GOD AT WORK – OVER FIFTEEN YEARS

Rockford Renewal Ministries – January 2012

The downpour of rain that came as a result of Elijah’s prayers began with a cloud as small as a man’s hand (I Kg 18:44 NIV). Here are some small   clouds, God at work.  Look toward the horizon with us for more:

The Rockford School District was convicted for inequitable treatment of minorities on the city’s West Side and came under Federal control. Negative rhetoric filled the local paper month after month.  Taxes increased.  People began to move out of the city limits.  Housing values declined.  The school board was polarized.  Today the board is more unified than it has been for many years.  The district is out from under Federal control. Test scores are improving. Charter schools are being organized. The district had a financial surplus in November 2011. Dr. Robert Willis became the Superintendant mid-year. He is a committed Christian and is leading the district to embrace “servant leadership.” There is a growing spirit of hope and a much less contentious spirit throughout the district.

When the prayer movement began, there were thirty-six homicides in the county, more per capita than in Chicago, Illinois.  In 2004 they were down to eleven.  In July 2005, the newspaper reported that in the last ten years, the violent crime rate dropped 34.6 percent.  The crime rate has dropped 3 years in a row – 6.6 in 2005 in Rockford, 11% regionally. Crime in 2008 was down 18.5%. According to the Rockford Register Star, reporting in May of 2011, crime in Winnebago County dropped 15% from 2008 to 2009. Violent crime is still high and oppressive, but there is progress.

In 2005, Youth With a Mission’s Impact World Tour came to the city.  Forty congregations and over 2000 volunteers united together for the IWT. The budget was raised, and 1,957 people made public decisions.

 Area-wide prayer gatherings have been sustained since 1994. On the National Day of Prayer, May 3, 2007, 2000 gathered for prayer and worship, the largest prayer gathering in the city’s history. In 2008, 1500 gathered. A new team was established in 2008 to lead three annual major prayer gatherings, Concerts of Prayer. The Company of the Abandoned, a committed core of intercessors, meets twice a month to intercede for the region. R2HOP, the Rock River House of Prayer has been established and continues growth toward 24/7 prayer in the region—like King David’s tent.

Redemptive city and international ministries (ten international) have been birthed in the area like Kids Around the World, Carpenter’s Place, and the Life Center. Others have grown, like the Pregnancy Care Center, doubled and strategically re-located, and the Reachout Jail Ministry. Carpenter’s Place is seeing over 200 homeless people come off the street annually with many of these getting jobs. The Gideons of the area were once one of the smallest chapters, now they are the largest in the state. A Healing Room opened in Rockford in 2007. Reformers Unanimous, an addictions recovery and discipleship ministry, began in Rockford in 1996. Today there are 685 centers nationally and 45 internationally. A diverse fellowship of Women In Ministry has been birthed and is meeting monthly.

There is a growing passion and activity for redevelopment in the city and efforts to re-build her economy. The regional economy is growing slowly. The Coronado Theater has been restored; the Harris Center has been renovated, the home of a new hockey franchise. New semi-pro teams have come to town like the RiverHawks. A new Federal Court building opened in early 2012. A new state-of-the-art Justice Center opened in 2005. A rapid-rail system, extended from Chicago to Rockford and beyond, is expected to open in 2014, bringing new business and providing commuter services. Three million dollars was set aside in January 2012 to begin the planning phase. The local airport has expanded to a regional/international facility, the Chicago Rockford International Airport. A local UPS hub has located in the city and has grown to be a regional hub. A large trucking hub has been established south of the city. A large Lowe’s distribution hub has been built. A new tax referendum in 2007 and 2011 allowed major road and infrastructure improvements. Since 2005, there has been a net gain of over 47 businesses opened downtown and others expanded. In April 2007, the Chicago Tribune wrote, Rockford might not be on everyone’s map of must-see places, but it has just made it onto the must-count industrial property chart of Colliers Bennet & Kahnweiler, Inc., a full service real estate firm. In January the local paper stated, The Rockford area’s recent job growth may help push it even further up a national ranking of best-performing cities in the country (Rockford Register Star, 1/16/12, page 1). Rockford has become a regional medical center with three large hospital networks. She is recognized as one of the best cities in America for heart care. Coalitions of leaders have organized to serve the region such as HEARRR—Higher Education Alliance for the Rock River Region, working at developing higher educational excellence in the area, and Alignment Rockford, working on educational excellence in our public schools. Rockford Partners for Excellence has organized to support West Middle School. A beautiful Conservatory opened in November, 2011, a diamond on the Rock River.

Judson College, a strong Christian school, has opened a branch in Rockford. Rasmussen College and Upper Iowa University have come to the city. Rockford Business College was reorganized, renamed Rockford Career College, moved into new attractive facility, and is growing.  Rockford College and Rock Valley College continue to grow and gain strength. Rock Valley College is ranked #3 among community colleges in the Nation. Embry-Riddle University will begin offering three degree programs in fall 2012.

Sports Illustrated magazine named Rockford the 50^th Anniversary Sports town for the State of Illinois. Rockford is a sports center and has one of the finest park districts in the state, and it is known Nationally for its golf courses. The Aldeen course is rated the # 1 public course in the state. A new baseball stadium was built in 2007, the home of the Rockford Riverhawks. Rockford has one of the top children’s museums in the USA. Anderson Japanese Gardens has been rated #1 among public Japanese Gardens in the Nation. Another coalition is meeting to further encourage the redevelopment of the center of the city.

 Love, INC. (Love in the Name of Christ), has grown from a struggling ministry, to over 80 congregations networked to meet special needs.

As the city prepared for the construction of a new jail, God prepared strategic ministry in the vicinity:  the Rescue Mission—Hope Place, an additional Pregnancy Care Center, the Life Center, and Reformers Unanimous. Victory Outreach has been reorganized and is growing.

The Chairman of the County Board is a Christian.  In April of 2009 the city re-elected a Christian Mayor. The Sheriff and Chief of Police affirm Christian faith as do three State Representatives, our State Senator, and our local US Congressman. In 2011 a Christian Superintendent of Schools was appointed. In 2012, a new Chief Judge stepped into leadership, appointed by his peers. He is a praying and passionate Christian. In 2011 a new Director came to the YMCA, a former Young Life leader, and a committed follower of Jesus.                                                                                                                   

In August 2005 and 2007, Rockford won the National City-In-Bloom contest, as efforts to bring gambling to the area were turned away. Pressure for a gambling casino has increased, but so far it has been kept away. For many years, Rockford was the site of an abortion clinic. People have prayed outside the center from its inception. In January 2012, the center was closed permanently.

A Rockford church began in 1998 with a passion to reach the culture creatively.  In just eleven years, their weekend services average 7,500-8,000. In 2009, attendance at their Christmas services was 15,000. They have been baptizing over 500 new Christ followers each year. In early 2010 they launched a discipleship program called Monvee in over 100 churches nationally and internationally. One weekend, early in 2010, 300 professed faith in Christ publicly. This appears to be an unprecedented move of God in the Rockford region’s history.

SHAREFEST was birthed in 2007, a coalition of congregations, corporations, and organizations to serve the community, especially public schools. One high school, one junior high and several elementary schools have been refurbished, over 800,000 square feet. Bathroom stall walls and doors have been replaced in 52 district schools. In 2010, a middle school and elementary school was refurbished, 278,000 square feet. Six thousand volunteers worked together on public schools in 2011. A new sense of pride is growing in students, staff and parents. The projects have produced increased parental involvement, increased test scores, decreased discipline issues and decreased vandalism.