One month ago we started a Year Long Giving Campaign to raise $100,000 to finish our Kid’s Wing in Building B. As some of you know, we don’t have a lot of success in our history of raising money. We even started our church with so little capital, we were almost destined to fail…only by God’s grace did we make it month to month in those early days! So when we started this campaign, we braced for a VERY long road of a little at a time. No problem…baby steps are still steps and we are in this for the long haul anyway…
Fast forward to our Annual Business Meeting last night where we got to announce our progress towards our $100,000. Watch the video below to see just how far we’ve come! 🙂
A little back story first…In case you didn’t already know, I’m in my second month as a Children’s Pastor and I’m loving it! I sure have a lot to learn in this genre even after 20 years in ministry, but we are off to a great start with a two year journey through the Top 100 Bible Stories. Every few months we will change up our theme to help them learn through play and fun! We started in Genesis with a Lego theme, which has included giant Lego people decorations, Lego bean bag games, Lego snacks, Lego Tower of Babel games, and MUCH MORE! We’ve been using music, science experiments, and videos to help them remember the Bible stories. We’ve had kids in costumes being our greeters and engaged more volunteers and helpers. We’ve already seen wonderful growth and kids are excited to come to class. I’m pleased with our launch and look forward to the future!
And as I have been watching all this with excitement, I was also grieving about the fact that the Kid’s Wing in the other building was going to go unfinished for now because our budget fell $100,000 short. If it was at all possible, we would have built the Kid’s Wing first as kids are definitely our priority, but due to the layout of the building and how all the parts worked together, the Kid’s Wing was pushed to the last spot on the docket.
So on Sunday we started a giving campaign that we knew may take our church some time to complete, but as with all things, you’ve gotta start somewhere! Pastor Mark let everyone know where we were at and a plan of everyone giving their best gift now and then extra every month until we met our goal. Sounds like a good plan, right? But then a miracle happened… we got a note that someone wanted to give a $50,000 matching gift. Half of our problems solved in one little moment. One little precious, church-changing moment.
So generous. So humbling. So motivating to work harder, give more, dream bigger…
And now I’m REALLY excited! Our very large goal got much more attainable and within reach for safe and secure restrooms and classrooms, a Kid’s Auditorium where they will learn, worship, and experience God, a large nursery, a large preschool room…all within reach.
So, now it’s time to do our part! Would you consider giving a gift that will get matched so that this “dream within reach” becomes a “goal completed”? The money has started coming in, which has been so encouraging, but if you’re reading this and you can help, we’d love your partnership too. Here’s the link: MATCHING GIFT
Also, it’s worth saying that while we were blessed by one BIG gift, the regular, faithful gifts of people who sacrifice every month are equally beautiful as well. You may never have $50,000 to give at once, but God knows that North Creek can stretch a dollar to make a big impact. Just be faithful with what you have and trust Jesus to handle the rest.
And would you pray for our children as well? If you know me at all, you know I jump into things with my WHOLE heart, and man….my heart breaks for this generation. I want the kids in our community to KNOW our Savior. I want them to LOVE church, LOVE the Bible and LOVE Jesus with wild abandon. I want these kids to be a force to be reckoned with as they uncover the power of worship and prayer in their lives. I want the anointing of God to pour out of their little mouths with power and authority that is straight from Heaven. So when you give your matching gift, just know this…our Kid’s Team is going to do everything in our power to wear that building out with as many kids meeting Jesus as we possibly can!
So, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! It’s been quite a journey with this building, but we can see the finish line!
(BTW, the Kid’s Wing is connected to the Office Wing, so $100,000 buys Office Space too!)
We’re 12! I cannot even begin to wrap my brain around all that God has done in these past 12 years. He has poured out His blessings, He has allowed us to experience deep loss, He has given us joy, He has walked us through pain….and He has been SO faithful to each of us. It will always be my greatest joy to have followed this journey of starting a church with our incredible team and watching God do a profound work in our lives. Pastors out there – It’s never about the numbers…it’s MUCH bigger than that. It’s about Him completing a work He started in us and molding us to be the best image of Jesus we can be. Let go of the status quo and allow God to steer the ship….His ways are greater than our ways and His plans are higher than our plans.
