Pastor Peter Haas

Honestly, it’s pretty fun to fall in love with a city. We fl irted. We dated. And even though I was born and raised a Packer, Minneapolis/St Paul and I got married when my family moved across state lines in the summer of 2004. It got even better when Brett Favre followed us over this past year. Needless to say, I don’t think that a lot of people get to have this type of blissful experience. We could have chosen to move to any city in the U.S., but we chose Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Almost every three weeks I get to fly to another U.S. city, and almost every time my host takes me to the hotspots of the area. So, I get to see a lot of churches, skylines, and people, but as a famous theologian from Kansas once said: “There’s no place like home.” Thus, I hardly go a month without someone asking me: “Why the Twin Cities?” (What they’re really asking is: ‘Why not somewhere warmer?”)

Truth be told, we did consider a few other (warmer) cities before moving here. Every time I’d propose a city, my wife would lovingly grab me by the chin and smilingly say with a fi rm voice: “Peter, the answer is NO.” Then one day, I came upon a stat that the Twin Cities was one of the youngest and most artistic metropolitan cities in the U.S.

For years, my wife and I loved the innocence and idealism of young people. And for some strange reason, we’ve always had an easy time attracting and discipling young people. Even more, my wife and I also love big city life: the music, the universities, the multi-ethnic flair, the opportunities. So, when I said to my wife: “How about Minneapolis?” she stunned me with her instant response: “Now, I’d be up for that!” (She was probably just thinking about the 16 shopping
malls).

But seriously, the truth that really sold us was this: Over 68% of the Twin Cities is under 34 years old (roughly 2 million); yet, less than 1% of this group goes to any church of any kind. It was mind-blowing to us. We kept thinking: “This cannot be true.” I mean, there are all sorts of well-known churches there. Yet, the most reliable research shows that less than 10% of people in this city consistently attend a Bible-believing evangelical church of any kind (from theamericanchurch.org). And the vast majority of this 9% are over 50 years old.

Frankly, my wife and I made the decision that we would rather die than see that reality remain the same – especially with all of the Christian universities in the area. Most major missionary movements in church history came out of college campuses. So if there was ever a place to launch a movement, this is the city. Minneapolis/St Paul is a wildfire waiting to happen; yet, where is the match?

Of course, there are a lot of great churches here, but when we moved here, we quickly realized that most of them are almost entirely focused on reaching baby-boomers (even though the vast majority of unchurched people are under 35 years old). It also might interest you to know that when the average age of churches’ leadership is over 40 years old, the odds of it reaching unchurched people plummets (as opposed to “transfer growth”). Why? Because most unchurched people are young, post-modern, and multi-ethnic. Hence, when they scan a church platform or see a church staff , and see no one like themselves, they automatically conclude: this is not a place for me. The words, the songs, and the message just gets lost in translation – even when, deep down in our hearts, we love them and we truly want their presence.

If you haven’t noticed, we’ve been slowly integrating hip-hop into our worship sets. And I know that all of the young hipsters on our worship band model a diff erent “uniform” than the classic suit and tie. But, these are small sacrifi ces considering that we have at least 20 radical conversion testimonies every month. Hopefully, you’ve read about a few of them in our past magazines.

But here’s the big picture: Our goal is not to be some trendy church service for college students. Ultimately, God’s vision for this city goes far beyond that. I believe it’s only a matter of time before Substance has nine diff erent locations across the metro – each with their own style and emphasis. I also see a small group catalog that has groups devoted to every spiritual discipline and every book of the Bible. But, most importantly, I see a Substance that does 90% of its ministry outside of church services. I see small groups taking back neighborhoods, manifesting Christ in Uptown, Dinkytown, and any town that is slumping under the weight of hopelessness. God hasn’t created our church size and demographics by accident. And here’s why:

God’s heart is like a powder-keg. Our organization is like a match. God never promised that our explosive church growth would feel clean and smooth. And, based on our commitment to his mission, God’s consuming heart for this city is either gonna set us on fire or it’s gonna burn us.

But one thing is for sure. A burning man doesn’t stand still. He doesn’t cloister himself. He doesn’t worry about other people’s fire. No. He runs to open spaces. Substance: Let that be said of you. Let’s reach our city.

