Bivocational Strands lead relocating Bridge Church in Cape

Rocky Strand of Gordonville and his wife, Laura, are part of a growing trend among U.S. church leaders.

The Strands are so-called “bivocational” pastors, meaning they lead a Cape Girardeau church, but they also hold secular jobs.

Rocky is a homebuilder while Laura is a part-time physical therapist at Saint Francis Medical Center.

Together, they pastor The Bridge Church, a congregation of 250 souls that began meeting in February 2018 at the Osage Centre.

The Strands are rehabbing the former StevMark building at 2125 William St. as a new church home, with plans of “going live” with in-person services there by October.

Ongoing renovation work is seen Tuesday inside the future home of The Bridge Church at 2125 William St. in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

During the continuing coronavirus pandemic and in consideration of Cape Girardeau County’s face-covering order, a core group is conducting the 10 a.m. Sunday worship virtually for now.

Megachurch pastors get a lot of attention. They write books and speak at conferences. Think Rick Warren of California’s Saddleback Church or Adam Hamilton of Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, near Kansas City.

Pastors such as the Strands, who work other jobs during the week, more and more are outnumbering the Warrens and the Hamiltons.

According to a Faith Communities Today survey reported in Christianity Today magazine, fewer than two-thirds of American congregations (62.2%) had a full-time pastor in 2015. The figure was 71.4% as recently as 2010.

Rocky said he is hopeful of devoting all his time to the church “in the next year or so.”

Rocky, 43, sold his drywall business and went into full-time homebuilding with his company, Strand Legacy Homes LLC, in 2016.

“I’ve done construction most of my life,” Rocky Strand said, “and it’s definitely a blessing to put my skill set to use (now.)”

Pastor Rocky is acting as general contractor on the William Street remodel to transition the space into a church.

“We have a lot of volunteer help (and) a lot of construction people are in our congregation,” he added.

Licensed plumbers and electricians will be needed to meet city code requirements, Strand said.

Rocky and Laura were youth ministers at a local denominational church but “had a different vision,” so they started The Bridge Church two-and-a-half years ago.

“I knew I’d been called to ministry while a teenager,” Rocky said, “but I was like (biblical) Jonah and didn’t want to do it (then).

“I had fear and uncertainty — feeling not good enough or righteous enough (to pastor) but the call was strong,” he added.

Financial giving, Strand said, has not been impacted much by COVID-19.

“We were set up for online donations from day one,” he said, noting about 70% of gifts to The Bridge Church come through the Text to Give app or through the congregation’s website.

The Bridge Church is “church plant No. 765” of the Alabama-based Association of Related Churches and the connection allowed the church to qualify for an interest-free loan at inception that is gradually being paid back to ARC.

“We’re a contemporary, non-denominational, Bible-believing church,” Strand said.

More information about The Bridge Church may be found at www.thebridgechurchmo.org.