Community Corner

Couple Tearing Down Barriers to Faith

Geoffrey and Marissa Mitchell moved to Oswego last year to spread the word of Jesus to those that don't want to go to church.

What happens if you want to know Jesus, but don’t want to go to church?

You can study the Bible on your own, trying to make sense of the teachings of Christ. You can let your faith slowly disappear as you struggle for answers. Or you can join a group like the Pneu Project, which is taking root in Oswego.

Pastor Geoffrey Mitchell and his wife, Marissa, were living a successful and comfortable life in Keokuk, IA last year when they said they heard a call to pick up and leave their First Christian Church congregation in the small city on the banks of the Mississippi River. The calling, they say, was to begin a new project for people who wanted spirituality in their lives without the trappings of church.

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They began a journey of driving from town to town along the outer edges of the Chicago suburbs. They arrived in Oswego midway through 2011.

“We settled on Oswego after finding out that its people are diverse and hard-working,” said Marissa, who grew up in a small farming community in central Illinois. “This area still holds onto a lot of its agricultural roots as well, and that really appealed to us.”

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What is the Pneu Project?

According to the Mitchell's website, the Pneu Project “exists to share Jesus with people who do not go to church.” Pneu is the Greek word for word for life, spirit and breath, and there are main tenants of the project listed on the site. They are:

  • We exist to share Jesus with people who don't go to church. We believe reaching people with Jesus' message of love trumps everything else. 
  • We believe God deserves better. We are mandated to love God with all our heart, mind and spirit. Therefore we must become the most creative, caring, and effective organization. 
  • We believe everyone is included. God deeply loves people irrespective of sex, age, education, and personal history. God creates us to create, serve, and lead. So we care about you becoming who God created. No restrictions, no politics ... period. 

One of the biggest reasons people stop going to church, Geoffrey said, is because they feel a sense of judgment that may be difficult to accept.

“The last thing we’re about is judging people,” he said. “We want people to realize faith doesn’t have to be like that.”

Something else that’s become a drawback of the modern church, according to Geoffrey, is politics. In the Pneu Project, faith and politics don’t mix.

“Our church could have liberals and conservatives sitting together in the front row," Marissa said. 

The Mitchells immediate goal is to reach as many people as possible with their message of acceptance. A brick-and-mortar church is a long-term goal, but not something on which they are currently focused.

The Pneu Project's first local event is at 5 p.m. Sunday at the in Oswego. The event, named , is open to anyone who may be looking to reconnect with their faith in a new and open way. The event will feature free food, and music from Adam Cates.


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