Growing up, Mark saw only legalism and dead rituals at the churches his family attended. By his teens, he was disenchanted with Christianity and turned his back on the church.

He moved in with a friend and discovered drugs and alcohol as an escape. The next ten years were filled with partying, promiscuity, drugs and alcohol. For years Mark couldn’t seem to stay sober for more than 24 hours. As his drug usage increased, he was kicked out of school, lost friendships, experienced long stints of homelessness and did jail time.

Wondering where God was in it all, Mark began to believe that God either didn’t exist, or was evil. Hopelessness drove him to attempt suicide several times, but God always stepped in and prevented it. Needless to say, Mark was at the end of his rope.

He called a friend in St. Paul and asked for help. He moved back to the Twin Cities, hoping to get his life in order. He started to clean up his life, but it wasn’t until he passed through a Northwestern Bookstore that he confronted the God he had given up on. Defiantly he grabbed a book off the shelf and told God, “This is your last chance!” On the back cover he read, “Was God telling the truth when He said, ‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart?’”

Mark soon realized that everything has a creator – God. He discovered that not only did he believe in God, he loved Him. He began sharing God with his friends.

In the years that followed, Mark graduated from college, built a successful career in sales and management, got married to his beautiful wife Bonnie, and the once homeless kid became a home owner. He now attends Bethel Seminary were he is getting his Master of Divinity and is in full-time ministry as a Pastor at Substance Church. Mark is seeking God with all his heart because he has a clear picture of the love of Jesus Christ.

For the full story of how God has moved in Mark’s life, in his own words, check out the podcast of his message from May 24th, 2009 “The Apple of your Daddy’s Eye” on Itunes.

Many of us who have been attending Substance for a while have heard Pastor Peter’s sermons on the importance of financial margin, but how many of us have actually applied them to our lives? For Heather Lee Anderson, practicing
financial margin recently saved her a lot of stress.

While turning onto a highway, an SUV smashed into Heather’s car, crushing the front end and deploying the airbags. Her car was totaled, but thanks to steady budgeting, she was able to buy a new one right away.

Take it from Heather Lee:

“I have been saving for over a year now since hearing the message about ‘Bad days being worse when you don’t have 3
to 6 months of your income saved.’ I have about 3 months of my income saved at this point. Sure, I don’t want to buy a car with that money, but I need to and I can cover whatever insurance doesn’t cover to get another reliable used car. Right now, I’m going to rent a car and see a Doctor about the injuries, but I know I’ll be ok. This incident will not take me three steps back fiscally and I can’t tell you enough what a relief it is to not worry about money right now. I will just thank the Lord that it was not worse and focus on healing.

I hope you can use this in a way to encourage our congregation, and particularly our younger attendees. Even though it’s hard to save while paying for school, rent, utilities, food and dining out, it is possible and completely worth it in the long run.”

Email your story to stories@substancechurch.com

Men of the City builds brotherhood through prayer and accountability, providing men with a link to belonging and a link to spiritual transformation.

Men of the City leader, Patrick Lambertz said, “God has put this call in me, but more specifically in the church and society at large to redefine what male Christianity is.” Patrick’s wife, Ellen Lambertz, spoke about her husband’s involvement in the ministry. “Men of the City has truly been an answer to many years of prayer. I can see my husband growing in ways I never thought possible. This group has given him the courage to share his faith journey in a safe place, receive support and acceptance. Then he returns home as a better man, the kind of man every woman wants to be in a relationship with,” she said.

Men of the City provides a way to let men talk together, listen together, struggle together, grow together, and ultimately live life together.

Come and live life with Men of the City.

Lamar has always been a cool customer, a cat as cool as the other side of the pillow. He was so smooth that our junior high basketball coach nicknamed him “silk” because of his laid-back demeanor. In fact, while most people are confined to simply walk with choppy, individual steps, Lamar appeared to practically glide as he strolled towards his destination.

He was quiet and reserved but when something made him laugh his cheeks would ball up to reveal a warm and permeating smile. He had an ear-to-ear smile that he often used. But behind the cool demeanor and the warm infectious smile, years of secret hurts and scars were hiding. Even before we participated in our kindergarten graduation service he had endured sexual abuse from someone close to him. The pain began to take a toll on him immediately.

