2016-04-14 10.48.28Our mobile trailer was FOUND yesterday!!!  It was parked nicely in a neighborhood in Salmon Creek in plain site from a main roadway.

The good news is that nearly all of our stuff was in it or recovered at the initial scene.  The bad news is that something clearly happened to the trailer and lots of our sound equipment.

We can’t really figure out what exactly took place in this whole story, but here’s the details we do have:

Our hitch lock was demolished, while our back door locks are still on it…they got in by destroying the door with a crow bar, so you can imagine how lovely that looks!

The trailer has front end damage, damage to the wheel well and a metal brace in the front is cracked  Our guess is that the trailer hit something pretty hard.  We had to put it on a truck to get it safely home as towing it isn’t a good plan.  The adjuster comes on Monday and we expect they will total the trailer at this point.

2016-04-14 12.23.26Inside of the box we had five massive rolling storage boxes that contained all of our stuff.  The thieves unloaded two boxes in Battle Ground, emptied the contents back into the trailer and left the boxes.  Unfortunately it was the sound box and the foyer box.  Our sound equipment and a large flat panel television was thrown into the trailer, while the cords and snake were sliced to remove them from the box.  Not only that, but the pile was directly under a part of the roof that was leaking, so it was wet or damp when we found it.  It also looked like it may have taken another hit when the trailer was in an accident and jossled everything around again.  We will need to talk to the insurance about the next step for our equipment.

The KidCity box seems like it was untouched through the whole ordeal.  It was wedged in pretty tight and difficult to get to.

The Tiny Town box clearly toppled over.  It is a very heavy box with a TV mounted inside.  The TV took a hard blow on the way down, and while it still works, I think it audibly moaned at me when I booted it up. 🙂  The box is strong as an ox, but it looks like it fought a tough battle!

Another sound box was partially dissembled as well.  It looks like they were planning on dismantling and selling our stuff, but gave up in the middle.  We aren’t sure why, but we do serve a convicting God who is on our side!  Not to mention that unloading our trailer appropriately takes precise knowledge and three men, so if they didn’t know what they were doing, they had a disaster on their hands!

The thieves also left two fishing poles…

For this Sunday, we will be without our stuff again.  We have rented sound equipment, so we are OK.  We are grateful to have so much left to rebuild from and will be back to “normal” very soon!

2016-04-14 13.52.48Also, KATU, KGW, and FOX news really did all stop by the Battle Ground building on Wednesday…all within an hour of each other.  Chris got to very unexpectedly give 3 interviews.  From now on, we’ll all be storing a nice shirt in our cars with us! 😉  He did a great job and the best part was that they did not cut out the message of Jesus in those interviews.  We appreciate those news stations for telling our story of Jesus because the trailer is just a byline!

We have very much appreciated the Battle Ground police department, Vancouver police department, and the fire department in this situation.  What an impressive group of people who have been on top of this and very helpful!

I also want to take a moment and do a shout out for our pastoral team.  They are unwaivering, faith-filled, talented, and unstoppable people.  I can’t even begin to tell you about the strength it has taken them to lead through the last year of transition and tragedy, but they haven’t flinched in the face of challenge.  Mark and I are honored and humbled to lead this group of people who are full of integrity and loyal to the cause of Christ.  North Creek is built first on the love of Jesus and second on the backs of the toughest people I know.

And now to close out this story…God is good!  He was good when the trailer was gone and He is good when the trailer came home.  The story was always about His goodness.  Our mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus.  And we go forward to do just that!

If you don’t have a church, would you consider visiting us this Sunday?  Perhaps all of this happened so that you might hear about an unstoppable church in Vancouver, Washington that wants you to be a part.  www.coffeechurch.com

 

 

YOUR NAME, YOUR NAME IS VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As I stood in a field on Friday night looking at what little was left of our church after someone had stolen our mobile trailer with all of our sound, kid’s church, deaf church, coffee supplies and signage, something happened in my heart.  But rather than discouragement, sadness, or frustration, it was resolve.  A resolve to rise up, brush off, and quite frankly kick the hell out of what Satan was trying to do to our lives.

Our strength comes from Jesus.  He’s our source, He’s our provider, and He has every intention of storming the gates of sin and destruction using our feet.  So our feet will push on.

Within literally minutes of getting the phone call that it was all gone, we had a borrowed sound system, video, screens, and computers on the way.  (Thank you, Roy Fisher!!!!)  We spent a whopping $400 on miscellaneous supplies to buy new rugs and a coffee pot…and that was it.  Our people brought nursery toys, grabbed what they could out of storage, offered copious amounts of help in every way, and we had church without missing a beat.

Not a beat.  Not a tear.  Not a moment of despair.  Because we don’t despair over stuff.  We despair over broken lives.  People.  I guarantee you that I grieve greater over one family leaving our church than I will ever grieve over a trailer full of possessions.  Because we didn’t start a church to have nice stuff.  We started a church to birth in the hearts and lives of people that God will break the things in their lives that they think are unbreakable.  He will set them free.  He will use them in power.  He will change their futures and their families.

It’s time that we started caring less about what might happen to us and walk in the anointing of what might happen through us!

So, we press on.  We have a crazy amount of stuff to do in order to have our systems back in place and we’ll let you know how you can help as we figure out what to do next.  In the meantime, pray, shout in victory, walk in boldness, and don’t back down.

And if you have been watching this story over the weekend and don’t have a church…come and join us.  Our resurrecting God wants to resurrect what has been stolen in your life as well!

