers were praying about planting for Washington State University students and the community of Pullman. Although Matthew and April weren’t entirely on board yet to plant a church in Moscow, they were and remain incredibly supportive of the ministry the Wiesers desired to establish, attending Resonate Pullman’s launch service in August of 2007. From there, they began to build connections with the Wieser’s team, serving one another through offering to lead worship at a Tuesday Gathering, helping staff members raise funds, creating relationships founded in reliability, and ultimately paving the way for a culture of community to be deeply embedded in the ministry of Moscow.
Four months after sitting in the rented chairs at the event center of Pullman’s launch service, Matthew and April, with their toddler son and newborn daughter, attended a November retreat where they distinctly recall being asked to start small villages on the campus of the University of Idaho. Students had been traveling to Pullman for the Resonate Sunday Gathering and needed a small group to connect with in their city. Being a family of four, Matthew and April weren’t sure how to balance meeting college students on campus while raising their young children. Yet, they committed to doing so despite challenges after discussing it with one another and consulting the Lord.
The difficulties of being a campus minister and a parent of young kids called for a change in the way Matthew and April did things, leading to the building of their team that would later comprise a launch team of their very own. As they began to try hosting small groups at the University of Idaho, several students came to check it out. About 15 or so of those students became regulars, encouraging them to press into the change before them. In May of 2008, Matthew and April purchased a new home, committing to Paige and Keith that they would plant a Resonate Church in Moscow in the upcoming school year. Knowing change would come after the retreat back in November, this change didn’t feel entirely like a surprise, as God was slowly but surely letting them take glimpses at the carefully crafted plan He had in store. The Youngs didn’t move out to Moscow, intending to plant a church. Yet, God faithfully encouraged them through their obedience in the mundane moments, the joyful praises, and the challenging experiences.
“The Youngs didn’t move out to Moscow, intending to plant a church. Yet, God faithfully encouraged them through their obedience in the mundane moments, the joyful praises, and the challenging experiences. ”
From cheerleaders of their church planting friends to church planters themselves that fall, the Youngs and their team handed out hundreds of flyers on campus, inviting students to their launch gathering and into fellowship they hoped would become like family. The Nuart Theatre in downtown Moscow housed the church plant’s first worship gathering in the fall of 2008. As the worship team from Resonate Pullman rushed over from their evening service to lead Moscow’s gathering, 60 people trickled into the theatre, expecting what God would do and interested to see what this new church was all about. Around 30-40 of those initial 60 stuck around, attending one of the two villages. The idea of closing what had just started was tossed around as the strategies and approaches to building a church felt uncertain, attendance was rough at times, and more help was needed. God revealed to them through the leveling of expectations and the truth of their current reality that He hadn’t forgotten about them and sent the team solid leadership to assist them in their growing pains.
The idea of what success looked like felt foreign and not applicable to the state of the early church plant in Matthew’s mind. Yet, he was comforted by the ways that the Lord was still using their efforts to reach the lost through campus gatherings and their ability to show up consistently. It was clear that what they were doing was important, whether they could see it or not, and thus, the Youngs and their team pressed on.
Between 2009 and 2010, things began to change once more, as their team's innovation brought a refreshing excitement to the culture of their evolving ministry. People began to see Resonate Moscow as a church that was different than anything they had experienced before, launching the fall semester with a Music and Magic show that engaged the students and community in a new and creative way that packed out the theater. Soon, they welcomed 200 people into Sunday gatherings and nearly 300 for a baptism service. The consistent faithfulness and behind-the-scenes service became the launching pad God would use to grow them into the church they are today, sending several teams to plant in other locations across the Mountain West, countless students to mission and serve trips, creating foundational discipleship resources, all the while facilitating the hunger to know Jesus into life-changing encounters with Him.
University of Idaho, Moscow
With the stress of transitioning to be fully on staff with Resonate, raising financial support, and a family, God made it clear to Matthew and April that they weren’t done in Moscow. On a flight back home in the summer of 2011, a woman sitting next to April on the plane asked her about what she does for work, to which April described the strategy and value of reaching college students in the name of Jesus. After going back to their books for the remainder of the flight, the same woman who had inquired about April’s job previously looked up from what she was reading, telling April, “I’m supposed to support you and introduce you to my dad,” growing their ministry partnership team and strengthening their faith. Moments like these reminded both April and Matthew that God knows their needs, cares for them, and will make way for them to stay in Moscow and continue shepherding their young church.
From that point on, it quickly became clear to Matthew that “What happens between Sundays is where the gravity is. People here show up and are so connected and invested in one another’s lives. They hear the gospel and then see it lived out”, and appear to be left forever changed, as multitudes of people have caught the vision of being sent, sacrificing their young adult years to bring the gospel to campuses near and far. Met as a freshman during Week of Welcome in 2016, Emma Smith describes the culture of Resonate Moscow as “a family who are deeply connected and incredibly resilient, committing to the things God invites them into” despite the hardship. Emma and her husband Logan are some of those people, leaving behind the city that has become home to them over the years to plant a church at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom alongside other faithful leaders from this church. The most beautiful thing about this is that they aren’t unique in leveraging their lives for the sake of sharing the gospel. They are doing what so many already who have gone before them have done: Living a life on mission and for a greater purpose has become the heartbeat of their church. They share the sentiment that God’s glory is worth any and all sacrifice, saying, “What else is there to do?” If not, commit your whole life to serving the bride of Christ.
“What happens between Sundays is where the gravity is. People here show up and are so connected and invested in one another’s lives. They hear the gospel and then see it lived out”
From sending out three teams to plant churches in separate cities to facilitating a culture of generosity, service, and sacrifice, Resonate Moscow has become a community that strives to emulate the life and character of Christ for the glory of God over everything. In times of struggle with few staff members to seasons of triumph, as people of their congregation live into the high calling of the Great Commission, God has never ceased to show up, always making a way when there appears to be none. Moscow is not merely a community surrounded by farmland with a University at its center, but rather a vast field ripe for the harvest where God is at work.
