Story of God at Work in Monmouth
Over two thousand years ago, the Messiah came humbly as a baby in a barn within the city limits of a town many had never heard of before, and yet we are still often surprised when God shows up in the meek spaces and unheard-of places throughout the world. On a much smaller scale, the city of Monmouth, Oregon parallels, being a town only a few know or spend extensive time in, until our Heavenly Father sent faithful followers to plow a field He desired to plant seeds in and later reap a plentiful harvest. In the early 1850s, a group of Christian pioneers moved from Monmouth, Illinois, to a 600-acre plot of land on the west coast, which would later be known as Monmouth, Oregon. There, these believers not only founded a city but also a university, originally called Monmouth University and now referred to as Western Oregon University. The legacy of faith in the Willamette Valley plowed the soil of the cities, preparing them for the movement of faith that was to come just shy of 200 years later.
“Moving to Monmouth to plant a church on the campus of Western Oregon University was eventually brought up to Colin, to which he promptly looked up the city on his laptop and immediately slammed it shut, thinking, “There’s no way I’m moving there.””
After planting multiple churches on various college campuses throughout the Mountain West, the need for the gospel was dire and students' receptiveness was evident. Hearing about the push to plant 21 churches by 2021, Colin Luoma received the clarity and direction he needed to dive deeper into the reality of his future, which was slowly becoming clearer. Due to Resonate planting for the first time in Oregon in 2016 there was an apparent need for more connectivity amongst Resonate churches within the same state. Being invested in living missionally, Colin and several other young men throughout Resonate Church’s network were part of a cohort led by Resonate’s original planter, Keith Weiser to process how planting churches and becoming a pastor would shape their futures. Moving to Monmouth to plant a church on the campus of Western Oregon University was eventually brought up to Colin, to which he promptly looked up the city on his laptop and immediately slammed it shut, thinking, “There’s no way I’m moving there.”. Colin’s mind would later change when he stepped foot on campus, meeting students in desperate need for the gospel when visiting on a scouting trip prior to moving.
Saying that he would go wherever his leaders asked him to, Colin and his fiance Jessi, as well as just under 20 others, made the trek from Ellensburg, WA to Monmouth, OR; their sights set on bringing Heaven to Earth in the quant town just miles outside of the I-5 corridor. This team of people made the move in 2017 and quickly noticed that few of the 6,000 students at Western Oregon hung out in their student union building, let alone on campus at all, forging the unique challenge of finding people to connect with and invite. Meeting on campus throughout the week to seek out students and holding church in a team member's house on Sundays, this team held onto the promise of a plentiful harvest despite the difficulty of connecting with students. In September of 2017, they launched their first gathering, meeting in a church off campus, praying that the little exposure they had to the student body would bring at least a handful of students through the doors. Slowly but surely, 60 people trickled in, and despite the sound system not working for the first five minutes of their gathering, the gospel was still shared, and the name of Jesus was brought glory.
Western Oregon University doesn’t have a large athletic department to allure students, nor does it have sororities or fraternities, making it clear the student body needed something or someone to generate unity and community. This notion encouraged the team in Monmouth, as they believed they could be the group to gather people who typically trended towards isolation. Within the first year of moving to Monmouth, an employee of the university’s student affairs department approached the team, telling them he loved what they were doing on campus and that he believed what they were doing was exciting and needed, and until he retired, he continued to partner with the team through campus events. Being welcomed onto campus by people like this staff member took down a barrier other church plants have had, making it easy to establish predictable patterns on campus and creating familiarity amongst the students they crossed paths with. Resonate Monmouth had over 100 people connected within the first year of being on campus, quickly growing in momentum. The decades of prayer for favor made by the Christian pioneers who arrived in Monmouth over a hundred years prior came to fruition right before the eyes of the team. Not only was God at work in their obedient efforts toward reaching the students, but He had already been at work long before they stepped foot on campus in 2017.
Six months into planting, the team held their first baptism service, where 12 people declared Jesus as Lord amongst the 200 who had shown up to watch their proclamations. It became evident to Colin that not only was there one God who could save but that the people in this tiny town were actively receptive to the gospel and that God was moving mightily in their midst. God’s intentional providence was clearly at work in this city despite the barriers the team initially felt. Over the years of reaching students, sharing the gospel, and gathering on campus, the goal began to shift from being seen on campus to cultivating an environment within the city that the people they reached would want to stick around for after graduating college. One of many who helped work towards this goal was Ben Wenzl, who moved with Colin to plant in Monmouth in 2017 and just three years ago transitioned to a leader pastor role as Colin and another team were sent out to bring the gospel to Corvallis Oregon. Since Colin, his wife, and their team moved to Oregon State University in 2021, Resonate Monmouth has adopted a new identity, blending collegiate and young professional ministries within their congregation. Due to urban sprawl and cost of living factors, the city of Monmouth has also evolved, making it a place of growth and new beginnings for many. As a result of the 21x21 culture that encouraged Colin to plan in Monmouth, Ben committed to go with Colin in 2017 but also take on the lead pastor role, realizing that being sent for the sake of making the name of Jesus known should be a “normal response to the gospel.” From sending their students to a church plant in Salt Lake City to sending out Colin and a team to plant in Corvallis, 90 people declaring Jesus as Lord publicly through baptism, and sending a guy from their church to Japan with the International Mission Board, Ben describes this movement of God in Monmouth as that of a mustard seed, something that starts incredibly small but grows to become bigger than expected, leaving an undeniable impact.
Time and time again, our Heavenly Father moves amidst the unassuming, working outside our finite expectations, reminding us that He has never forgotten us. Places deemed the opposite of a dream destination, home to humble people doing ordinary things, are the very spaces in which our God orchestrates the extraordinary. Colin says, “the greatest thing you can do for your family is to live for something more than yourself,” making it clear that the path of humility is that of the greatest impact. Being far from family members, not living in the same city as the best childcare programs, driving a used car with thousands of miles, and having “dry seasons” of ministry are all worth it to extend God the utmost glory. You don’t have to be rich, you don’t have to be insanely smart, nor do you have to be incredibly popular to belong and feel at home, and the community forged in Monmouth exemplifies just that.
From struggling to be seen by students on campus to becoming the biggest organization on campus, God was faithful. From feeling like a test as a 3rd generation church plant to sending out a church of their own, God was faithful. From the prayerful venture of a group of pioneers establishing a university in Monmouth to an urgent collegiate church planting movement reaching the university over a hundred years later, God was faithful. There has never been a moment when the city of Monmouth, Western Oregon University, and all of its inhabitants were forsaken, for we serve a God who is steadfast and rich in mercy. Just as our God came from the small forgotten towns of Nazareth and Bethelem, a movement of God was birthed from a place just as quaint; God-things come from unexpected places, ultimately giving Him the utmost glory.
