Extreme Makeover: Church Addition

I’ve been trying to come up with the words to describe our crazy renovation weekend and I’m falling short! It was truly a miracle to watch as people united around a cause that was bigger than them.

We had about 120 people who jumped in one way or another. We had people who started early tearing out walls, drywalling, and prepping. We had stump diggers, painters, sanders, stainers, sprayers, tapers, edgers, floor layers, brickers…it was organized chaos at it’s best! I walked down the hallway at one point and 15 people were prepping and painting simultaneously while a refrigerator made it’s way around them. Electricians were updating lighting and people were staining the old prayer benches an updated color. We had multiple women who cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom throughout the day while it was renovated around them. Art was being hung and signs were being placed.

And then the food would come…one of our small groups had taken an offering to buy food and some volunteered to cook. It was a “Feeding of the 5000” moment as every hungry person ate as much as they needed all day long. Rows of mini-cupcakes graced our day and you would often find paint-covered people congregating around the table for a moment of food and fun.

People were meeting – both from different campuses and also from the different services at Hazel Dell – and enjoying pleasant conversations all day. Some could hear and some were deaf. Some know Jesus and some are still figuring Him out. The teenagers came out in full force and worked with a wreckless abandon. It also seemed like when one crew would need to leave, a fresh batch seemed to instantaneously show up with new enthusiasm and energy. It was as if God was orchestrating His people into a working symphony.

Although it was an exhausting day that wore us out to the core, I left that night completely amazed at what I had just witnessed. All day long I heard laughing, I saw smiles, and people kept taking on jobs that they were ill-equipped to do, but their willingness made a way.

We almost got everything completely done and will easily nail out the last few projects before our launch on April 8! So much accomplished and the best part is yet to come: people!

So, thank you to all of North Creek Church – Battle Ground, Hazel Dell, and the Deaf Church. Mark and I both agree that we might be in the middle of something that will go down in our history as the most amazing thing we have ever seen. My prayer is that you will be blessed 10-fold by what you gave. We love you!