The UMR is a diverse group of churches from the hills of southern Illinois and Iowa to the woodlands of Wisconsin and Minnesota, from the shores of Lake Michigan to the farmlands of the central plains.

But geography is not the only diversity that we experience. We are a group of churches that range in age from over 150 years to under one year. Our newest church is Crossroad Community Church in Burlington, IA that began public services in the fall of 2008. We also have much diversity in the way that we are seeking to share the Good News of the Gospel within our various local mission fields. We have churches sharing in Russian, Polish, Bulgarian, Spanish, and German-as well as English in both Anglo and African American styles. We have churches that worship with choirs and hymnals, and others that sing praise to God with bands and PowerPoint. We have churches made up primarily of professional white collar executives and some that are mainly blue collar and agricultural in make up. Some of our churches have over 1000 each Sunday and others regularly have less than 50 worshippers. There are some churches that remind me when I visit that I need to wear a suit and tie, and others that remind me to leave my suits at home. Wow-isn't God a wonderfully creative God? And we have a lot of that creative diversity within the churches of the UMR.

But there is one thing that we all have in common that must be the driving force in our desire to fellowship and serve God together. We all have the same Biblical mandate to populate heaven from within our spheres of influence.