Have you ever stopped to consider first responders in your community as a discarded and neglected people group?
Three-and-a-half years ago, my wife, Susan, and I set out to change that by launching Cities Cop Church. Our Converge North Central church plant began meeting at Bethel University’s Anderson Center in Arden Hills, Minnesota, on the first and third Sundays of each month. This past April, we expanded with a second location at Woodcrest Church in Eagan, holding services on the second and fourth Sunday nights, just a half-hour away.
This vision has been made possible through the support of several partner churches from Converge North Central and Converge Great Lakes. Strategic partnerships like these are vital for a new church plant — and one of Converge’s strengths is helping church plants and church leaders build and maintain partnerships that will help them thrive and make a gospel impact in their community and beyond.
God has called us to make that gospel impact on a very specific people group. Cities Cop Church is a unique ministry that has made an impression with police officers in the north metro section of our community. We soon discovered that we needed to expand this ministry to reach a greater population of first responders. This expanded approach led us to reach out to the south side of the Twin Cities to focus on first responders there.
And while we are a relatively new church, our relationship with people and churches in our area spans decades. Woodcrest Church, where our Eagan campus meets, was started by Wooddale Church (a multisite Converge North Central congregation in the Twin Cities) many years ago. You could say Cities Cop church is kind of a granddaughter of Wooddale.
Loving those who serve our communities
It was amazing to see God prepare us for our grand opening in Eagan. We saw several firefighters, EMTs, law-enforcement personnel, Woodcrest Church leaders, supporters, chaplains and ministry friends come together for this special day.
The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Several attendees told us they had drifted from their relationship with God and felt his presence that evening, igniting their desire to return to church and grow in Christ.
One police officer’s wife recently wrote, “I have never walked through doors and felt so at home as the moment I entered the doors of Cities Cop Church. The church is here to support all first responders and all those who support first responders. Come as you are and leave as a friend.”
Our 35 volunteers, mainly law enforcement personnel, stepped up to serve in hospitality, guest services, prayer, as greeters or on the security team. Overall, 124 people attended. A live worship band that came together just four days prior sounded phenomenal as they set the table for people to meet Jesus. Several of the musicians saw the need to reach this population and expressed interest in serving again.
The dedication of our volunteers and the powerful worship experience they helped create embody the heart of Cities Cop Church’s mission. Their efforts, combined with the musicians’ passion to serve, reflect our commitment to meeting first responders where they are and offering them a place of belonging, hope and spiritual renewal.
Cities Cop Church is reaching a population that seems discarded and neglected. We desire to provide a safe fellowship where these first responders can come as they are and feel connected to God and our faith community.
Glenn Herschberger is the pastor of Cities Cop Church and previously served as the executive director of Church Planting for Converge Great Lakes. A retired law enforcement officer of 24 years, Glenn and his wife, Susan, have been married for more than 40 years, and previously served as Converge missionaries in Panama. Cities Cop Church is their fourth church plant.