With a loan from MIF, Gethsemane Lutheran Church invests in the welfare of neighborhood families

When the operator of a day-care center leasing space at Gethsemane pulled out after 30 years, the church’s members knew what God was calling them to do.

By providing a quality childcare option, Gethsemane meets a priority need for working parents in North Minneapolis.

Gethsemane Lutheran Church has been part of the Lind-Bohanon neighborhood of north Minneapolis for 125 years. For more than 30 of those years, a privately run day-care center on the church property was indispensable to area families.

Then, one day in 2014, Gethsemane’s pastor, the Rev. Jeff Nehrbass, learned the operators would be moving the day-care center several miles away. “That put us in a real pickle,” Pastor Nehrbass says, “because the day care provided so many resources to our community.”

Gethsemane asked its Lind-Bohanon neighbors for guidance on what mission the church should next take on, and their answer was emphatic.

“They told us: We need the day care to continue. Keeping our children safe is one of the core neighborhood issues,” Pastor Nehrbass recalls. “But we didn’t have a clue how to make it happen.”

Still, the congregation didn’t shrink back. “We moved forward in faith,” Pastor Nehrbass says. “We knew God wanted us here. The neighborhood was becoming a part of the fabric of our church, and we had to do this.”

Gethsemane approached a local bank and another lender about a loan to refurbish and re-equip the day-care space, but both turned the church away. The pastor from nearby Lord of Life Lutheran Church, one of Gethsemane’s mission partners, suggested Pastor Nehrbass contact the Mission Investment Fund.

“MIF had a very clear sense of what we were trying to do,” Pastor Nehrbass says. “They could see the community impact that was being made and that folks were making their way into the life of the church.” MIF’s loan enabled Gethsemane to create a lively, updated child care space. Now, Pastor Nehrbass reports, “We have 27 volunteers here four or five days a week, our day-care center has 50 kids, and our food program has almost tripled in size since we opened the day care. The ministry piece is going gangbusters.”

A loan from MIF enabled Gethsemane to renovate and upgrade its childcare facilities.

Through Gethsemane’s interaction with MIF, Pastor Nehrbass witnessed the vital role that MIF plays in facilitating outreach, not only for large congregations but also for small, neighborhood churches like his own.

“The great value of MIF came through once we were clear on what we thought God was telling us,” Pastor Nehrbass says. “What a lifesaver to have a part of the larger church help us secure resources to implement that mission and vision.”