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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 50th
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.
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