First Events

(This is 1 of 2 updates posted Wed, Dec 7. See also the Building Update below)

In the last two weeks we've had two occasions for the community to gather in our newly updated building. This building was lightly used for over two years and so for us to open it up and begin to encourage people to move in and through the driveway, parking lot, and building is a great first-step in becoming an integral part of the neighborhoods we stand among.

On Thanksgiving Day we offered a free brunch for anyone who would like to join us. The first folks to walk in were people who probably would not be going anywhere else to celebrate the holiday - what a blessing we could be to them! Later we had visits from our neighbors, some of whom had never been in the building...ever...others who had stopped in before we demolished it, and others who had only been following the process from our conversations or watching our coming and goings. It's kinda a weird feeling when someone tells you they've been watching the work going on at the church and you had no idea! (Hmm, reminds me of some words in Hebrews 12:1) Allen, that Josh met at the Chamber of Commerce, joined us for quite a while, several members of another local church also stopped in. All in all, I'd say about 1/3 were Re:new-ers, 1/3 supporters, and 1/3 new friends. Very cool!

This past weekend we had the 'preview' service. This service was not only a good follow-up to our Thanksgiving event, but also a good chance to practice what our regular worship times will look and run when we launch in April. Praise the Lord, He brought together an amazing group of people. All together we had about 70 people join us for breakfast and then worship. In fact, the rule of thumb in church planting is that there should be about 1/3 of the seats empty during the service. At this rate, we need more chairs!!

Upcoming: We're having a carol-sing/worship time on December 18. (Selfishly, I just like hanging out in the building now!) Please be in prayer for the hearts of those we've met, those we've not yet met, and for the members of our launch team.

Building Update

The renovation is done! ...for the most part.

November was spent rebuilding what we had torn apart in October. The first weekend in November the whole family flew out to Michigan so that Josh could go to a conference and the rest of us could reconnect with friends (yea!). Back here in Oregon, our launch team spent the week and weekend installing cabinets, dusting, mopping, prepping floors, walls, painting, etc. There were several text message exchanges over the course of our 'vacation' as we were getting updates and questions about stuff going on with the building. It was fun to get back and see the progress they had made while we were gone. 

That following week, I spent much of my time helping out a professional painter that had learned what we were doing and came to help. He was planning on simply blessing us with his skills, but of course when we learned he was between jobs, we were more than happy to hire him to keep him coming back! Had God not orchestrated this help with the painting, I probably would have lost my mind and we'd STILL be painting to this day!

Once the paint was done it was time for the carpet to be installed. Amazing!! The rooms suddenly felt 'home-y.'

Another 'God-story' was in our stress with the counter tops in the coffee area. The pattern we chose somehow disappeared from the region in the time between measuring and picking up. Strange. Our second option turned out looking horrid, and the third option not only ended up looking better than our first option, but also we were able to get a good price on it due to great relationships developed over the course of the process. In our stress, God was still working in our life and the lives of those we worked with.

Putting a building back together is an anxiety-ridden process on its own when it's not your strong-suit - we're a ministry family not a construction family! Combine this with the timeline pressure that we needed the building functional by Thanksgiving, and you've created a pressure cooker!! We had carpet and counter tops being installed the afternoon before Thanksgiving when we had a 10 a.m. free brunch advertised for the community! We literally finished in the knick of time! (How many more exclamation points can a paragraph hold?! Do you sense the pressure and thrill of accomplishment??!)

The final touches of baseboard trim was finished this past week by our neighbor who got up at 5 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday so that we could have a 'finished' building for our preview service this past Sunday. (He walked out not five minutes before I walked in to begin setup.) Talk about icing on the cake! Thank you, Austin!

So this is the building, but it's just a means to an end. We now have the charge of using this facility to glorify God and bless others through it. 

BEFORE...

AFTER

Outside...done! Inside...begun!

Some pretty amazing, heavy-duty labor goin' on in the building this week!

D-a-a-a-v-v-v-v-e-e-e-e

D-d-d-o-o-o-o-n-n-n-

Two contractors, a cement man, an electrician's van, and the tile delivery truck. Nothin' goin' on HERE!

Temporary walls so the roof doesn't cave in. Smart!

 

 

 

Terry from Yakima, Washington

 

Conduit tubing to run wires to the stage.
Very cool!

Other end of the conduit.
(Is that the right word???)

Josh's classy office. A printer, a phone,
some bongos, and a chair.
Who could ask for more!

From the balcony

Coffee shop/Family room with
patching on the floor cracks

Boo-Ya!

Our new 'coffee shop'

 

Our most unusual visitors

Can we get anyone ELSE in our parking lot?

Tile delivered

New children's ministry door.
Thank you, Jim & Terry!

 

Phew!

OK, NOW we're rollin'!

I was so excited about the work going on today I stole the camera for a bit to upload these new pics (and then posted the originally on newthingcorvallis.blogspot.com  Bummer!). I'll try to find the 'before' pictures (or I'm guessing they're on the blog somewhere if you're really ambitious).

Check out our new look!! A thousand thanks to my mom & dad, Manuel, Pastor Josue, Don, Dean, and Dave - these folks are AMAZING in my book!