Fast-forward to high school and Lamar was still cool, still smiling, still hurting and it was getting worse. The scars he had from childhood abuse had turned into practically paralyzing insecurities, which were compounded by another insecurity that had sprung up during his teenage years. Lamar is mixed. Half-black, half-white. He didn’t feel black enough for the black kids, or white enough for the white kids. He felt like he didn’t fit in with either race. Often times he found himself simply dressing, talking, and acting like his closest friends, who happened to be white. But simply disguising himself like them didn’t make him them; he was haunted by the fact that he was different.

These insecurities and scars took a toll on Lamar’s self-image and self-confidence. He began to be seen as shy and timid by others at school. Late in his high school career Lamar found something that seemed to help boost his self-confidence and help him cope with his insecurities and hurts: clubbing. The flashing lights, the girls and the music became an escape for him. Best of all nobody there knew him as the shy, timid Lamar. While he was clubbing, he felt free from his reputation at school. Beyond that, girls at the club were showing interest in him, something he didn’t experience at school. He was hooked immediately.

Clubbing was the beginning of a downward spiral for Lamar. He went from clubbing sober, to clubbing and drinking, to going to house parties. Eventually, Lamar was getting high every day, doing ecstasy every weekend and even trying acid. This downward spiral dropped him in the hospital after an alcohol overdose. He was kicked out of high school during his senior year and had to watch graduation from the front row, while the rest of the class was on stage. He racked up thousands of dollars in credit card debt, flunked out of technical school and eventually, after a mental breakdown from dropping acid, hit rock bottom.

Though Lamar seemed to have no hope, a few things were with him through all of this: God, the church and a mentor named Pete Morse. In a conversation with him in October, we talked about his transformation since he rediscovered Christ.

Daniel: When you think back on everything you’ve been through, where would you say God was during all of it?

Lamar: [He was] waiting patiently for me; tugging at me every once in a while, dropping little signs.

D: Like what? What were some of these signs?

L: Well, there was the time Pastor Nick came up to me one Sunday and told me that God had put me on his heart, and I don’t remember exactly what he said, but at this point I was back and forth between the party scene and church. Anytime I would go to church I could feel Him tugging at me but I was too prideful to respond. I was more worried about keeping some image than I was about my relationship with God. There was the time when I was tripping and my mind was racing and it was kind of a crazy night and it was weird because I went to my car to listen to KTIS because I felt like it would bring me some peace.

D: So when was the turning point for you?

L: Memorial day 2008, it was 2:30 in the morning. I was lying in bed high and trying to fall asleep; and it was just like God came into the midst of my restlessness and anxiety and pierced through all of it and made it clear that I was living in rebellion and had been ignoring him for an extremely long time. I could sense so clearly at that moment that I was at a fork in the road and there were only two choices: obey or die.

D: How did you respond?

L: I got up and went to my mom’s room and told her what I had been doing.

D: What all did you tell her?

L: Well, she knew about the drinking from times I had gotten caught in high school, but that night I told her how I had been using harder drugs like ecstasy and hallucinogens.

D: So you woke your mom up and dropped this bomb on her about how you had been using drugs, how did she react?

L: She didn’t know what to do, I mean I woke her up out of her sleep to tell her, you know “I’m on drugs.” So she called someone who had a better idea of what to do, someone who had dealt with that kind of stuff before; she called Pete Morse. Pete didn’t pick up, so she drove [me] to his house.

D: She drove you to his house at three AM?

L: Ya! And we started ringing the doorbell trying to get him to wake up so we could talk. I couldn’t really wait until later because I felt like I was literally going crazy.

D: Did he answer?

L: After a while. We were actually on our way back to the car by the time he answered the door, so we went back and he let us in and we sat down with him and his wife Missy.

D: Did you have a close relationship with him? I mean I would have to be pretty close with someone to let them in my house at 3 am!

L: I’d say ya. He was the dean of students at my high school. But even more than that he led a Bible study that I went to my senior year so he knew a lot of the hurts I went through when I was younger; and was basically like a mentor and a second dad to me during my last two years of high school.

D: He lets you in, you sit down to talk, and then what?

L: Honestly it’s kind of fuzzy for me…maybe we should let Pete answer that.

