How Can Rural Churches Innovate with Their Building and Land? with Pastor Kevin Riley

This week, Shannon Hopkins and Rev. Mark Elsdon continue their takeover of the Igniting Imagination podcast, exploring how a small congregation has transformed its property into a vital hub for recovery services, emergency shelter, and essential community resources with Pastor Kevin Riley, Co-Pastor at Mount Baker Presbyterian Church. As churches discover their potential to make a significant impact in their communities, they are demonstrating that even the smallest churches can address pressing social issues like addiction and homelessness. 

Join us to discover how creativity and collaboration can help churches redefine their roles and foster meaningful change within their communities.

Co-Hosts

Shannon Hopkins is Co-Founder of Rooted Good and a Locke Innovative Leader. She is an extreme networker and social entrepreneur living in East London. Her passion for community and individual transformation has launched or influenced the formation of fifteen campaigns, projects, and organizations — and trained over 200 social entrepreneurs. In 2008, Shannon was awarded the Women of the UN and UK’s Annual Woman of Peace Award for The Truth isn’t Sexy, a campaign that addressed the demand side of human trafficking. 

Rev. Mark Elsdon is Co-Founder and Lead Builder of Rooted Good. He lives and works at the intersection of money and meaning as an entrepreneur, nonprofit executive, author, and speaker. He is the author of We Aren't Broke: Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry (2021) and editor of Gone for Good? Negotiating the Coming Wave of Church Property Transition (2024). In addition to his role as a Director with RootedGood, Mark is also Executive Director at Pres House, where he led the transformation of a dormant non-profit into a growing, vibrant, multi-million dollar organization.

Guest

Pastor Kevin Riley and his wife Danielle are commissioned pastors, having served in rural WA State since 2017.  In addition to helping transform the congregation’s ministry and economic model informed by his own Christ-transforming life, he helped to create a property oversight committee in Northwest Coast Presbytery, with a vision of re-imagining and re-developing church properties for the future of the communities where they are located. They are in the early visioning stages for a new worshiping community/supportive housing/government/nonprofit/and for-profit mixed economy development in rural Skagit County with several partners.

Episode Highlights 

• The success of community outreach initiatives relies heavily on forming partnerships with local organizations and agencies.
• Creative approaches to church property can lead to transformative community projects that address pressing local issues.
• Investing in the community through outreach and support fosters deeper relationships and mutual respect among residents.
• Churches can embrace a spirit of curiosity and adaptability in their missions.
• Radical love and inclusion can redefine how churches engage with their neighborhoods, challenging traditional models.

Timestamps

(00:00) Intro

(01:53) Shannon and Mark’s intro to the episode

(06:09) Interview with Pastor Kevin Riley

(39:16) Pastor Kevin Riley answers rapid-fire questions

Links

Visit our show’s website at www.ignitingimagination.org.

To view videos of podcast episodes, please go to the Igniting Imagination YouTube.

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