In the midst of many exciting things going on at our church, we are taking this Sunday out to commemorate a very important day in our nation’s history. Please join us as we honor the memory of those lost and our first responders who gave it all to help others. We look upon this day with both sadness and the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. We live in a great nation and we serve a GREAT God! It is by His power and presence in our lives that we can be victorious through the most difficult of circumstances. Join us this weekend and invite someone you love!

Also, we are continuing the process of renovating our main auditorium. It is currently still in a state of construction, although you’ll appreciate the improvements we’ve made this week! Our grand opening and 5 Year Anniversary Celebration will be on Sept. 25. EVERYONE is invited!

Oh my goodness! What a weekend!

First of all, our people are remarkable. Seven days ago we ripped our auditorium from end to end. The flooring guys from Rain City Construction worked painstakingly ALL week to get those floors up for church on Sunday. On Friday night we came in to a wet, raw concrete floor with dust EVERYWHERE. We had teams of people mopping, cleaning, painting, setting up sound, chairs, and coffee. There was a couple of times when I doubted we could make it. But we did! Church on Sunday was in a semi-construction zone, but the floor was clean, the ceiling was painted, and the kids classes were fully functioning. Coffee was brewing on a couple of folding tables and we had a GREAT service. All is well at the Coffee Church.

Speaking of our service…wow! We often take weeks out just to thank God for what He is doing in the hearts and lives of people. Labor Day weekend has become a traditional one to look back over the summer and remember summer camps, missions trips, baptisms, small groups, and the journey of faith for our building. LOTS of tears were shed yesterday at God’s goodness.

Kylie Gray and Lexi Torres, both junior high girls, shared five minutes sermons that they preached on the missions trips…yikes, what amazing young women! I’ve known Kylie since she was still in diapers (sorry, Kylie!), so to see her up there preaching a strong, eloquent message sent me to tears with a quivering lip. Rachael Yonko was equally messed up!

Most amusing part of yesterday: Chris came to tell me how excited he was that he adjusted the door on the toddler room so it didn’t shut so hard. Literally 10 minutes later Faith, a two year old in our class, came busting through that door with the loudest squeal of excitement I’ve ever heard right into our main auditorium! She had never been able to open that door before and was delighted by her new-found freedom! Needless to say, we now get to figure out how to re-adjust the door so that it shuts well, but doesn’t allow our young ones the opportunity to escape.

Speaking of Chris…He and Matt deserve a medal for painting the ceiling. Now there is a back breaking, awful job! But it’s done, it’s a nice chocolate color, and we can move on to more exciting things. Thanks for your sacrifice!t

Speaking of Matt…he was faced with the difficult task of reassembling the worship stuff, having a set ready, and being prepared for the issues we were sure to have. I was slightly worried, with good reason, but it was a BEAUTIFUL time with Jesus. I found out later that they played through crackling ear buds from some wrong connection and a broken string on a guitar. I didn’t know how crazy it was up there until after they got off the stage!

On the way to church on Sunday morning, I was thinking about how tired I was from all the work, but then I thought, “I WANT to be tired if I’m working for Jesus. I want to give it all I have knowing that people are going to hear about HIM today.” So, for all of you tired volunteers…at least you’re tired for Christ!

Kim, our Kid’s Pastor, taught the Fruits of the Spirit by making fruit smoothies…LOVE THAT! I really want my kids to LOVE church and creativity is a win!

So many happy tears in my eyes this weekend! Great God, great friends, great church…

All throughout our ministry we’ve had these “seasons” where interesting things seem to happen to us at times that are too perfect to be just coincidence. Honestly these seasons confirm in my heart that we are doing what we need to be doing when we are doing it. It’s a bit spooky for me, but nonetheless, I appreciate God using these strange things to keep us focused.

Yesterday’s blog about the Scriptures written on the ground was one of those portals into the past that showed us a glimpse of God’s purpose. But the story doesn’t stop there…in fact, this story seems to be getting stranger by the moment.