We go to find Pete…

D: First off, what was going through your mind when you heard Lamar and his mom knocking on your door?

Pete: At this point it had been months since I’d talked to Lamar and I knew the less I heard from Lamar the more reason I had to be concerned, so I knew things had to be bad. Lamar sat on the couch and just poured out his guts for at least forty-five minutes. The drugs were still so much in Lamar’s system that some of the stuff he was saying didn’t even make sense. This all the more proved that he needed some intense help. The sad reality of his situation was that nobody close to Lamar really thought he needed help, nobody knew how deep the trouble he had gotten himself into was. But the cool part of it all was Lamar knew that he didn’t need to just stop doing drugs, he needed to have a relationship with God again. And while all of his friends at the time thought he just smoked pot a lot and it wasn’t a big deal, Lamar knew that this could be his last chance to get his relationship with God back.

D: How did the night end?

P: The night ended with Missy and me recommending Minnesota Teen Challenge to him. We knew that he needed a completely new environment, and time away from his current one, in order to get his life right.

D: Lamar described your relationship to him as a kind of second father, do you agree with that?

P: Totally, I absolutely agree with Lamar on that. I was very protective of Lamar along with six other guys from Maranatha Christian Academy. He was one of those guys that could have my time no matter what and no matter when. I will always be on Lamar’s cheering squad, because Lamar is a guy who is willing to truly face the music. When tough times come Lamar has always squared his shoulders and faced up to it. I would even go so far as to say that Lamar is definitely the kind of son I would want to have, because even in his most down time he always remained humble and was willing to face the consequences.

Back to Lamar…

D: Did you end up taking Pastor Pete’s recommendation about Minnesota Teen Challenge?

L: Ya. Two days later I was in the program and I signed up to be there for 13 months. It happened so fast I knew it was a God thing. Normally getting into Minnesota Teen Challenge can be a lengthy process because of paper work and such, but they let me in right away. It happened so fast!

D: Do you feel like it needed to happen that fast?

L: Yes! I was nuts, and not in like a funny way, I actually felt insane. While we [he and his mom] were at Walmart shopping to get my stuff for Minnesota Teen Challenge I honestly thought someone was following me. We would walk around corners and I felt like someone would be closely shadowing me to keep an eye on me. I honestly thought that! You would not believe some of the stuff that was going through my mind!

D: How did Minnesota Teen Challenge help you?

L: It fed me spiritually every day. It gave me discipline and order in my life. It gave me accountability and it put leadership over me; and I hadn’t had that in a while. I tried to run my own life and it didn’t work out well. I needed to be under leadership that could show me how to walk life out.

D: What about Substance Church? Where did Substance come in?

L: Before Minnesota Teen Challenge I attended Substance halfheartedly. After I graduated the program, I returned to Substance.

D: What was different about your experience at Substance after MNTC?

L: Before, I just wanted to be a face in the crowd. I wanted to come in, punch my time card, and leave. The second time around I actually had a desire to be involved and to serve. And that’s where you [Daniel] came in and gave me an opportunity to get involved with Verve. Church changed from being something I did to please my parents, and as a religious duty, to actually being a part of my life. For the first time I actually became part of the body instead of just a spectator.

D: If you had the chance, and you could go back in time to when you first were attending Substance, before the breakdown and before MNTC, what would you tell yourself?

L: Wow! I have never thought of that before… Oh man, I would tell myself not to isolate, but instead to humble yourself, and get connected. I wish I would’ve let people in, and let them love me. I kept myself in such a small bubble. I wanted to keep an image [at church] of “oh he’s not a bad kid.” I wish I would’ve not been so afraid of getting to know new people. I would tell myself to get involved in this place instead of just coming in, not meeting anyone, and leaving.

D: If you had to sum up everything you’ve learned through this experience into one phrase, what would it be?

L: God will never leave you nor forsake you, and nothing can separate you from His love.

D: Thanks bud

L: Love ya bro

It was the last night Abbey (Fedje) Menth was going to make a fool of herself. She had spent many nights out drinking with friends while her then soon-to-be ex-husband cared for their son, Benjamin. But this was the last time she was going out.

