A Little Bit About Maple Grove
With the upcoming move to a multi-site situation for North Creek with what is now Maple Grove, I thought it might be fun to give you a background on Maple Grove and tell you a little bit about their church history. Hope you enjoy!
Maple Grove Church began in 1984 in a tavern in Brush Prairie. (Since we are currently in an old nightclub, I feel a sense of comradery!) It was originally called the Prairie Assembly of God. By the end of the first year it was averaging about 35 people on Sundays. It continued to grow over the next several years until 1989 when it averaged about 106 in the morning service. During those years it moved from the tavern in Brush Prairie to Battle Ground. Property was purchased and a building program began that ended with the occupation of the current building. The current building is just about the same size as the building the Hazel Dell Campus is currently in (although we don’t own our property) and it sits on 5 acres. It is nearly paid off as well, which is awesome!
Pastor Wayne and Jenny Sommers came in February of 1993. (You may not know this but our worship leader, Matt Garner, is their son-in-law). Average attendance grew every year for 11 years and had a peak of 280 in 2006. In December of 2003, they began a Deaf Church that is currently averaging around 45-55 in attendance and is pastored by Jim and Dawn Smith. This is a separate service that is completely geared toward the hearing impaired. It is not just a translator in a hearing-oriented service, which makes it very unique! We are excited about the possibility of taking this ministry under North Creek’s portfolio and using our resources of media to reach even more of the deaf population for Jesus. Start learning some sign language, North Creek!
Maple Grove has similar strategies as our church in supporting missionaries, having small groups, and reaching out to the community in tangible ways. We do a few things differently, but the values behind those things are very much the same.
During the last few years, they have had a decline in attendance through a series of events. Although they have not experienced division and pain, I would definitely say they are looking for “new life”, as Pastor Wayne has felt God say to him for many months. North Creek can definitely add some new life, energy, and caffeinated people into any situation!
We believe that this transition is going to come with peace, unity, and excitement on both sides! After all, we are all ultimately working for the same Guy anyway! 😉 Hope that gives you a better picture of the big picture!
Thank you for this update. I remember well, when the founding pastor was attending GTC- and we (the church ) helped launch that new work. Brush Prairie Tavern was just next to the property I grew up on, which had a church called Brush Prairie Community. My dad and mother pastored it for about 7 years, and left in the early 50’s. That building has since burned. There used to be a very old two story building which housed the tavern, at that time. So, I was thrilled when the new work was started in the newer tavern–and has since gone on to become a good congregation. I pray that this endeavor will be a great blessing to all, and glorify the Lord!
Asenath Porter