Story of God at Work in Boise

A life that emulates Jesus is a life of coming and going, of sending and blessing those you encounter, and of complete obedience to the direction given by the Lord. The life of the disciple of Jesus is not their own, for they are living for their Heavenly Father as ministers of reconciliation, carrying out His divine will while on Earth. To reconcile is to venture into the darkness to pull a brother or a sister out and into the light. To reconcile is to reunite creation with its Creator, to tell the truth, even when it’s unwelcome, to move to places where the name of Jesus is offensive. As new creations in Christ Jesus, we are called to look and live differently, all because of Him, even if it means doing something that’s never been done before. 

Forging a new path through planting churches in areas of desperate need for the gospel is deeply embedded in the DNA of Resonate Church. Enduring in seasons that feel hardly effective, being faithful with little, and becoming deeply dependent on Christ have been our song. We can do the hard things because we aren’t doing them alone. At this point in Resonate Church’s story, the scary thing, the thing that hadn’t been done before was planting a collegiate church in a big city. Remembering stories of people coming from death to life in the meek places of Cheney, Pullman, Moscow, Ellensburg, Eugene, and Monmouth, the movement of God had been evident. But what if we were to take a risk, as a church, as believers, doing something outside of the norm to reach people who had not yet heard the antidote for their life ridden with sin and destruction? With a metropolitan population of just over 750,000, Boise ID is a place of rapid growth, quite different from the places Resonate Church had planted previously. Not letting these differences stop them from being sent, newly married Luis and Sammi Cuevas made the 300-mile move to Boise alongside their team comprised of families, students, young professionals, a guy from San Diego met through Elevate and Resonate staff members, all deeply desiring to see God move in the hearts of the people on the campus and in the city. If you’re going to do something hard, it’s far better to do it alongside people fighting the same battle.

Although several churches in Boise have established roots over the years and multiple college-focused ministries had been aiming to reach the 20,000 students at Boise State University, there was still a need. 5% of the student body had been reached and would call themself a Christian. Large cities are often known for their chaos and thus a people caught up in their own day-to-day, making them not easily interruptable nor interested in slowing down to take in the reality of their desperate need for Jesus and the message of the gospel. From pride parades downtown to the darkness of fraternity and sorority life, the idolization of performance, and accolades through athletics and academics, the people of Boise were being tugged in so many destructive directions at once. The need was evident and the team was ready by the grace of God.

Settling into Boise at the beginning of the summer of 2018, the Cuevas’ and their team weren’t alone, as an additional group of 13 people was sent down with them for a summer project called “Elevate 21” which aimed to get things moving in the early stages of planting a church in a new city. They helped the Boise team settle in, meet students, and strategize how to best reach them in the school year to come. Infiltrating the busyness of the people of Boise’s lives appeared to be the most fruitful strategy. One of the team members, Nicolle Vo, was working part-time at Panda Express on campus and sat down with a guy named Marc at lunch, leveraging her break time to reach students. Asking intentional questions and listening intently, Nicolle discovered that Marc had been to a Resonate service with his girlfriend, now wife,  Gabby in Pullman where she went to school. From there Marc got connected with Jonah, a Resonate Boise staff member, who taught him about missional living. Marc is now a pastor in training on campus reaching the next generation. God asks for our obedience and in making ourselves available to the unforeseen work He is doing in the big cities and the small farm towns, He receives the utmost glory, lives are forever changed, and ultimately, that is worth sacrificing worldly comforts and luxuries.

Making themselves available to students was a game changer amidst the hustle and bustle of those on campus and within the city of Boise. There were several religious clubs on campus and a multitude of churches in the city limits of Boise, yet so many were choosing a false gospel or living in dead religion. That same year Marc was met, a girl named Emily approached Jonah at the table they had put up at the campus involvement fair. As she approached him she said “I’m interested in learning more about following Jesus”, despite working at the Catholic church table next to Resonates. The power of making themselves both available and interruptable to engaging with God’s people by the prompting of the Holy Spirit continuously led to fruitful ministry, bringing people from death to life. From that interaction, Emily got connected to a life-changing community centered around Jesus, gave her life to Christ, was baptized at one of the first baptism services, and now serves on the Resonate Collective staff team. There is a difference between Jesus having complete lordship in your life and simply going through the motions of being a “good person” who goes to church on the weekends. When you come face to face with God, your future can’t help but bow before His sovereignty, leaving the trajectory of your life to follow an encounter with Christ forever changed.

Beginning by gathering in a team member's home for Sunday Gathering to moving to a local church the team was eager to start meeting near campus because Boise was a bigger city than they were all used to. Before this location shift it was hard to get students to come with them 20 minutes away to house church, but knowing their needs, God made a way. After making the gospel accessible to students by infiltrating their dorms and campus spaces, the team started to see God bring people to Him and then send them back to reach their peers. The forged community and the surplus of job opportunities kept many of these people in Boise after graduation. As Jonah shifted to the lead pastor role, he aimed to build on Luis' desire to see college students reached with the gospel of Jesus. This has led them to equip and send families all over the city of Boise for the good of the kingdom of God. Ministry doesn’t stop once you graduate college and neither does the city and campuses need for freedom through the truth of the gospel. A piece of the original church planting team and still in Boise to this day, Brooke Staszkow says “No one is here because they want to be a part of the trendiest church or the biggest services or because we have no issues. We are all here because we love each other and we are passionate about helping college students & our young professional peers find the love of Christ and the community we have.” City life is not for everyone, but redemption through Jesus is, and the BSU team pressed on because of that truth.

“City life is not for everyone, but redemption through Jesus is, and the BSU team pressed on because of that truth.”

Cities may make or break you but we endure despite our reaction to our location because Jesus endured. Brooke, in her reflection, says, “I think God has been glorified by our endurance. Church planting is no easy task, and I’ve seen people stick it out year after year because they believe that God is still doing a good work on our campus.”. Boise is a desirable place for people to work, build a family, and develop friendships as young professionals. One person, Brayan, was a part of their congregation, and he turned down high-paying jobs at Boeing so that he could stay in Boise and remain connected to this family of believers post-grad. Despite facing difficulty through restrategizing post-pandemic, an exodus of team members, the death of a faithful leader in the church, and hard conversations, God has remained faithful, honoring their endurance and giving them a steadfast spirit. 

Intentional patterns of consistent obedience amongst the team members of Resonate Boise have led them to overcome hardship time and time again. When team members leave, God has remained. When students reject extended invitations to build friendships or even reject the gospel in its entirety, God is still faithful. When it was hard to break through city life and make meaningful connections, God provided. The team present in Boise has been loyal to one another and their calling, sticking it out to see God’s promised harvest and movement.