Her marriage was dissolving, her son was diagnosed with a debilitating illness and she said she wasn’t making good decisions for herself or her family. Her mother, Deb Peterson, had been praying for her. So when Abbey told her mother she felt like she was missing something in her life, Deb knew it was Christ. She suggested that Abbey go to Substance Church, where her step son attended.

Abbey called her step-siblings, and asked about service times. Though Abbey had grown up going to church, she hadn’t had any interest in it in a while. “I stopped going to church when I didn’t have to anymore.” So when she woke up on that crisp December day three years ago, Abbey didn’t know what she was getting herself into.

Abbey said she remembers clearly what made the difference between just attending a church service and knowing God. The sermon was entitled God’s Care for a Bad Day. It seemed fitting because she had recently been having a lot of bad days. Her marriage had fallen apart, her son was diagnosed with a debilitating illness and she wasn’t living how she wanted to be. During the message, Pastor Peter Haas preached on Lamentations 3:22-23. It said, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is “His” faithfulness.” This verse made God’s love a reality. “It was the first time that a personal relationship with God was a real thing.” From that day on, Abbey was ready for something new and real. “[My relationship with Christ] makes me want to be a better mom, to take my life seriously.” Changes began taking shape in Abbey’s life. She quit smoking and drinking within the first few months after coming to Substance. She joined a mom’s group and added Christian friends to her life, something she attributes to the countless sermons given by Pastor Peter. In the past, Abbey would party with her friends from high school. “I was the life of the party. Now, I’m still a good time, but not the same way.”

While she remains close with her old group of friends, she has formed new relationships with women at Substance and found community in the body of Christ. Through the Wednesday night mom’s subgroup, Abbey met Kaaren Tyvoll. Kaaren remembered meeting Abbey at a parenting seminar at the New Brighton Family Service Center. “I saw the back of her hair and thought, ‘I want to meet that mom.” She introduced herself, and the pair connected instantly. Though she thought it would be difficult to be a divorced single mom in church, Abbey said she “didn’t feel judged” the way she had expected to feel. Instead, she felt loved. Kaaren said Abbey’s faith and steadfastness has rubbed off on her. “What has brought me closer to God is [Abbey’s] need for God. It’s encouraging.”

Things in her life were beginning to come together. However, her son Benjamin, was in a tough spot. Around the same time she started at Substance, Benjamin was diagnosed with a Specified Immune Deficiency. With this condition, Benjamin’s immune system was seen to be absent, causing his body to be vulnerable to illness and unable to fight against an attack. What would take a healthy child one week to heal from a sickness would take Benjamin months.

Strength in PRAYER

Immediately, Benjamin began treatments in hopes of curing his disorder. The doctors put in a permanent IV to streamline remedies into Benjamin’s body. “He calls it his ‘Robot Part,’” Abbey said. After a year of treatment, the doctors saw no change in Benjamin’s health. During this time, Abbey was seeking the Lord for healing in a spiritual warfare subgroup, led by Deb Calhoun and Renee Buss. Since the medicines weren’t working, Benjamin was going off the treatment for the summer.

After a meeting, Deb and Renee stayed with Abbey to pray for Benjamin’s health. Abbey remembered leaving the meeting unsure of what the Lord was doing but with faith that He was with them. When she returned home, Benjamin was hot. He seemed to be running a fever. She instinctively went to the medicine cabinet to get the Children’s Tylenol and a thermometer. But something held her back. “I felt like I was going to vomit,” she said.

 Spiritual HEALING

Abbey felt that God didn’t want her to do as she had done in the past. She said he was calling her to have faith in Him. Within the next week, Benjamin went in for another doctor’s appointment. Instead of returning no results, Benjamin’s blood work was “robust.” The doctors tested again to be sure Benjamin was fine. His blood levels had come down, but were in a good place. Benjamin was taken off treatments. He was able to enjoy the summer like the healthy kid he was. Abbey said he grew into age appropriate sizes, something he had never experienced before. The illness that had held him back in the past, was now gone.

After testing him again in the fall, the doctors found the same results. On October 23, Benjamin’s robot part was removed. Abbe said, “I stick with my belief that [Benjamin] was healed at Deb’s house.” And as Abbey’s life keeps moving (she married Gus Menth on November 7, 2009) she attributes life’s everyday miracles to God.

“He Knows What We Need.”
      -Abbey Fedje