The Matthew 25 Ministry Hub is located in the Taylor neighborhood on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids, IA. Our foundational scripture is Matthew 25:31-46, where Jesus tells his disciples that entrance into the Kingdom of God is dependent upon our willingness to serve Christ in "the least of these". We are a ministry of the East Central District of the Iowa Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.

Our Mission
We seek to be a community that demonstrates the ministry of Jesus in a hurting world.

We are working to implement this mission in three ways: by becoming a mission destination, a training location, and an agent for community transformation.

Mission Destination
Located in the Taylor neighborhood of Cedar Rapids, the Matthew 25 Ministry Hub is embedded in an economically poor, urban setting, and therefore provides an opportunity for local churches to engage in ministries of mission and justice, working with people in poverty who they might not otherwise come into contact with.

By connecting and focusing the efforts of local United Methodist (and other) congregations, we can do three things:

• First, we can bring more resources into this neighorhood than it would otherwise have access to.
• Second, we can expose more Christians to the joys and challenges of fulfilling Jesus' call in Matthew 25.
• Third, we can build relationships that bridge the gap between economic classes, something which is desperately needed in our increasingly fragmented and economically segregated society.

Training Location
The Hub is not a local church. Instead, it exists to help local churches live out the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are here to equip people of faith to go deeper into the life of Christian discipleship. We recognize that many individuals and congregations could use more training and experience in ministries of mission and justice. We hope to offer practical opportunities for growth that can be taken back to local churches and their neighorhoods, in order to increase the effectiveness of Christian communities throughout the area.

The two primary methods we have for doing this are replicable programming and training events.

• By replicable programming, we mean ministries that we have tried out here that might be replicated in local churches. These allow volunteers a place to participate in a new ministry and see how it might be adapted by their own faith community. For instance, our Mentor-A-Class partnership with Taylor Elementary School is a program that could be copied by churches located near other schools in need of assistance.
• Training events - we offer semi-annual training events geared toward leadership in local congregations, such as mission committees. Our next event will take place in September, and it will focus on methods for developing connections with the neighorhood around you.

Community Transformation
A sincere belief which guides the work of the Matthew 25 Ministry Hub is that relationships are the primary mode of human transformation. It is also a core belief of ours as Christians that all people are gifted by God. Yet, in contemporary American society, our communities--even our churches--often feel disconnected and unsupportive. Through all our ministries, we seek to bring people together and create relationships that have the power to transform.

We also stress that the benefits of a relationship go both ways. We want church members to receive as much as they give to those in poverty. It is not our intent to merely provide charity. Though charity is a necessary and beneficial ministry, we believe that the ministry of building relationships has the power to transform both neighborhoods and communities of faith, so that justice and joy are more present in our world.