 

 

Happy Spring Break to all of our students out there!  The weather has been so incredible I think all of us have been on a bit of a spring break!  I dropped all my work one day and just went outside to enjoy the sunshine.  The work will get done by itself, right?

I just love the people of North Creek!  I was so encouraged on Sunday by so many of the steps that people are taking in their walk with God…myself included!  I sense Him moving in so many hearts and lives and I am so grateful to be a part of it!  We have exceptionally amazing people in our midst!

We have no youth group this week for Spring Break.  Some of our students are headed to help with the homeless at Bridgetown on Thursday night instead.  Way to make a difference in this world!

Also, if you’d like to hire a student to earn money for summer camp, you can contact Kris Gray at kris@coffeechurch.com.  She will set you up with however many students you need to do whatever project you have!  Think about it…that pile of rocks you need to move?  Those weeds?  That pressure washing job that will take FOREVER?  Yes, you can not only send a kid to camp, but you can get them to do some labor in return.  We love to help our kids understand Jesus and work ethic!

Our Deaf Church has a group in Mexico this week for a missions trip, so please be praying that God uses their lives in remarkable ways.  Did you know that Mexican sign language is quite different than ASL?  Our deaf church has to learn a new language as well!

On a negative note, but also a positive note at the same time…our Battle Ground deal for sale fell through with the apartments, BUT two great organizations are currently looking at it for the second and third times this week.  We trust Jesus to not only give us the sale we want to move on, but also have His will done on who He wants there in order to fulfill the mission that He has for Battle Ground.  It is exciting to be on this adventure and watch Jesus orchestrate it all.

If you’d like a short term ministry, we need people to stop by the Battle Ground campus and weed the beds once a week.  If a few people did about 15 minutes of weeding a week, it would stay looking good!

How’s your Bible reading?  How about your prayer life?  If you need some help and accountability, jump into a growth group.  It helps to be in community with people who have the heart to grow!  Plus, growth groups are awesome.

I hope you have a truly God-ordained week, full of His divine appointments, miracles, and opportunities.  He has a plan for you!!!

Be blessed!

 

So much to celebrate over our Easter weekend!  Thank you to our incredible team of volunteers who serve faithfully to provide a great environment for so many people to experience the love of Jesus.  My heart is full as I reflect on the privilege it is to be a part of this church and each of your lives!

Our Good Friday was off the hook with our baptism service as we dunked 14 people.  You can see a bunch of pictures on our Facebook page at North Creek – The Coffee Church.  Each story was incredible to hear as God is truly and deeply changing lives.  My family’s personal moment was watching my daughter, Delaney, baptize her friend, Laurie.  She was a big part of Laurie coming to church and was thrilled to be a part of that moment with her.  The other part of the story is that Laurie then invited her friend Kira who was also baptized on Friday.  That’s people being the church!

baptismEaster Sunday we had 330 people who joined us in giving honor to our Resurrected King.  Matt and Rachel wrote an gorgeous song about True Love to go with our theme and Mark preached a great message out of Matthew.  Our Deaf Church had a huge potluck to celebrate as well.  It was an awesome morning!

In our kid’s class we had 9 kids raise their hand to accept Jesus.  WHOOO HOOO!!!!  That’s why we get up in the morning.  Then they all got eggs with candy and stickers on their way out of the door.

We also took an offering for Charity Water to help provide clean water for people all around the world.  We’ll have the final total soon as we tally up all the giving, but we’ll be right around $7000, which is PHENOMENAL!  So thankful we are part of a generous church.  You are still welcome to give at www.coffeechurch.com under the Be Present link.

In the middle of all of the chaos of Good Friday and Easter we also had a gymnastics meet on Saturday for Kennedy in Kennewick, WA.  We made the whirlwind trip in between our baptism service and our Easter service.  She had a strong meet and walked away with first place all around, which was awesome!  She also placed in all other four events – 1st on beam, 2nd on vault, and 3rd on floor and bars.  Proud of my little athlete who gives all the glory to Jesus!

I ended the weekend with a full cup and long nap to recuperate from all the excitement.  Now I’m ready to dig in, watch our church grow, and continue to change the world with the message of Jesus.  Let’s do this!

SO excited about this week at North Creek!  While the world is in chaos, one thing remains stable and trustworthy…the TRUE LOVE of Jesus.  That is our message and that is our mission in spite of all that seems to be happening around us!

With that in mind, we have two “Don’t Miss This” events this weekend that you can be a part of…

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First, we are heading towards Good Friday where we will be baptizing a dozen people!  I can’t think of a better way to honor the death of our Savior than by watching people stand for faith in the forgiveness of their sins.  It will be POWERFUL!  Join us as we worship, take communion, and experience baptisms in our service.  We have two people from our deaf church being baptized, so our service will be ASL interpreted.  Also, kids under 5 will have childcare provided.  Older kids will love the service!  Get to the Link Church building early as we expect a full house.

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Then we get to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday at Prairie High School.  We will have a treat for all the kids, incredible music, and the life-changing message of our RISEN savior. Service starts at 10:00 am, but coffee is hot at 9:30 am, so come early!  We are also taking a special offering for CharityWater.org to make a difference around the world for people who desperately need life-giving clean water.  If you are unable to be with us this Sunday, you can give online under BePresent at www.coffeechurch.com.  It is going to be a truly beautiful morning to share with family and friends.

I look forward to seeing you this weekend!  Be praying as we know that God is in the business of changing lives!  See you soon.