Weird Since 1998

STREET LEVEL MINISTRIES

From the beginning, God’s people have been countercultural. If you’ve ever read through the Old Testament, it doesn’t take long to realize that the people God was working in and through were the unpopular, outcast, and rejected. Or rather, because God was working in them, they were unpopular, outcast, and rejected. When Jesus entered the scene, everything He did and said defied what the religious and popular culture expected. 

Since then, those who follow Christ have followed Him right into His countercultural ways. In every generation, there have been a few who have been willing to forgo whatever the popular anti-God message and lifestyle of the day was, and instead live how God was asking them to. 

The apostles went against the normal, empty, religious culture of their day so much that they gained a reputation for themselves of “turning the world upside down.” How? For them, following Jesus wasn’t about merely attending a church service once a week, reading their Bible on occasion, or following the right Christian influencers on social media. They knew God cared deeply about how they lived day-to-day and how they interacted with the people around them. The love they had for Jesus and thankfulness for what He did for them compelled them to do whatever it took to ensure everyone knew Jesus for themselves. And like Jesus, whom they followed, they too were despised, rejected, outcast, and killed for living in this God-honoring way. 

Does that describe your Christianity? I am guessing not. But does it at least stir something inside you that desires that sort of life? A life so sold out for Jesus that it makes people around you think you are turning the world upside down? 

Street Level Ministries is a community for young people, who say yes to that question. We are a group of Christians who want to live like our faith matters (because it does) and who desire to fulfill the purpose and plan God has for us. We want to be part of the few in this generation who are not afraid to go against cultural norms to see Jesus known and loved by more people. 

We have been called many things in the decades we have existed as an organization, but one thing we have never been called is lukewarm. Some say we are too hardcore because we take our study of the Bible seriously, try to live righteously, and let God take priority in our lives. Some say we are just weird. That’s alright. We will wear it like a badge. We are in good company. 

We meet weekly to study the Bible, but we don’t stop there. We have opportunities to serve God in practical ways. We hang out together a lot–we share meals, go on road trips, play games, and talk about the important stuff–because we know that to make it as a Christian, we need a solid community. We are missional–down the street, across the nation, and around the world–because we want to make an impact on the people around us. 

If you’d like to be part of our little community of scrappy, non-conforming, weird, Jesus-exalting individuals seeking to grow in our faith together, check out our groups in Menomonie and River Falls, Wisconsin, or on Cebu Island in the Philippines. Find more info at streetlevelministries.com