The morning after I saw those precious words on the floor, I was thinking about the people who wrote them, what the church was thinking, feeling, and doing at the time, and where these people are now. As I was brushing my teeth, I said, “God, would you bring someone who knows the story to us? It’s been three years and we’ve never met anyone who ever attended church in our building years ago. I would love to share with them what we found.”

Hours later two men walked into our building. No, I’m not kidding…these two men grew up going to church in this old place, are now on staff at the same church together, and they remember when the writing was put on the floor. They told stories of their pastor pouring blood, sweat, and tears into this place to get it ready for a church. They pointed out where the nursing mom’s room used to be and how it was all laid out years ago. They remember when the stage was built. They were a part of the families that prayed over this property. And there they were…standing in our freshly demolished auditorium speaking to the latest pastor who was pouring blood, sweat, and tears into this place.

It was yet another portal into God’s purpose! How is it possible that 24 hours after the Scripture is uncovered that the people who were there when it was written suddenly show up? My blog wasn’t even written before they came! It was one of those God-ordained “coincidences” that stops you in your tracks.

I’m not even going to try and guess what God is trying to tell us other than, “Aren’t I so awesome?” And you know what, that’s enough for me!

I wonder who is going to walk through the doors next?

I feel like my eyes were opened to a bigger plan on Monday. A plan that has been in the making for literally generations.

First of all, let me give you some background. It all began three years ago this week when we first looked at the bar to move our church into. We felt like God gave us a gift in our landlord and he helped us by cutting the rent to pennies on the dollar in order for us to get into the building at all. We had very little money left for any fixing up of the place, so we did what we could with a massive effort of volunteers and donations. It was devastatingly exhausting. It was on one of those work days that a man named Jerry came into the building to ask what we were doing. When we told him that we were launching a church, he began to cry. For months he had been coming here to pray because he felt like God had a plan for this corner of our community. We were the fulfillment of those prayers. I still remember thinking how humbling that was to be a part of the story.

And Monday, standing in the exact same place I was standing when Jerry walked in years ago, I looked down at the now bare concrete floor due to our renovations, and began to cry. There, at my feet, written all over our floor were scriptures, prayers, and messages to Jesus. Decades ago there was another church in our building and they had consecrated this space by writing what was on their heart for this place. They had dedicated our auditorium before most of our congregation was out of diapers.

I thought to myself about the irony of how many times we’ve all stood there worshipping Jesus with His Word literally under our feet. I thought about the nightclubs that moved in before us and how so many people so far from God danced with scriptures surrounding them. I thought about the fact that God has been fighting for this corner for decades, and for this season, He chose us to be His placeholders.

It was one of those times that I felt very small in the enormity of an almighty God. I thought our church plant was the beginning of something. No, no. It’s the continuation of a plan that has many players, many beginnings, and many endings. It’s all very purposeful and it’s all ordered. And I’m humbled, moved, and completely willing to allow God to use us however He wants to accomplish His ultimate plan.

You’re move, God. You’re move.

Here are a couple of pictures. It’s difficult to read through the glue, but the first one says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. Without me you can do nothing. Love, Jesus”. The second says, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

If you’ve been following our story, which is pretty hard to do since we move and change overnight, you know that we tore apart our church on Sunday. Although we have LOVED the esthethics of the nightclub feel for the last three years, we have outgrown our space. Our only option quickly became to take out the massive bar in our main auditorium and make room for more seats. The decision was between people and property. I’ve seen too many churches forget the mission of God over “sacred cows” in their church. That will never be our story. Goodbye bar, hello more people! Every swing of the sledge hammer was a clarification of why we do what we do.

Thank you to the many men who hit, kicked, cut, swung, and scraped to make way for people. Thank you to the ladies who moved, swept, cleaned, held kids, and hung out with me while we kissed the bar and the dance floor goodbye! And thanks to those of you who provided more food than an army could eat because we all know that every church function must include food!!!

Want to know what I love about North Creek? No one complained. No one chose the bar over people. No one muttered and grumbled. Everybody jumped in, worked hard, ate lots, and laughed themselves silly over what crazy thing we’d come up with next.

And just wait until tomorrow’s blog. The story gets even better.