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INITIATIVES
What is God doing in the community and how do we help it grow?
Movement West Michigan seeks to take what God is already doing in the community and amplify it - bring more people to the table, more attention, and more energy.
We do this by making connections between businesses, churches, and nonprofits that would not be likely to happen naturally without the work of our network. So we ask, “What is God doing in the community and how do we help it grow?”
Current Community Initiatives
Fatherhood Coalition
In partnership with the Stop Child Abuse & Neglect (SCAN) council, Movement West Michigan is exploring ways to better integrate fathers & father-like figures into family life across our community. Sharing surveys and hosting focus groups are just some of the ways we are intentionally listening to the experiences of local dads. The final report will include both data and recommendations for local churches & social service organizations seeking to serve local father figures.
Meraki Studio Co approached Movement West Michigan in fall 2024 to co-host their Crafted with Purpose retreat for Christian women. We are excited to gather female Christian leaders for a relaxing time away at Bay Pointe Inn at Gun Lake, MI in late April. The retreat will be focused on Hebrews 12:1-3 with an emphasis on co-creating along life's journey with our Creator God. Movement West Michigan is honored to offer scholarships to leaders interested in this time away for spiritual refreshment and renewal.
Love our Schools
Teachers are on the front lines of supporting the needs of kids and families on a daily basis. How can the Church show our gratitude and appreciation? Each spring, Movement West Michigan partners with the Fearless Follower Family of Churches to unite different churches in our community to serve 60 schools with $100,000 worth of goods to bless 4,300 staff members. What started as a simple thank-you card initiative grew exponentially into generous care packages through the support of several community partners. In 2025, we partnered with 40 churches! Each staff member's gift kit included: -One free pastry card from Bowermans on 8th - One free car wash card from Quality Car Wash - One free bowling game & shoe rental from BAM Entertainment - 1/2 off a drink card at Healthy Holland - Two free summer concert tickets from Ridge Point Community Church - A free bookmark from Empowering Youth Global Connection - Free office/school supplies from Storehouse in Grand Rapids After a local church "claims" a school building or two to bless, we encouraged to add their own personalization to the packages. Some wrote thank-you notes, purchased teacher lounge snacks, or offered volunteers for playground duty or even help with reading in the classroom. We are so grateful to all the church leaders and community partners who stepped up to shower our local teachers & school staff with extra love! Click below for news releases on this collaborative initiative.
Previous Community Initiatives
How can we reduce barriers to mental health support for our immigrant neighbors? In summer 2024, Movement West Michigan partnered with Latin Americans United for Progress and Lighthouse Immigration Advocates to train and equip three local bilingual "Circle of Support" facilitators. Treetops Collective, based in Grand Rapids, hosted the training and provided the curriculum so that these facilitators could host 6 group sessions to help peers process their resettlement journeys in their native languages. With two groups in Spanish and one in Dari/Pashto, we saw over 15 women experience Circles of Support spaces together. One of the participants also decided to take the training to start their own Circles of Support within a local church. We're grateful for the opportunity to connect recent immigrants in spaces of healing and hope across our community.
When the local Migrant Resource Council (MRC) informed us of budget cuts that reduced access to personal hygiene items and food supplies for migrant workers, Movement West Michigan coordinated a collaborative response. Three local churches collected supplies for the staff from West Ottawa Public Schools and Grand Haven Public Schools to distribute to the 13,000 migrant workers who visit the lakeshore region each season. We're grateful for the Church's generous response and warm welcome to these agricultural workers who invest in our community each year.
Back in 2023, Movement West Michigan asked the question, "What if the Church would work together to support single mom-led families?" Through a series of conversations, we connected with Single MOMM, a Traverse City-based organization that is doing extraordinary work building comprehensive wraparound support around single moms and empowering them to healthy independence. We worked to collaborate and to pilot a replication here to Holland. Their goal (and ours!) is that it will be truly collaborative, not the work of any one church but the Church of the city wrapping around single moms. After hosting a "soft launch" for about 50 single moms in partnership with 7 local churches in fall 2023, we fostered board connections, introduced potential host churches, to help launch Single MOMM Holland/Zeeland. We're thrilled their local director is now coordinating parenting classes, fun activities for connection, and quarterly "night out" events for single moms across our community.
Within the first year of operating, Community Action House’s Food Club & Opportunity Hub quickly identified the need to expand their hours. Their dignified approach to food access invites qualifying low-income residents to contribute at a level based on their income to invest in their family’s health and future. As of October 2022, at least 25 new members are signing up each week for this point-based grocery shopping experience. As a network of Christian leaders who follow the call to do justice and love mercy for all (Micah 6:8), Movement West Michigan is honored to help mobilize the Body of Christ into action to keep the Food Club accessible for low-income neighbors. In partnership with Community Action House, MWM is actively encouraging local faith communities to invest in the Food Club through adopting shifts, offering in-kind donations, or even sharing messaging about the power of collaborative food access. Together, we can ensure everyone in our community is given the gift of choice – both through affordable fresh vegetables and a dignified shopping experience.
Called to carry one another's burdens and love as the Lord has loved us, the Church is repeatedly invited to be good neighbors throughout scripture (Galatians 6:2; John 15:12). Community Teams provide local churches with training and a framework to intentionally live into this call. Through a partnership with Joy Anderson at Doors of Hope and interested congregations, MWM is building an address database of Jesus followers across the Holland/Zeeland area who are ready to serve as needs arise. After a family or individual in need of social support is identified through a church or Doors of Hope, MWM works with Anderson to put them in contact with 4 people from the Body of Christ who have a shared story, neighborhood or prior relationship. Each person on the “community team” is asked to commit to meeting 1-2 practical needs per month for the individual in crisis for at least 6 months. Community Teams are powerful tools for discipleship through genuine friendship across the entire local network of the Body of Christ.
Afghan Refugee Resettlement
From December 2021 to June 2022, at least 72 Afghan Refugees resettled in the Holland/Zeeland area. Movement West Michigan was instrumental in mobilizing collaborative church sponsorships to ensure each family was warmly welcomed. In partnership with Bethany Christian Services Refugee Resettlement Office in Grand Rapids, MWM helped facilitate local bi-monthly Friends of Refugee Check-ins for Afghan refugee co-sponsor volunteers from 17 Holland/Zeeland area churches. Creating this space for networking and support equipped co-sponsors with food, housing, medical care, transportation, and social gathering resources for our new Afghan neighbors. Even as the families moved towards autonomy, several new friendships with local Christians continued to flourish beyond the 6 month sponsorship season.
Pine Creek Elementary School Community Partnership
Movement West Michigan’s connection of local churches, businesses, and non-profits to the needs at Pine Creek Elementary School is one powerful demonstration of our network of Christian leaders in action. MWM partnered with MDHHS Pathway to Potential worker and partnership facilitator Eliza Perez to build community relationships. Using the model and support of Ottawa Community Schools Network, MWM invited representatives from local banks, churches, health care providers, and corporations to meet once a quarter to respond to Pine Creek’s school needs. Serving a student population where ⅔ of families are considered economically disadvantaged, Pine Creek staff quickly identified chronic absenteeism as a pressing concern. Thus, MWM worked with Perez to invite community partners to sponsor an attendance incentive month, support teachers with school supplies, or even volunteer for recess duty or one-on-one student reading support. Community Partnerships are based on the power of listening first. MWM believes when Christian leaders pause to respond to the felt needs of a public school, the entire community is one step closer to true flourishing.
initiatives that promote Thriving Schools
initiatives that promote Flourishing Families