Shortly after we were married and living back in Iowa, Amanda and I felt called to leave my home church and help out at Kaio Church, a new plant in Cedar Falls. Kaio was started in 2006 for one reason: there are still unsaved people in the city. Their singular vision as a church was simply to change that.

To that end, in April of 2007 we started an event called Grab a Brew, Share Your View. The premise was this: we met at a bar downtown on the second Tuesday of each month, and in an open-mic format we discussed topics of faith for about an hour and a half. After that, we moved into a group discussion where the rule was that you had to get with the person you most disagreed with. By the end of the night you’d have a new friend and a better understanding of his perspective.

Before we even held the first event (”What’s Wrong with Christianity?” was the topic), the freethinkers group at the University of Northern Iowa saw a flyer on campus and approached our pastor, Brooks, about co-sponsoring the event. Since that time, Grab a Brew has been a cooperative effort between Kaio and UNIFI. We’ve explored a variety of topics from religion to ecology to disasters, with monthly attendance ranging from as low as 10 to as high as 100 in its three-year history.

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. (Acts 17:16-17)

Kaio Church stands out as the only church I’ve been to that engages the culture head-on as Paul did in Athens: by meeting them where they are. Our pastor Brooks did not wait for them to come to us and to fill our church services, but instead he took us to to them. And in everything, he led by example. We didn’t know how to engage the culture; he moderated the event. We were hesitant to make friends; he invited them over to his house every week. A lot of people have been changed as a result.

It was never easy or safe, but what part of following Jesus is?