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Sunday, June 10, 2018

Welcome home...

We had an exciting day last Sunday.  Our church has been without a building for several years. 6 years ago we left our denomination after fighting changes at the top level, things that we felt were not true to the Bible. In leaving, we lost our church building and we have been meeting in a few church gyms.  A few years ago we built the first part of a new building - offices and classrooms.  This past fall, we started the building of a sanctuary.  We also started meeting in our building - separated in different classrooms with the message being streamed to each classroom.
Last week we were able to meet for the first time in our new sanctuary, and be all together for the first time in months!  

 Here you can see the classrooms and offices on the right, and the new building on the left.  The outside needs to be finished yet.



Here's a few greeters, welcoming people in.


The narthex - full of people who were excited for this special day.


The new sanctuary, before most people had arrived.


The stage, before the service started.


Our new kitchen,with the head of our kitchen team.   Do you see all the crockpots? We had a potluck dinner after church.


The sanctuary again - all set up for a potluck dinner.
It was a joy filled day!  It was 6 years to the day that we left our old building.  God was faithful to us, provided us a place to worship each week and bringing us new people who also wanted to be true to the word.  We are amazed by how things went during this time and that this building was able to be done, so much quicker than we anticipated.  This building had a cost of over 3 million dollars, but one million dollars was provided by in kind labor.  There were also cash donations that were far above what would be expected from a congregation of our size.  This whole period of time has been such an evidence of God's faithfulness to us.  One of the songs we sang on Sunday was 'Great is they Faithfulness' and it was perfect for the day.  We are thankful to be "home".

18 comments:

Joyful said...

A beautiful story of God's provision and a beautiful sanctuary.

Mary said...

I had a friend whose church (Episcopal) split apart in 2009, went through the same thing, and met in a variety of locations, schools, rented store fronts, etc until they were able to buy a church building. Congratulations, Mari!

Simone said...

That's definitely a great example of God blessing your church with starting over again. It's a beautiful church. Praying that many come to be a part.

Ramblings of a Retired Lady said...

What a wonderful blessing and how exciting for you to be in the new building/sanctuary. God is faithful to usl, if we are faithful to Him. I am very happy for you.

Vicki said...

So happy for you all! It's a beautiful church!

Zaankali said...

It was so good to all be in one space again and to be able to see the praise team. ☺️

Miss Dishywoo said...

It's beautiful! I have been with a few churches during a building/moving time and it is so wonderful to have it accomplished. I hope there are many years of faith and worship in the new building. Love all the outlets for the crock pots. Our church has a potluck meal every month and it looks like a crock pot city as everyone drops off their food!

Karen said...

Congratulations, it's all so beautiful!

Changes in the wind said...

Great faithfulness and so happy for you all. May the Lord bless you all.

Arlene G said...

I am so happy for your congregation Mari. You all are going to love meeting in your new facility.

Patsy said...

Oh Happy day!
Love the kitchen, we enjoy so much going to Wednesday night supper at church before Bible Study.

Michelle said...

This is wonderful! I know you will have many blessed services here!

Saleslady371 said...

Beautiful new building. How exciting. May the good Lord pour out His blessing and anointing here on all events and may the people rejoice!

LL Cool Joe said...

How cool to have such a lovely new building to worship in. The only thing that would bother me is the lack of windows in so many rooms!

Jean said...

How wonderful! In some ways I can relate because of the process we are going through - bringing three congregations together, gradually selling off old buildings and building a new one. It’s encouraging to read your church’s story.

Cherdecor said...

Your church building looks wonderful! It is so exciting to see how the Lord does provide and evidence of his faithfulness.

Jenny said...

I'm so happy for all of you. You've certainly seen lots of building in recent years, Mari! At work and at church. This is a triumph for your congregation and I know God will bless you all for your desire to lift high the Cross. xoxo

Laura said...

Congratulations! I know this was an exciting day for you all!