Thank you to each of you who have been a part of our story, either currently or in the past. We love this church, we love our people, and we love our Jesus. More great things are in store for North Creek…and I’m sure some challenges as well. But that is the beauty of the church….walking through life with Him and each other!
And we celebrated with a new building filled with those amazing people. Here’s some before and after pictures we showed this morning. Everyone come next week to see it in person! Service time changes to 9:30 am HEARING service and 11:00 am DEAF service. Come early, stay late!
On September 13, 2015 God spoke to my heart during a prayer meeting with our staff team. He gave me this word for our church:
My Children, My Little Children
I am going ahead of you.
There are mountains in front of you.
Many mountains.
Do you see them?
But I am moving the mountains.
Do you see me?
I am moving the mountains before you.
I emailed those words to our team the next day, not knowing that the mountains that were looming before us were the most daunting things I could ever have imagined. If you had told me that night what that group of people was about to face together, I am not sure how we would have handled it. I am not sure that I, as one of their leaders, could have even asked them to handle it.
But our God is gracious and there were many times along the way that He reminded me of the words He had given us. He knew the mountains were before us, but so was He.
And for those brave souls who will see a God-story through to the end, the reward is always sweet…
Today, precisely 3 years later on September 13, 2018, we got our occupancy permit for our building. A building that was our first rented home nearly a decade ago and now is ours forever. A building that symbolizes for our church a story of hope, redemption, and anointing. The journey was never about a building, but I believe God gave it to us as a gift for trusting Him when the earth was shaking.
Tonight the very tired bodies of our team stood there as teenagers flooded in the doors for their first service in a building that has a million of our beautiful memories wrapped into it’s walls. They laughed, they worshipped, and they enjoyed their church…
And all the mountains that seemed totally impossible along the way suddenly seemed to disappear. We are home.
We started North Creek Church with 20 children and 19 adults almost 12 years ago.  As those children who are still at North Creek turn 18, I write a blog just to honor them. Happy Birthday to Ben! Enjoy!
Dear Ben,
I find it ironic to finally welcome you to adulthood when you’ve always been so mature beyond your years… As an elementary student, you were so articulate that if one were to close their eyes, they might have forgotten the boy standing in front of them and imagined an aged professor in their midst. My husband would come back from kid’s camp and tell me how he often let you get your wishes when perhaps others would not simply because you would ask in such a grown up fashion! He still smiles when he thinks about what an incredible young man you were then and are even moreso now.
Two traits I see in you that will last you far into this life are your WISDOM and KINDNESS. Those traits were probably not embraced in the junior high and high school setting to their full potential, but I promise you this…as you go through this life, if you give those traits to Jesus, you will find that those two very rare gifts will open doors that give you opportunities beyond your wildest dreams.
Your kindness and compassion to those around you has always been evident. You care deeply for people and take into consideration others before yourself. I’ve watched you many times over the years as you paused to take stock in each person’s perspective and try to understand where they are coming from. In a world that jumps to conclusions and judgments altogether too quickly, your ability to listen is an act of kindness that is both unique and beautiful.
Your wisdom will be a light unto your path and will keep you in step with all that God has planned out for you. It will allow you to discern what is best for your future. God gave you a marvelous brain that is full of intelligence! My prayer for you is that you will use that intelligence paired with wisdom to change a generation for Christ! Smart people who love Jesus often come up with astoundingly different ways to change this world and I can very much seeing you doing just that!
Ben, you are perfect just the way you are. You have a qwerky, hilarious twist about you that sets you apart from the average person. You are theatrical and engaging in your nature! Grab ahold of this world for all it’s worth and don’t allow yourself the common mistake of overthinking about what you lack…your gifts make up for anything you will ever perceive isn’t “enough”.
Thank you for the joy of watching you grow up! I am sure when you graduate this June my husband will send you off with a case of Cup of Noodles and all of our blessings! You are so very loved!
